#i really wanted to get to this ask and the other haw ask in my inbox this weekend but i was simply beset by life tasks!!

[msmargaretmurry]

Well now you’ve got ME in all my HAW feels again (time for a reread!) and I’m wondering at what point Leon realized he’d fallen for Matthew for real (and also at what point he actually fell for Matthew, even if he didn’t realize it at the time.) I love ratnovel 🥲

aww thank you anon <3 the whole falling for matthew thing was a real process for leon in haw, i will babble about it a bit under the cut because that sounds way more fun than doing my job on this snowy snowy day.

so as previously discussed, at the beginning of the fic leon is in this place where he's like, he was kind of interested in matthew as a guy to potentially hook up with, and then decided he totally wasn't interested anymore almost entirely because it never seemed like matthew was interested and that hurt his pride as a noted hot bitch lmao. then during the training montage he was physically confronted with the fact that, yeah, unfortunately he would still hit that. he is pretty resigned to this being a lost cause, but then they run into each other at boots, and in the space of that encounter he starts to think maybe it could happen! and then the bj in the rv happens and it throws him SO off wrt his perpections and expectations of matthew.

he thinks a LOT about matthew in the stretch between boots and messaging him on insta before the preseason game, mostly just because — he doesn't know what happened? he thought things were going pretty well, for a given definition of "pretty well," you know, whatever. he can't stop thinking about that wall matthew slammed up after the blowjob, and in retrospect he feels like maybe something was a little off about him the whole time? he's seen matthew off the ice before and he never really had the… abrasive edge he's had this summer, maybe? he doesn't know the guy well enough to figure it out, but he feels both guilty and a little guiltily interested. and also obviously he thinks about it a lot because it was hot.

and then there's the hookup in the hotel at the preseason game, which is hugely reassuring — he's thinking, okay, matthew IS into this, and maybe he's just embarrassed about/uncomfortable with the things he's into? or something? but he's clearly willing to do stuff with leon anyway, and leon is like… well, this is not usually the kind of sex he has, but it's hot, and also he's really, really interested in pushing matthew's buttons. he has no read on if matthew is into him specifically or if he's just convenient, but he's kind of okay with it either way at that point. well, he'd prefer for matthew to be into him specifically, but it is what it is. matthew is the one who gave leon his number, so there's clearly something there.

then there's some flirting via text, etc, and matthew texts after the first flames/oilers game for leon to come fuck him, and leon thinks, oh okay so this is just going to be a thing where we sleep together when we're in the same place. he's cool with that, he's into matthew, he thinks this could be fun. but then the sex is the way that it is (not not good, but very intense and pretty fraught) and now he definitely thinks there's something wrong with matthew. not because he wants rough sex, but because of how he acts about it and acts afterward.

the way i characterize leon (in haw and in general, mostly) is that he really is a big softie — he's at his prickliest when he feels vulnerable, like his soft underbelly is showing, or is being protective of people he cares about. one way this manifests is he tends toward being soft with people he sleeps with even if they don't have a close relationship. it's not lost on him that matthew is clearly upset about something and he's decided that leon is a space where he can try to deal with that, but unfortunately leon is not immune to just a little bit of "i can fix him" disease.

over the next few weeks of texting and sexting is when he really develops a crush, and by the time matthew comes over to his place for that hookup he is definitely trying not to tip his hand that he has a little crush. it's to the point where after the game he texts matthew about johnny's injury to try to make sure the shitty game doesn't fuck things up between them. by the time matthew's texting from the club on his birthday, leon has accepted the fact that he actively likes the guy even though he's really not sure how matthew feels about him, and by christmas when matthew sends him that selfie in leon's t-shirt from boots, he's almost positive that the things he's feeling are mutual. but he knows that matthew is fucked up about some stuff, and that stuff definitely affects how he is with leon, so he keeps telling himself he's going to be careful about it and try not to push until he's really sure. but he wants to kiss matthew so bad.

and then there's the nye facetime, which, to finally actually answer your question, is when leon is really like, "oh, fuck, i'm down so bad. fuck i really have feelings." he's laying in bed thinking about matthew, because at midnight when everyone was kissing he thought about matthew, and how he would have liked to kiss matthew at midnight, and he hasn't been able to stop thinking about him since. so he's laying there thinking about how badly he wants to see him, how much he wants to kiss him, trying to do the drunk math in his head to when they see each other again, because next time they see each other, maybe leon can kiss him. maybe they can finally start treating this like something real. he's almost positive matthew feels the same. if he calls and matthew picks up and talks to him, that probably means he feels the same. maybe what he really needs to know is that leon feels the same. maybe leon just has to be brave enough to make the first move.

[deepwoundsandfadedscars]

.

[deus-ex-mona]

tfw you’re indecisive af

[alchemistc]

i like your voice in person

Evan's staring at the bed like he's trying to navigate a minefield.

Six months ago that would have sent Tommy on another journey of self-deprecation, a reminder that he'd known Evan wasn't ready for this, known this was a possibility, but Evan, for all his own insecurities, knows what the hell he wants and if he'd felt even an ounce of pressure or remorse up to this point he'd have said something long before now.

Sometimes Evan likes to work it out himself, and sometimes he needs a little nudge, and Tommy watches the head tilt and the angle of his pursed lips for cues as he settles under the sheets.

"Something on your mind?" he prompts, and Evan blinks, like he hadn't realized he'd gotten lost in his thoughts.

"Uh...nothing, maybe."

"Sounds like something, probably."

Evan's smile tilts up at one corner, and he settles on the bed a little stiffly. "It's nothing major. Just. Something I've been thinking about?"

He can feel his brows jumping, can see the way Evan takes in the look with a fond expression. Evan steels himself for something -- they're still muddling through past experiences and learning how to be a bit more intentional in some of their conversations, because they both have a bad habit of reverting to flirting and deflection.

"You remember what we talked about last weekend?"

Tommy can genuinely remember about 93 percent of what he and Evan talk about at any given time, which is an astronomically high number and not at all an exaggeration. He'd be embarrassed about it if he didn't have clear evidence that Evan was as deep into this as he was.

They talk a lot, is the thing, about inconsequential shit just as much (definitely more) than the important stuff. They talk far more than Tommy can remember talking in any other relationship he's been in. But Tommy can pinpoint the exact one he means.

"You mean the roles thing."

Evan hadn't been a stranger to a little daddy talk in bed when they started to explore it, and he'd brought it up right at the start for a reason, but Tommy had taken a while to come around to the realization that Evan had sort of internalized the 'I don't have daddy issues' of it all in a way that Tommy hadn't actually meant it. There'd been little things, here and there; like Evan reaching a door before him and then bashfully waiting with it half open like he'd made a misstep; like twisting his mouth a little funny when he snatched the bill from the table before Tommy could get it. Little things.

Things that, in the abstract, yeah, Tommy liked to do for his partners, but in reality weren't actually that big a deal to him.

He'd needed to clear the air.

Evan nods. Curls a hand around his knee before he shifts his body so that he's facing Tommy. "So, I like taking care of people."

(A conversation, a month ago, Evan grimacing around "My therapist says I have to stop calling myself a people pleaser in a derogatory way.")

Tommy hums, something to remind Evan he's listening.

"And I guess I sort of built up this idea in my head that that was like, a hard stop with you."

("Everyone likes being taken care of sometimes, Evan.")

"And I'm not -- I'm not upset at you, or like, feeling guilty, I just -- I've been thinking about it, and I feel like I forgot to ask you how you wanted to be taken care of."

The thing with Evan is that no matter how often he'll deflect with a joke, when he wants to say something serious he's blunt as hell about it. There might be some hemming and hawing to get there but sometimes he says things that just make Tommy wonder if he'd ever actually learned how to say things before Evan.

"I don't really have a list, babe," he says, and then sort of hates himself for it. Deflect, distract, hey baby how about I blow you about all these big feelings inside my chest I can't articulate.

Evan, though, Evan squinches his eyes and runs a heavy hand through his hair. "I...sort of do?"

"Lay it on me."

Evan grins. "That's actually one of the things on my list."

Tommy blinks. Tries to figure out that trail of thought, but he's coming up with nothing. "Okay, can you expand on that?"

"Like --listen, you know I'm a huge fan of being the little spoon. I'd let someone put screws back in my leg just for continued little spoon privileges. But sometimes I miss being the big spoon, and in my head the idea sounded so stupid to bring up but now I'm wondering if, like, maybe I've just been denying you the joy of being the little spoon?"

Tommy thinks of Evan's hands spread big and warm across his belly, of knees tucked up behind his, warm breath on the back of his neck like when Evan stumbles up behind him in the mornings whining about coffee, and maybe he blue screens a bit because he's never actually dated someone so close to his own size, because there's always been an assumption at the outset that he wouldn't want that.

Alex had been a little too into the same dynamic he'd seen Evan stumbling through, and Colin had hated sleeping with someone's flesh touching his own. Beyond that he hadn't really dated anyone long enough to really form a preference.

Maybe Kara might have been willing, back when he'd been closeted enough to pretend it wasn't an effort to get it up when she had his dick in her mouth, but they'd been young enough that staying the night wasn't really a consideration.

"And like -- listen, I don't necessarily prescribe to gender roles as a thing in general, but a few weekends ago I spent like twenty minutes staring at a bouquet of flowers in Trader Joe's and convinced myself you wouldn't like the gesture so I didn't buy them but you have a few vases in your moms old china cabinet and the moment I remembered them I felt stupid for not buying the flowers."

There's something curling tenderly underneath Tommy's ribcage that he's not sure he's ever felt quite like this before. It's not new, exactly, but it seems to be thrumming particularly hard tonight.

Three months in, Tommy had gotten the man-flu from hell, temperatures so high he'd been grounded and sent packing to rest it off, and he'd texted Evan a jumbled mess of barely discernible things when they'd tucked him into the Uber.

Evan and Bobby had made chicken noodle soup at the station and Hen had sent Evan off with a laundry list of things he could do to help drop the fever, and Tommy had spent the duration sulking and glowering and dragging himself out of bed every time Evan had wanted to change the sheets, to keep Tommy as comfortable as he could, but when Evan had caught it four days later he hadn't hesitated to do all the same shit with gusto. Evan hadn't been particularly grateful either, because neither one of them liked being laid up when the world was out there waiting for them, but he'd at least had the grace to not be an asshole about it.

He had, though. Been grateful. A little awestruck, too, at the mere idea of someone so unafraid of just being there through all the moaning and groaning and hacking and coughing, keeping the tissues from piling up on the bedside table and switching out cold packs to the freezer so he always had one ready in case he wanted it. In the clarity of a full day without fever making his brain feel like cotton candy he'd stared down at a sleepily wheezing Evan and known he could absolutely lose his heart to this man.

"Also I don't want to toot my own horn here but I give excellent foot rubs, and I feel like there's about a million other things I've just been -- holding back from doing?"

"Because of the role thing, or because all your stupid exes told you you were needy?"

It's not a night to pull punches. Also Tommy wants to send thank you cards to every single one of them and attach them to boxes with a bark scorpion inside.

"Both," Evan says without a second of hesitation. His smile crinkles at the corners of his mouth, and Tommy is suddenly annoyed with the space between them. When he holds out his hand to tug Evan into him, Evan melts into it for the space of a moment before he pulls back. "I actually kind of desperately want to be the big spoon right now, if that's something you'd be into." Evan had definitely clocked the look on his face when he'd mentioned it, but he's keyed into the way Tommy checks in and reciprocated in kind since the start of this, so.

Tommy peels his glasses off, snags his bookmark to keep his spot in the monstrosity of the Wrangler maintenance manual he'd stopped being cagey about the fifth time Evan caught him flipping through it, and watches Evan settle comfortably into bed next to him. The problem is, Tommy actually isn't sure where to go from there, which is a ridiculous thought to have because Evan hadn't either and he'd figured it out just fine.

"How do you want me, Buckley?"

The roll of his eyes is so bitchy that Tommy has to remind himself that for all his people pleasing attributes, Evan Buckley is, at heart, a huge fucking brat. Evan tugs and twists and maneuvers his arms and Tommy sort of sinks into it, head tucked in the crook of his shoulder, draping his leg over one of Evan's when he shifts his knee pointedly, a massive, unruly breath escaping Tommy once they're all done shifting.

"You should absolutely try out the rest of your list," he murmurs into the space where Evan's shoulder meets his neck. "Although you don't need to woo me anymore, I'm actually fully wooed."

Lips against his crown, pressed tightly enough that he can feel the smile against his scalp, Evan chuckles. "You don't know how good my wooing is."

The fingers shifting up and down his arm feel somehow different, from this position, even though Evan has done it a hundred times before from the spot he likes to claim with his head right over Tommy's bleeding, three-sizes-too-big-for-him heart. It's ridiculous, and it shouldn't feel any different, but it does. He wants to be greedy with it, soak it in and then never let Evan do this again because he finally understands the appeal and he doesn't want to deprive Evan that.

"This is nicer than I expected."

Evan's soft laugh ruffles his hair, and Tommy wonders if he's dumb enough to ask Eddie how long he should wait before he can reasonably beg Evan to spend the rest of his life with him.

"Save the reviews for when I actually spoon you. It's gonna rock your world." His hand drifts up, fingers digging into the dimple of Tommy's skull.

The hum in his throat has a mind of it's own, going thin and reedy and --

Evan pauses, and Tommy can practically see the gears whirring in his mind, because this is new information.

To both of them, actually, but Tommy doesn't have time to process it because the fingers on the back of his skull spread and sink deeper, just enough pressure to be more than a glancing ruffle, and Tommy can't quite help the way he tilts his head back into it, or the way he hitches his leg to press his groin a little more firmly to the outside of Evan's thigh.

They're both too tired for it to really mean anything -- both off 48's and a fumbled round in the shower while they were already bone weary -- but Tommy wants the reminder for them both when they wake up in the morning.

He can feel his eyes drooping the longer Evan scrubs his fingers against him, and the thought pops into his head as he's drifting off. He doesn't want it to disappear into the fog, though, so he murmurs it into the soft, warm skin of Evan's neck. "I like camellia's. White ones."

Evan hums, and Tommy just knows that the moment he drops off, Evan will be reaching for his phone to google the language of flowers.

[luveline]

idk if you’ve done a request like this before but maybe roan (sweetest girl ever) gets moody and says something mean or does something mean to reader and maybe reader gets really sad over it and eddie helps roan apologize or make it better?

thank you you for your request! eddie and roan. fem!reader, 2k

Roan's hair is softer than her father's but twice as unruly. You hum and haw over what to do with it —she wants it out of her face because the weather is so, so hot today, your hands clammy even now, but lately she's complained about hairpin headaches. 

"Ready for brushing?" you ask. 

"No." Roan squirms in your lap. "Can you just put it up, please?" 

You nibble your bottom lip. You don't necessarily need to brush it, she's not going anywhere. She's lovely with or without neat hair, but… 

"I don't want it to get matted," you say, almost to yourself rather than her. 

"I want to go play," Roan whines.

You don't wince at her derision nor her impatience. She and her handsome father are the people you love most in the world, and to be able to do that, you've had to adapt to how children react. They can't control their bad moods with half the expertise of adults (though some of the adults you know can't do it, either). They need wiggle room.

And affection, undoubtedly. 

You stroke her hair back from her face. She jerks away from your touch. 

"Ro, I'm sorry," you say, in an attempt to assuage her unhappiness. Her fuse can be rather short. You'll all be happier if you can snub this flame before she has a meltdown. "I'm just trying to think of how best to do this, that's all. Can you give me a second?" 

Hair up? Clips out of her face? You know she's not in the best mood, and sometimes elaborate hairstyles make her feel better, but you can tell what she wants now is to be by herself with her dolls in the cool breeze of her standing fan. Simple ponytail, you decide. You and Eddie will just have to deal with any knots that happen when they happen–

"You're not good at hair, I should've asked dad," Roan declares, jumping off of your lap. 

You're startled, with barely the wits to say, "Hey, don't be like that, honey, I can do it–" 

"No, you can't do it." She snatches the hairbrush from you and turns the other way. "Dad will do it faster." 

"Hey," Eddie says, as though summoned by her mention. He stands in the doorway to the living room, a familiar yet foreign look on his face as he towel dries his wet hands. "Why are we talking to each other that way?" 

"Because she's slow!" Roan says, agitated, hands in fists at her sides. 

"Hey, no. I don't know why you're feeling unhappy, but being mean isn't going to make it go away. You don't talk to people like that, especially Y/N," Eddie says. His dark, thick brows furrow with frustration. 

Roan visibly gets more upset. 

"You want to go have five minutes?" Eddie asks her.

She throws her hairbrush on the floor and pushes past his legs, her footsteps like pangs of thunder as she stomps up the stairs. "Ugh!" she shouts. 

Eddie frowns at her as she goes but doesn't call anything more. You clasp the back of the couch in unsteady hands, a weird, strangling pressure wrapped around your throat like a hand. Your sides ache at your twisted position. 

Eddie, to his credit, isn't mad. He toes aside the thrown hairbrush with a confused pout. "What the hell just happened?" he asks. 

You're not sure. Roan's not happy because she's overwhelmed by the inescapable heat of summer, her TV volume is stuck slightly too loud at 27, and she didn't like the broccoli Eddie asked her to eat at lunch. Your slow hairstyling was the last straw, evidently. 

It hurts to have her angry at you. Hurts that she thinks you aren't measuring up to her father. 

You rub your eyes. "My fault. Couldn't get the brush through her hair 'n' took too long putting it up." 

Eddie lights up. You used to think it was theatrical, how he performs his affection, but the longer you know him, the clearer it becomes that he's just a dramatic guy. He sidles up to the couch and takes your face into both hands. 

"Not your fault," he says gently. Then, with more gusto, "She's grumpy, I'm sorry she took it out on you."

You try to play up to his bravado and find your own performance falling flat. "Yeah." 

His thumbs draw soft lines on your cheeks. You really like coparenting with him (though it feels a little weird to put it that way, and also very right) but in moments like this, you remember how much you love being his partner. How much you want him to kiss you and think you're pretty and smart and perfect. Eddie kisses the top of your head and gives you a hug over the couch, squeezing the tops of your shoulders, your face pressed to his neck. 

"It's not a big deal," you say. 

"No, it is. She's not having a good day, but I don't want her to be someone who takes it out on other people." He drops his lips to your forehead. "I'll go talk to her in a bit. Try not to take it personally, sweetheart. She knows how much you love her 'n' she knows she can be unreasonable with you like she is with me and Wayne. Blessing and a curse." 

You're reassured by the idea. Roan's showing off with you because she knows you're not going anywhere. She's moody and you'd been the first one to make a mistake with her today.

"I'm good at hair," you say unsurely. 

"You're great. Me and Ro have looked like a pair of Abercrombie models since we met you," he praises. 

"Think she's gonna be mad at me all day?" you ask. 

"Babe, you're mad at her." 

"I'm not," you say. 

"You're supposed to be." He gives your shoulder a rough rub. "I'm gonna go talk to her. Don't be upset, yeah? You're amazing." 

You accept a clumsy forehead kiss. 

Eddie leaves to soothe Roan's mood. You can imagine it now, his hip propped on the door jam, his unimpressed but patient look. You know we can't talk to each other like that, Ro. Even if we're not feeling good, we have to try to be nice. Do you know what's making you grumpy? Can I fix it for you?  

It's easy to guess what he's saying because you've heard it all before. He's a good dad. He might not always feel that way, but he is. 

You're not worried about Roan in any grand sense. She'll be okay. You're scared that what she said is true —you're not as good as Eddie at doing her hair. You're not as good as him at lots of things. 

You feel inferior to Eddie often as a parent. It's a given, considering that he's her primary caregiver, and has been since the day she was born. That's years of bonding and love you can't touch (wouldn't want to touch, really, wouldn't ever want to change how it happened at risk of messing up what you have now). You're not even really her official stepmom yet. 

What if Roan loved you because she was too young to know better? What if you're not good enough to take care of her?

Little footsteps drag down the stairs, followed by louder ones. You sniff and wipe the stressed tears that had been collecting in your eyes away, relieved to see Roan looking a little less enraged in the door. Eddie gives you a startled look at your expression, for which you can only offer a small smile. 

Roan doesn't mind the walk, standing in front of you where you're still sitting on the couch with ease. She glances at your lap where you clutch her hair ties in both hands, rubbing her own together guiltily. 

"Hi," you say hopefully. 

Roan looks at Eddie. You watch him nod from the corner of your eye. 

"I'm really sorry," Roan says. "For being mean." 

"That's okay," you say, holding your hand palm up atop your thigh, just in case. 

"Dad said you'd say that, but…" She eyes up your hand. You push it forward, and when she takes it, you draw an encouraging circle into her skin. "'Cus you love me, you don't get angry, but…" 

"What did you tell me, sweetheart? You can tell her. It's okay," Eddie prompts. 

Roan looks up. Brown eyes wide but soft brows pinched together unsurely, she says, "I didn't mean that you do hair badly. Please don't stop doing my hair, and kissing my cheek in the morning. Um, and playing dress up with me." 

"I'm not gonna stop doing those things," you say softly. Internally, you're relieved. "I love doing those things."

"Roan shouldn't have been mean," Eddie interjects. "Right?" 

"No, but she was having a bad day," you say, giving her hand a little swing. "Yeah? That's okay. I have bad days too, and I say things I wish I didn't." 

Roan looks uneasy. "You're not mad at me?" 

"Do you want me to be?" you tease gently. 

"No," she says through a shy laugh. Her stomach presses to your knee as she steps forward. "I didn't mean it about my hair."

"I know." 

She puts her hands up for you to pull her into your lap. You're more than willing to oblige, tucking her head under your chin. She's small in your lap. 

"I love looking after you," you murmur into her hair. "It's my favourite job. I know I'm not as good as daddy at things, but I didn't get all the training he got." 

"You're just as good as dad," Roan says. 

"You're better," Eddie says. 

You turn your head to grin at him. "Not true, but I'll keep trying, Ro. I'll get it." 

Roan fights to escape your tucking, her head tilted back, the blue glow from the fish tank cooling her face. "I love you now," she says. 

"Aw," Eddie says, though he looks shocked at himself, like it had slipped out unbidden. 

"I love you too," you say. More than you can explain. 

She puts her hand on your collar. "I'm sorry," she says again. 

"She knows, babe," Eddie says, flopping down onto the couch next to you both. 

"I forgive you straight away," you agree, rubbing the short breadth of her back lovingly. "It did make me sad, worrying you didn't think good things about me, but it's okay. I know you were getting annoyed. You couldn't help it." 

Roan's smile is so relieved you can't stop yourself from taking her face into two hands and planting kisses into the heart of her hairline. 

"Love you, silly," you say. 

"Share!" Eddie demands, his weight on your arm. 

Roan giggles as she's painted in kisses. Eventually, when her rosy cheeks have been covered inch to inch by kisses and she's so loved up her eyes are shining, she pushes you both away and holds her hands out. "I need space." 

You and Eddie laugh breathlessly and lean back into the couch, shoulder to shoulder. 

The older she gets, the more things like this are going to happen. She's going to have opinions, and expectations for you and Eddie. She's going to want space —she's going to need it, like she said. You don't mind giving her what she needs even if it is an adjustment, and even if she does aim her outbursts at you when she's overwhelmed. You do wish you could curl a strand of her hair around your finger, or stroke her cheek, but then she puts her hands on your shoulder. She's still blushing. 

"You're the best mommy ever," she says. 

"Did you tell her to say that?" you ask Eddie. 

"No way," Eddie says, dropping his head onto your other shoulder, his hair tickling your neck. "She just knows the truth, babe. I didn't have to tell her anything about it." 

[cryinginmyroomsposts]

New Year's Day - Kim Mingyu

tags: fluff, friends to lovers, slight angst, lil' bit jealous, college boyfriend Mingyu, non-idol!au

masterlist

Not proofread!

"Tell me why we thought hosting a New Year's party at our apartment would be a good idea!" Your roommate's voice comes booming from the kitchen as you struggle to organise the lights on the wall above the sofa in your shared apartment living room.

"It definitely was not my idea." You bite back, regretting the idea the more by the minute as you clean and plan for the party.

"Haw! The audacity... you invited 15 people." Sam glares at you from the doorway, one hand on her hip and the other holding a ladle in a menacing way.

"I didn't know we would end up having to invite all of them." You admit. Sam sighs and walks towards you. "It's okay babe, I know you only wanted to invite Mingyu. It's not your fault he wanted to bring all 12 of his friends. And that two of them would want to bring their significant others."

"I really am sorry for all the trouble you go through for me Sam. I really appreciate it. Thanks." You both know you mean it. Sam had agreed immediately to the idea of the party seeing as how excited she was to see you and Mingyu get together.

Mingyu had been one of your closest friends in the last two years of university and you have been in love with him since the first semester you had met him. After two very lonely and self-destructive semesters of breaking your own heart, watching him date other girls and staying away from the one person you wanted to be close to, this last fall semester Mingyu had finally shown signs of reciprocating your feelings. Or so Sam felt.

At this point, you were so in your head about the whole thing that you could not differentiate reality from the illusions in your head. Breaking your heart had become a child's play for you and now it took constant encouragement and reiteration from Sam to even try to make moves on Mingyu.

He had been single for a whole semester and his behaviour toward you recently had been way different than before. The whole idea of a New Year's Eve party had been Sam and your idea to get Mingyu to finally realise his emotions (if he had any other than that of friendship for you). While the details had not exactly been worked out, you figured you would at least get to spend time with him in a closed setting.

The initial plan was to invite three of each of your friends and keep it as intimate as possible so that you and Mingyu could spend most of the time together. But when Mingyu had excitedly asked if he could bring along some friends, you had given in thinking it would be two or three but it ended up being thirteen instead. Not your fault that he looked like an absolute puppy when he wanted something.

The party was in an hour and now the two of you were running around trying to set right the drinks, decorations and food. Mingyu had promised to show up earlier and help with the food and setup but he was yet to arrive.

The sound of the doorbell breaks your train of thought and you go to open the door.

Speak of the devil.

"Ya! Why are you so late?" You question before he could greet you. As always Mingyu towers your entire doorway while looking gorgeous. He's wearing a simple black tee and joggers but manages to look like a million bucks.

He giggles and pulls you into one of his famous bear hugs and before he can reply another voice echoes from the stairs leading to your doorway.

"Mingyu ya, help me here please." The voice is soft and high-pitched. Before you can question it, Mingyu turns around and runs downstairs. When he returns, there is a girl in front of him, she is dressed in a modest pink dress, with bouncy curls lining her shoulders and a smile that lightens up her whole face. She is very pretty.

"Oh hi. You must be Y/N, Mingyu talks about you a lot. I'm Maya." She says extending her hand out to you. Her voice is soft and she looks very friendly and you shake her hand with a smile on your face.

"Hi, Maya. Welcome! I hope he has only told good things." You joke lightly and she laughs nodding.

"Yes, yes! I hope it is not a problem for me to join." She says as you lead her in, Mingyu towers over both of you as he walks behind her holding a box full of you're not sure what.

"Absolutely not an issue Maya! Please go have fun."

Once they are in, you close the door and walk straight to the closest restroom. When the locks are secured you open the tap and let out a breath that you didn't know you were holding in. It is not logical for you to jump to conclusions, but the fear still creeps in.

"Y/N, stop being stupid! She's a friend, seems sweet and is probably an amazing friend." You tell yourself through the mirror. But the problem is not her, you wouldn't hate or behave differently with her for a second. the problem is you and your fear that Mingyu has again chosen someone else over you. The problem is he doesn't see you, again, and you get left behind to be the best friend only, again.

The feelings are all too familiar to you after all this time. You are very close to breaking your own heart, hurting yet another piece of you to show up as Mingyu's good friend and support him. You are almost entirely convinced and right as you are about to break down the knock on the bathroom door interrupts you.

"Ya Y/N, you okay?" Mingyu's soft "Y/N-voice" (as Sam calls it) booms through the bathroom doors and stabs your heart like a glass shard. This is why it is so much harder to break your own heart. Because this man is so good and caring and everything you could ever want and yet he would never be yours.

"Y/n?" He calls out again. You wash your face and clear your throat as fast as possible. "Yeah, I'll be out in 5. Go mingle with people." He doesn't reply and you are too preoccupied trying to look party-presentable. This is why you jump when you find him staring right at you when you open the bathroom door.

"Jesus! Why did you scare me like that?" You ask trying to calm your heart rate. Instead of replying to you, he locks the closed room door and faces you while holding your shoulders. "What happened? Who should I hurt?" You chuckle and the worry on his face eases a little bit. His care for you only makes it so much harder to distance yourself and try to move on. This man makes it so hard not to love him.

"I'm fine Mingyu. I just had to use the restroom." You try your best to sound convincing but judging from the look of judgment on his face you can say he didn't buy it. Before he can begin his usual "Let people care about you" rant, Sam calls your name from the other end of the house and you excuse yourself to return to the chaos of the party. The rest of the three hours go by in absolute chaos of 13 grown men and 6 girls trying their best to socialize, vibe, and party in your apartment. You keep your distance from Mingyu and Maya, and find yourself clinging to Seokmin- Mingyu's friend. Seokmin is a very hot guy who is determined to be the party clown and you can't help but laugh every other minute at his antics. Everyone seems to be enjoying it, and several games are played.

"Everyone gather round and settle down. Ten minutes to midnight guys!" The sudden excitement in the air is infectious. You see that Seungcheol and Jihoon have settled on the couch with their girlfriends, Vernon is trying to be subtle about sitting next to Sam's classmate who he has been talking to since the evening began.

Right as you can figure out what to do about your Midnight seat, Sam pulls you into the kitchen.

"Where do u think you are going ?" She has the usual no-bs Sam stance, arms crossed across her chest and sharp eyes that can pierce through you.

"I- I am going to sit before Midnight strikes." You know where this conversation is headed.

"Y/N, why were you going to sit on the stool, alone. At midnight." If Sam's eyes were daggers, you would have bled to death in those few seconds of eye contact. The living room is buzzing with energy and you realize there are only 5 minutes left.

"Sam..." you exhale. She shakes her head in disappointment and walks away. You face the kitchen wall away from the living room and breathe.

Inhale... Exhale... Inhale... Exhale... In- "Hey..."

Mingyu's soft voice breaks your flow and you whip your head to see him standing right next to you. His palm is placed on the kitchen counter next to you and he is practically shielding you from the outside world.

"All okay?" He says, his voice is soft and slow. His eyebrows are furrowed in concern and he is leaning down to your height, face inches apart. His face is dripping with concern and it breaks yet another piece of your heart.

It would've been much simpler if you had only considered him a good friend like he does with you.

Mingyu lifts his eyebrows emphasising his question when you don't reply. You clear your throat and nod in affirmation.

"I'm good Gyu." "You sure?" You let a small smile at his concern, god he was so sweet. "Yes, Gyu. Don't worry. Just needed a small break from all the crowd before the new year."

He nods because he understands that sometimes crowds can overwhelm you.

"Why are you here?" You ask him, turning slightly to face him better. This immediately turns out to be a mistake as you are now trapped in between the kitchen counter and Mingyu's big frame. As the noise outside gets louder he leans further down toward your face and you repeat your question closer to his ear.

Can he hear how fast your heart is beating? Will he ever know how much you like him?

"I came to check on you because you were missing." He states matter-of-factly and you roll your eyes.

"There are only two more minutes for midnight Gyu. You should be out there, having fun."

"Yeah, you too." He sounds serious and you sigh.

"I will come out but you should go there. Maya will be waiting for you." Your voice croaks the last sentence and the knife in your heart sinks in further.

Mingyu looks confused at your words. "Why would she be waiting for me?"

"30 seconds to the New Year guys!" Someone shouts from the living room and you take another deep breath. Mingyu's eyes haven't left you and you are too nervous to see him for more than a second at a time.

"See less than a minute. Go out there before you miss your midnight kiss." You say in the brightest tone you can muster, hoping he understands you are referring to Maya and his midnight kiss.

"I don't need to be out there for that." He says the words slowly as his face is inches away from yours.

Huh?

Judging by the smirk on Mingyu's face you probably look like a deer caught in headlights at the moment. You're not sure how long you stay frozen like that until someone yells 15 seconds from the living room.

"Wha- what do you mean?" You gulp.

Mingyu moves his face closer, and he lifts one hand from the counter next to you to hold your chin. He angles your face and analyses it.

"Y/N?" Mingyu's voice comes out in a question, one you seem to be understanding.

Your heart is screaming in joy - "HE WANTS YOU TO BE HIS NEW YEAR'S KISS".

Your head is screaming in fear - "HE IS TOYING WITH YOU. RUN."

You gulp again. Mingyu has the softest smile on his face.

"Mingyu, don't play with my heart." Your voice is barely audible but you know Mingyu heard you. The smile on his face illuminates his eyes.

"Would never dream of it." He says in a deep and soft tone.

"5 SECONDS", a voice travels from the living room.

"Is this real, Gyu?" Your heart is beating in your eyes and you are staring deep into his.

He is now holding your face in both of his palms and your back is pressed on the kitchen counter.

"3 SECONDS!"

"As real our beating hearts, Y/N."

You believe him. Your heart believes him. Your brain has shut the fuck up for once.

"2 SECONDS GUYS!"

"So... can I kiss you ?" Mingyu's expression is now clouded with worry and you smile from your heart.

"1 SECOND!"

You nod quickly and right as everyone from the living room is yelling Mingyu's lips come crashing on yours.

It is everything you imagined, and so much more. His lips move against yours slowly. Both of you are smiling into the kiss. Neither of you is in a hurry at that moment, He is savouring you and you are melting into him.

After what feels like an eternity, both of you break apart for the practical purposes of breathing( who invented that huh?!).

Mingyu's face is still close to yours, lips lightly brushing against each other's.

The living room is bursting with energy and all your friends are there but you couldn't care less about anything at this moment.

"Happy New Year." Mingyu sounds content, his eyes are shining with happiness and his smile is incandescent.

"Happy New Year Gyu."

"I'm never starting a new year any other way after this," Mingyu says and you laugh. "Or any day for that matter." He states as he wraps his arms around your waist now.

God, you could get used to this!

"Oh wow, loverboy! Slow down... we still need to talk about things." You remind him because you have always been the one to bring all the anxiety and sense into this relationship.

"Hmm yeah, but a kiss first?" He asks in his signature puppy-Mingyu face. As you're about to lean in you see Sam enter the kitchen from the corner of your vision. She is startled at first and then breaks into the biggest smile as she leaves the two of you alone.

Your smile widens as Mingyu captures your lips once again.

It's been 5 minutes but this is already turning out to be your favourite year ever!

[starryeyedjanai]

All things end and all things change.

Steddie | 23k | Explicit | Read on ao3

written for @patchworkgargoyle for the server gift exchange! 🥰 this is also a fill for @thefreakandthehair's winter challenge

Summary: 

When Eddie took over Robin's room, Steve made a promise to himself that he wouldn't scare Eddie off, that he wouldn't do anything to let him know that he’s still carrying a torch for him this many years later—because Steve feels like Eddie had to have known in college.

He had to have seen it every time Steve looked at him for a beat too long, every time he looked to Eddie first when told a joke, every time he wore his feelings so loudly because he’s never had to reign them in before.

And now he’s doomed to spend more than a week letting Eddie show him glimpses of his life that he’s never seen before, parts of him that he’s kept to himself up until now.

Steve feels like the more he gets to know Eddie, the more ingrained these feelings for him become.

But, you know, other than all of that, what could possibly go wrong?

Or, Steve was planning to spend the holidays alone, but there's no way Eddie's going to let that happen.

-

excerpt under the cut!

“Hey, are you going to be in town for New Year’s Eve?” Eddie asks as Steve walks out of his room, bleary eyed and barely awake. “I told you I’m visiting my uncle Wayne for Christmas, but I can be back in time for New Year’s Eve if you’ll be here.”

“I’ll, uh, I’ll be here,” Steve says, his voice still scratchy from sleep.

“What are your plans for Christmas now that Birdie’s gone home with Chrissy?” Eddie asks, dropping the curious act and getting to what he really wants to know.

It’s too early for this.

Eddie knows he has less of a filter when he’s just woken up, so this is a targeted attack.

He’s been avoiding answering the question when Eddie’s asked what his plans were before, but Christmas is in a few days and it looks like his hemming and hawing around an answer—‘I might go with Robin and Chrissy,’ and ‘I’m not sure yet’—won't suffice anymore.

Robin left yesterday with Chrissy to spend Christmas and New Year’s Eve with her family, her first time taking Chrissy home to her parents, and Steve obviously didn't go with them.

He hums and takes the cup of coffee Eddie pushes into his hands when he takes a seat at their kitchen table. He takes a sip, trying to formulate a way to not say outright that he’s staying here alone.

He shrugs his shoulders and says, "I’m not doing much. I’ll be in town for New Year’s Eve though,” because his brain is still mostly offline and he’s hoping Eddie will leave it alone. (He knows that he won't, but it’s a nice thought.)

Eddie asks, “How are you getting to your parents’ place? Or are they coming to town?”

Eddie knows Steve isn’t super close with his parents just like he knows that he hasn't spent Christmas with them since he graduated college—he and Robin have spent it together since she and her parents aren't big on Christmas as a whole.

They did visit Robin’s parents the first year after college and spent the holidays there, but since then, they’ve just had Christmases at their apartment, getting each other a couple gag gifts and a couple real ones and opening them in front of their comically small Christmas tree. The only reason they aren't spending it together this year is because Robin’s parents want to finally meet Chrissy.

He gulps down more coffee before saying, “I’m not going to Hawkins.”

“Steve, work with me here. Are you or are you not spending Christmas with your parents?” Eddie asks, leaving no room for ambiguity or ‘misinterpretations’ of his question.

So he just sighs and comes clean.

“My parents are in France for Christmas, so I’m just hanging out here for the holidays,” he says, not looking Eddie in the eyes. His parents did invite him to come along, but his passport is expired and he didn't want to stress about getting it renewed in time for the trip.

“Hanging out here alone?” Eddie asks.

Steve nods, still not looking at him, fiddling with the handle of his coffee mug.

“And how’d you get Robin to leave without you?” Eddie asks, suspicion in his voice.

“What do you mean?” Steve asks, playing dumb.

“I mean there’s no fucking way she’d let you spend the holidays alone, first Christmas taking her girlfriend home or not. So what did you tell her you were doing for the holidays?”

Steve sighs, so worn out all of a sudden. He wishes they weren't having this conversation at 8 in the morning—well, he wishes they weren't having it at all, wishes Eddie’s ADHD would have let him forget to ask what his plans were before he left for his uncle’s place.

“I may have said I was spending the holidays with you,” he says sheepishly, finally looking up at Eddie.

Eddie levels him an unimpressed look and then, in an even voice, he says, “Okay. So you’re coming home with me.”

“No,” Steve says. “No. I swear I’ll be fine. It’ll be nice even. Relaxing, having some time to myself.” It sounds weak even to his own ears, so he’s not surprised when Eddie doesn't let up.

“Uh huh, sure. You come sit by me when I’m doing my virtual D&D sessions even though you don’t play because you hate being alone for that many hours, but you want me to believe you’ll be alright being alone for more than a week over the holidays?”

God, it's so not fair bringing up how needy Steve is right now. Steve only pretty recently realized how codependent he and Robin were. They spent almost all of their free time together before she started dating Chrissy and when she moved in with Chrissy and Eddie took her bedroom in their apartment, he had to actively stop himself from monopolizing all of Eddie's time because he doesn't deal well with being alone.

He keeps finding himself almost meandering into Eddie’s room first thing in the morning because spending any amount of time without someone’s voice filling his ears is unbearable to him. Even just having someone in his presence, even if they weren't talking, is better than being alone.

He tries to save face by saying, “I swear I’m fine being alone—“

“Nope, you’re coming home with me,” Eddie says, cutting Steve off, his voice final. “It’ll be a tight squeeze since my uncle’s place is pretty small, but he’ll be glad to have someone to talk sports with, so—you’re coming.”

And this is why Steve has been trying to avoid this conversation so hard for weeks now, skirting around the truth with half-answers and changing the subject because he knew Eddie wasn't going to drop it once he knew.

He really has no choice but to accept or else Eddie won't shut up about it. Or worse, he’ll tell Robin and she’s definitely not going to drop it. And she’ll be disappointed that he lied and she’ll make him drive to her parents’ house and threaten to come get him if he refuses and it’ll spoil her Christmas with Chrissy and her parents. And he doesn't want that, obviously.

This is the first time Robin’s been serious about someone and all he wants is for her to spend her Christmas in love and happy and not worrying about him.

So he says, “Fine. Fine, I’ll go home with you.”

As much as he doesn't want to insert himself into someone else’s holiday plans, he doubly doesn't want to ruin Robin’s Christmas.

“Great. We leave tomorrow afternoon.”

The triumphant smile on Eddie’s face doesn't lessen the growing guilt and unease in stomach.

He really was going to be fine, spending the holidays alone. It would have been quiet and he would have hated every second of the silence, but he could have handled it.

His parents were never super into the Christmas spirit part of Christmas anyway. They never had traditions or decorated the house or anything. Growing up, Christmas was mostly about the gifts—not that he was complaining. He always had the newest toys or video game consoles, so for the most part, he was happy enough to skip the rest of it.

It was only when he was dating Nancy and saw how her family gathered for the holidays and spent time together that he realized that his Christmases were always kind of lonely even when his parents were around.

So after college, when he and Robin moved in together, they started to make their own traditions for the holidays, decorating their apartment and wearing matching pajamas and FaceTiming Robin’s parents on Christmas morning.

This would have been the first Christmas since he started having actual Christmas traditions that he’d be spending it alone. So yeah, it would have sucked, but it would have been worth it if it meant Robin got to have her Hallmark Christmas movie moment.

And now he’s apparently going to the Munson’s for Christmas.

At least now Robin won't actually kill him when she gets back and finds out what he did for the holidays.

read the rest on ao3

[shanesbluechicken]

Jealous Shane

TW: heavy language

Gender: neutral

Oh he gets jealous alright.

During his glorious gridball days the word jealousy wasn't even in his vocabulary. It developed with time due to his self image slowly getting worse over the years.

There is no way he is going to admit or realize it even if you hit him with an advertising poster that says "YOU'RE JEALOUS".

Shane will notice a sour taste on his tongue and a painful twist in his stomach whenever he gets jealous, but he won't give that feeling a name. In his mind he is convinced that he doesn't care what you do and with who. But it's eating him alive.

But he will complain to Emily, Sam or his chickens about it.

"It really sounds like you're jealous."

"Bullshit. Your mom is jealous."

👁👄👁

If he hears it often enough he might admit it.

Once you're in a relationship with him he will work on himself though and will actually be less territorial. Because you chose him for a reason right? You don't seem like someone he can't trust being alone with certain pretty people.

But he still side eyes those people and feel free to tell him when he crosses a line with his possessive behavior.

I mean he won't lock you inside a cage or not let you hang out with other people. What he can and will do is be grumpy and upset about it.

"They're obviously interested."

"They just asked for directions."

"That was just a distraction."

"Shane, they didn't even ask for my number."

"You could see it in their eyes, they-"

"They literally just wanted the directions."

"Until they don't!"

He KNOWS he has nothing to worry about and that he can 100% trust you, but he is also convinced that you deserve a better partner.

But as I said tell him when he goes to far and he will immediately hit the breaks.

He will get less jealous throughout the relationship with his own hard work and your support.

You sometimes still spot a frown and glare here and there and when someone the both of you don't know hits on you he's RIGHT BY YOUR SIDE

"Oh wow hello DARLING."

"Love of my life."

"The yee to my haw."

"The center of my world."

"The light of my existence."

This is effective because 1) the person quietly leaves since this is too cringe to witness and 2) he loves embarrassing you (on a non-extreme level of course, everything here is all fun and games)

But if you do the same to him with these petnames he can and will make LOUD gagging sounds.

Masterlist

[ggidolsmuts]

Fromis App Part 13: (F)App Developer - Fromis_9 Nagyung

"Nagyung, you wanted me to come here? Where's Saerom?" She's sitting at the CEO's desk, typing away on her laptop.

"Oh, over here!" Nagyung waves lively at you, bouncing in the chair. "We have a job to do!"

"We do? Where's Saerom?"

"She's on a business trip, and yes, we have to work." You find yourself nodding before something strikes you.

"Nagyung, what exactly do you do here?"

"I'm Assistant CEO, or Assistant to the CEO, and I'm the app developer."

"How can you be an assistant and the app developer?"

"I help Saerom when she needs it, and when she doesn't need it, I develop the app."

"What do you help Saerom with?" Nagyung hems and haws, suddenly looking flustered.

"I perform various functions in a variety of situations," she manages to say formally.

"That told me nothing, what do you do?"

"A-a multitude of things, you know, many of them, a cornucopia of errands—" Nagyung waves her hands around vaguely.

"Sure, I'll take your word for it. And the rest of the app team does it when you're busy?"

"Team? What team?"

"The development team, for the app? Who do you discuss stuff with?"

"My rubber duck! There is no team, I am the app developer."

"Like, the only app developer? Is that why it's so slow, why there's so few people on the app? You need to scale!"

"Yah! It takes time you know? To come up with ideas to implement, and I have so many other ideas, so it takes time to get around to the Fromis App!"

"Fine, what do you need me to do then?"

"Oh, be my code peer and watch me as I code, that's what Saerom would do."

"Really? Saerom reviews your code?"

"Yeah, that's how I got the position in the first place!"

"How did you get the position in the first place?" you ask, incredulous.

"Oh, it was between me and Chaeng, wasn't really close though, Chaeng's code looked like she wrote it with her feet. She said my code looked like I just sat on the keyboard, but Saerom agreed with me in the end and made me the developer."

"That explains so much..." you mutter under your breath. "Never mind, sure, I'll watch, what are you doing today?"

"Just running some unit tests? I finished up a feature that lets one more person onto the platform, just needs to pass the tests and off to production it goes." Shiftily Nagyung looks around, peering outside the office to see if anyone's watching. She presses a button and the glass walls turn opaque. "And let's have some fun, I finally get you to myself."

"Work hard, play hard hmm?"

"Yup!" Nagyung beckons you over to Saerom's chair, and you sit down before she gets in your lap, spreading her legs as she pulls the two of you towards the desk. She's trapped between you and the desk, and your hands find their way around her midriff. "I can feel your python extending already!" She grinds herself on top of you, and you groan as she gives you an impromptu lapdance. Cheekily she kisses your jaw, "I can't wait to import your package into me."

"Nerdy dirty talk? That's a first." Your hands unbutton her tight pants and pull the zipper down.

"You like it? I can't wait for you to overflow my container, maybe we can init a baby together... Like my code, my body has no exception handling, it's so unsafe." You promptly button her pants again.

"Okay that is more worrying than sexy, your code has no exception handling?"

"That's what you got out of it?"

"When you still have work to do, yes."

"Let's just play first, then work later?" Nagyung pouts, pulling your hands back to her pants.

"How about a little bit of both, how many tests do you have?"

"Fifteen, I think."

"Okay, for every test you pass, I'll pleasure you for 4 seconds, for every test you fail, you have to pleasure me for 4 seconds, deal?"

"And if they all pass?"

"Then we can have fun."

"Okay!" You idly fondle Nagyung as she starts typing, but you don't play too hard with her, making sure she can still do her work. "And done!" The two of you watch with bated breath as the tests run—7 failed and 8 passed. "What now?"

You're back to unbuttoning her pants, sliding them down a little. "I'll pleasure you first, then you pleasure me." Nagyung tries to work on your jeans blind, and you help her out by pushing them down a little.

"Or we pleasure each other at the same time." Her hands slip under your boxers as yours slip under her panties, and the two of you play with each other, stroking and rubbing all over. You gently part her lips, running your fingers along her labia and collecting her wetness. Nagyung shudders and moans as you bring a thumb to her clit. She pays back in kind, a hand stroking your shaft before running a finger over your tip, gently teasing the underside of your head. You hiss and grab her arm, forcing her to stop.

"I owe you 4 more seconds." You make the 4 seconds of pleasure feel like 40 as you frig her intensely, and Nagyung cries out loud as she rushes towards her climax.

"Fuck, oh fuck! No!" she whimpers as you pull away at the last second, leaving her keeled over the laptop without satisfaction. Your fingers draw circles over her abdomen, leaving her wanting more.

"Keep working."

Nagyung whines, but her hands reach for the keyboard again. Her head is still fuzzy from the near-climax, and her fixes are sloppy, causing the program to error out and all the tests to be skipped. She owes you a minute of pleasure.

"What, no!"

"That counts, none of the tests passed."

"They never even ran!"

"Because of your fault! One minute of pleasure please." Nagyung pouts, but she starts rubbing you again, stroking you with a firm grip. You feel her all over for the minute, your hands snaking under her top, cupping her perky breasts, rubbing her tummy—you touch her everywhere but between her legs.

"Enough, back to coding." You briefly brush her slit, and Nagyung shudders before reluctantly going back to the keyboard. You're content to continue roaming her body with your hands as she taps on the laptop.

That is, until you see her commit a cardinal sin. You grab her arms and pull them away from the keyboard, and she's pinned between you and the desk as you lean forward to whisper in her ear.

"Nagyung, did you do what I think you just did?"

"N-No? What do you mean?"

"Did you just comment out some of the tests?" Nagyung tries to hit Ctrl-Z and undo her work, but you stop her, and her handiwork is clear as day. "That is very very bad Nagyung."

"B-But I can't figure out how to fix it right now!"

"You still shouldn't do that, on your knees." Nagyung slides off you, and as she turns to face you it is clear what her punishment is. She reaches for your shaft as your hands go to her head. Firmly you push your tip past her lips, and her tongue welcomes you with licks and flicks.

"Mmm!" Nagyung squeezes your thighs as you get deeper into her, and you slow down but keep pushing.

"You can take it, keep going." Your cock looks extra big in Nagyung's mouth, and she pants as you put more of yourself into her. She coats your shaft with saliva, and it starts leaking out the sides of her mouth. Your fingers tighten their grip on her hair. "Okay?"

Nagyung looks up at you and hums assent. "Hmm hmm!" You start moving her head back and forth while lightly thrusting yourself.

"Touch yourself!" Nagyung's hand disappear from your thighs, and her arm starts moving quickly, jilling herself while she looks up at you. You start pumping yourself faster, and Nagyung's moans are interrupted by your thrusts.

"Mmm, mmghk! Guhhlk! Haghkk..." The resulting sounds are obscene, gagging sounds mixed with pleasured moans as you go faster than she's used to. But she doesn't tap out, so you keep going, and you fingers twist in her hair and you hold her there. Your grunts are the only sound in Saerom's office as you manually put Nagyung on mute, dumping your load into her mouth and down her throat.

"Mmm fuck!" you groan with a relish as you pull out of Nagyung's mouth. Nagyung continues touching herself, her arms working overtime even as you pull her up to her feet. She whines, but you make her sit back in your lap.

"Can I cum?"

"Are you going to comment out unit tests in the future?"

"No I won't! Please?"

"Maybe you'll program properly with your head clear, fine." You brush Nagyung's hand aside and plunge your own fingers into her. Nagyung squeals at your larger fingers inside her, and all it takes is a few rapid schlicks before she twitching in your lap, coating your digits in her juices. She goes limp externally, but internally she is overclocked, spasming and contracting around you rapidly.

"Ah! Damn..." Nagyung sighs as she comes down, content. "That was good."

"Ready to get back to work?"

"Do I have to? Can't you just bend me over the desk?"

"I think Saerom would not be happy that work wasn't done, besides I need a bit of time."

"Fine." You take Nagyung's hand and suck her fingers clean.

"There, now you can use the keyboard again." You lower your voice to a whisper, "And once you're done I'm going to eat you up."

With the promise of more and post-orgasm clarity Nagyung is extra motivated to finish, and her head is clear as she quickly fixes her prior mistakes. Soon, more tests start to pass—4, then 3, then 2 failures. You spend more and more time bringing her close to her next orgasm, and she has enough time to get you hard again.

"Okay, hopefully this fixes everything." Nagyung takes a deep breath and runs the tests. She squeals when it comes out all green. "Yay, commit and push!" She types a random sequence of letters as the commit message and pushes it.

"Wait, what about a pull request? QA testing?"

"Don't care, I'm the only developer! We're done!" You close the laptop and shove it to the side.

"No, you're done." You push Nagyung off you and stand up. Like a computer program you do exactly as she says and bend her over the desk. With a hand on her back and one on her hips you pin her there and open up her port.

"Oh fuck, yes!" You plug yourself in Nagyung, and then you unplug, and then you plug in again. The two of you form a wet USB link, male and female connectors plugging and unplugging over and over. It is also a USB-C connection, and on every thrust you plug smoothly into her, causing Nagyung to power up and cry out in pleasure. To prove the point you flip Nagyung on to her back and plunge into her once more—no issues there, no need to flip her back, and she moans once more.

You power-cycle Nagyung's mind, making her body twitch and jerk as you fuck her through multiple orgasms. You're quickly rushing to your own end, intending to transfer your genetic data to her through the Fill Tight Pussy protocol.

"Nagyung I'm gonna—"

"Inside!" she shrieks. Her body feels you throb harder and faster inside her, and she cries and wraps her legs around you, making it a secure FTP transfer. You hump her against the desk, and soon you are forced to execute your biologicial programming. Nagyung's subjected to a pussy overflow attack, and you inject your payload straight into her with a groan. Nagyung pulls you into her chest, and you leave love bites all over her neck as you finish delivering your load.

The two of you power down as you lie quietly on Saerom's desk. You kiss the woman-in-the-middle, and she giggles as you brush her hair aside.

"Oh, now you're gentle."

"You're the one who wanted me to bend you over."

"True, that was great." You eventually disconnect from Nagyung, a river of cum spilling on to Saerom's desk.

"Think she'll notice?" you ask as you hurriedly wipe the surface clean and rearrange things to where they were.

"Nah, she's not back for another week, it will be cleaned and wiped down properly by then." Nagyung reassures you as the two of you fix your clothes. You notice something odd out of the corner of your eye.

"Nagyung, is that a camera?"

"What?!" The two of you stare at the black orb in her ceiling, unseen until now. "Oh my god it is, why did she install one here?"

"Probably because I fucked Jiwon in here..." you groan, ruffling your hair in frustration.

"Really? Her too?" Nagyung interrupts herself. "Never mind, let's hurry up and go talk to Hayoung, maybe she can delete it for us."

"Hayoung? Why?"

"She's head of security, she has access to the camera feeds."

"Oh, let me go talk to her then, you should go back to, umm, doing whatever it is you do."

"Sounds good, very important stuff." Nagyung taps her laptop authoritatively. "Thanks for a good time, Master."

You do a double-take. "Master?"

"Yeah, I was reading about that, you're the Scrum Master, what we did was a scrum right? Lots of bodies moving around, some work got done, your hips were agile. You were leading it, so you're the Master."

"Oh god, that is so wrong but I don't have time to explain it, don't call anyone else Master."

"Sure Master, bye!" You shake your head and follow the directions to security. It is deserted save for a panel of six monitors. To your horror each monitor has a clip playing, clips of Nagyung and you—Nagyung sitting in your lap, you facefucking Nagyung, you fingering Nagyung, you pounding Nagyung, Nagyung’s orgasmic expression as she cums, and finally, your cum leaking out of Nagyung and on to the desk. Taking your chance, you hurry to the computer, to see if you could delete or wipe the archives.

"So..." You jump at Hayoung's voice behind you. "Tell me, are these real or fake? Hmm? Are they fake or real? Are they not fake and therefore real, or are they not real and therefore fake? Well?"

"I umm, I, I..." you're struggling to process what she just said, something about real and fake. You tremble as she places a hand on your shoulder.

"Relax, tell you what, why don't we discuss this somewhere else, and then you can tell me whether this is real or fake." The grip on your shoulder tightens.

"Y-Yes Hayoung."

"Good, your place or mine?"

A/N: Slowly getting around to finishing this up, credit to Byakko who I shoot the shit with and came up with Nakko the app developer. Clearly the most unrealistic thing in this story is that she knows what a unit test is. Anyways thanks for reading, I just went ham with dumb metaphors and lots of random references lol

[nonbinary-octopus]

Our apartment staircase is missing a handrail. It's sort of got one, but only on the lower half and it's the kind that's more "don't fall off" than "don't fall down". There ought to be one on the other side against the wall, and going all the way up, for actual support.

In our discussions before moving in, we were told it should be installed by the time we moved in

it was not. the reasoning was that apparently our desire for it to be a proper length (as the ones in our previous apartment had not been, ending too soon on both the upward and downward sides) combined with the stairs not being split into two smaller sets of stairs, meant that sourcing a long enough handrail was proving difficult.

They had it on order at Lowes! we were told. It just isn't here yet!

For three and a half months, we were told this. Today I went to enquire again, and was told that, alas, their vendor has an order at Lowes for this and other stuff, and Lowes isn't gonna deliver it until the whole order is ready, and it was supposed to be ready a few weeks ago but hasn't been yet...

I mentioned that one of my roommates fell the other day, at the top of the stairs because there isn't even the partial support railing there. Fortunately, my roommate is uninjured, but we'd really like to avoid that happening again.

And I asked for a date when we could expect a railing.

The manager hemmed and hawed a little, really can't predict when Lowes will deliver, but! She'll call the head maintenance guy and see if he can get one from one of the apartments that's currently empty ("as a stopgap?" I asked. "until the full size one gets here?")

Half an hour later, he’d arrived to badly install it

first thing he said to me was "how'd you manage to fall?" which is a great start, heavy sarcasm

He was going to put the railing at about shoulder height, until I pointed out that it was way higher than the other rail, at which point he looked at me and said in a you're full of shit and I hate you voice "you want it that low?"

yes, I said, because that side was at a reasonable height

so he lowered it to just above that, no checking beyond eyeballing it and asking me in a very impatient tone if it was about right

he would've attached the middle support at a height that would've put the top at about ankle height if I hadn't pointed out it was nowhere near parallel. At this point I was thinking "If I were doing this, I'd measure, and also check where the studs were," but he was very clearly in a bad mood and wouldn't take that suggestion well (he's never taken feedback well, even when it's very helpful such as "you're caught on that thing." He'd rather struggle on his own I guess. or in this case do an extremely negligent lackluster job)

so I resigned myself to fixing it later and watched him finish putting it up poorly

It's still not parallel, by the way. I measured after he left, and the bottom is four or five inches higher (relative to the steps) than the top. It's also still higher than the other rail.

and it doesn't reach the top of the stairs either. In the last apartment, at least the railing ended at the end of the steps (for proper support it should extend beyond the top stair a bit). This time, it ended two or three steps down.

also the screws holding bottom support piece to the wall weren’t fully in, and a gentle tug on the railing was enough to pull them out entirely.

and I didn't take a picture of this, but one of the screws in the top support was just placed in a hole, not doing anything whatsoever. I watched him realize this and leave it there.

So, after he left, I took some pics to document how shittily he'd slapped the railing onto the wall, and then took it down to reattach properly later today. Honestly the way it was attached was more of a hazard than not having one at all, so it’s not staying like that even temporarily

[ofallthingsnasty]

I just remembered that one ridiculously cute thing in uni during the body donor class - for context: we dental students got pooled together with the meds during the pre-clinical semesters a lot, and that class was no different.

We were separated in two main groups, and one body donor was shared between 12 students - coming in from Monday to Thursday. On Fridays, you could come in until 12 and just look at the donors without any supervision, you just needed your coat and name tag. And I remember going in before the situs oral and trying to understand how blood flows through the heart and then one of the meds (super intimidating buff guy) saw me struggle and was like '... Hey do you want me to explain that to you?' and then we sat there - him with a whole heart in hand, explaining it all to me, more than happy to help. Not gonna lie, I had a bit of a crush on that guy for the rest of the semester. We weren't even in the same group, so we never saw each other during prep hours but I always had my eyes peeled for him during lectures haha tw.anatomical stuff (i'm german so if my translations are a little off then i'm sorry hah), cadavers, just fluff

Long story short - I'm thinking about that with Law. You and Chopper are at the same table, come in every Friday to review the material of the week, both a little on the not-so-studious side. (Don't get me wrong, you go to every lecture - but those suckers are two hours long and not the only class you have. It's easy to lose track, especially when all you wanna do is catch up on sleep during the weekends.)

You pull your donor out of the body bag, lay them down and go over your notes, some sessions more and some less successful. The two of you are usually not alone, either - there is always someone else rifling around on their own table. Today it's a guy with a severe expression and some earrings. You've seen him in the lecture hall but you and Chopper aren't in the same group as him, so that's really all you know. You get through this week's lecture notes just fine - until it's time for the heart. The way blood gets fed through the atriums and ventricles, how the pressure changes, systole and diastole, the coronary arteries... You two are feeling beyond lost and so, so close to simply giving up - it's just too much and too intricate (at least for someone who has heard all of that info only once, maybe twice). But then there is also that other student - and maybe, just maybe, he knows more than you two do. It's not unusual to ask - and so that's what you do.

Law can't be assed, actually.

He's reviewing his notes, trying to get his own studying done. He's really not the type to do tutoring, doesn't have the patience for it. But you two are loud - hemming and hawing over your own cadaver and if he has to hear you confuse the mitral valve with the tricuspid one more time, then he's going to get a migraine. What are twenty minutes of his time if it means that you get done with your little idiot session and finally leave the hall? So he sighs and motions you to come closer. He's surprisingly good at explaining. The heart of his donor in one hand, a tissue forceps in the other, he walks you through every fact one would want to know about the organ. You probably have stars in your eyes while he talks because finally, finally you're grasping the material - and really, it might be confusing at first, but it's not that hard. He even lets Chopper regurgitate it all to him and has the two of you giggling over it. Law is just glad you two morons are finally having your little eureka moment because it means that you'll be off in a matter of minutes.

But no good deed goes unpunished.

It's then that you notice his tattoos through the nitrile gloves and suddenly he's the most fascinating living guy around (the most fascinating guy is dead on table 5, with golf ball sized cysts in his liver, sorry Law). He gets bombarded with questions, you and Chopper all over him, way too loud, too excited, too fucking annoying. He's already regretting his little act of charity.

And not only do you have the audacity to ask him to explain fetal circulation (because, please, please it's so confusing) as well, no, from that moment on, you're all over him very goddamn Friday and he's been added to three different group chats the moment Chopper and you leave the hall.

[eganeyes]

demarco/macon hcs bouncing around in my head like a pinball incredibly self indulgent and will probably not go anywhere bc i am Not a cohesive writer but this has been in my head and in my notes app for so long it has to come out

benny is literally the chillest person in the us air force hes not repressed to like buck he's just genuinely never really Fazed and even if he was hed be like "well alright" and continue on, like go with the flow is his life motto he's achieved the ultimate zen

so meeting macon and realizing he has Feelings doesnt put a single blip on this mans stability

this: demarco has an intelligence kink. enter macon. (@blood-mocha-latte posted a snippet of her demacon fic abt this exact thing and i have yet to recover)

some more on this bc i cant stop even if i wanted to:

he definitely had a passing crush on buck and kenny bc wowsies they’re so smart

completely platonic ofc ride or die w buck his bestie ground crew is untouchable etc etc

every pilot has got to be like Above Intelligence though and he’s Suffering from it

had a brief hard on for bucky when the man doled out a highly complex pyramid scheme for their imaginary postwar pilot gig whilst drunk and never recovered from the shame bc the next minute the man falls into a ditch with curt

100% enamored with macon ever since the man started elaborating from simple 3rd grade physics to college level dissertation titles. 

that gif of benny humming and hawing at the mud stump while macon explains physics to him has me by the throat

bc benny is genuinely Very Put Together he pursues macon with a singular intensity that frightens macon just a smidge

im talking quality time to the maxxxx, randomly complimenting macons hands, buying him lunch, popping by his base to make friends with all of macons friends, breakfasts and morning runs, polishing forts together, etc etc

please do not ask about the logistics of him popping in and out of macons base i don’t even know how far to each other's current air base is lets consider it 3 cms apart (im like 80% certain they arent even in the same country lmao but whatever its just rot in my brain let me be)

apparently bennys dad is a designer so lets say benny gifts macon with custom flight jacket patches, sweaters, beanie hats, scarves, saying shit like take these with you to your flights and remember me or something insane like that

going with him to doctor appointments for his neck, pressing arms to arms for comfort

meeting meatball is An Ordeal

he either brings meatball with him to the tuskegee base/his flight school the very first time he gets there to rack up more points with macon and co

or he takes macon on a date (will he actually say its a date? who knows) and introduces meatball to him while walking the dog together which is alwayssss such a cute first date/getting to know each other idea oml

macon, completely and utterly flustered bc why is this white boy steadfastly giving him gifts and taking him to lunches and writing him letters and saying shit like hey you going on a test flight with that new plane tomorrow right heres our pic i got printed yesterday put it up with you so you wont miss me yeah

its his superstitious lucky charm now ofc

macon wearing the scarf hes gifted and the boys jeering and whistling every time he shows up wearing it oh

alex drawing a sketch of him and benny laughing together in the officers bar and leaving it in his footlocker

macon then slowly gifting practical little trinkets he cooked up himself for benny,,,benny keeping everything even when some of them get broken bc they're self made trinkets bc they're from his guy guys,,,they're from his guy,,,,

one day macon greets benny by running a hand down from his bare elbow to the tips of his fingers (im talking pride and prejudice, bridgerton levels of insane hand grazing) and benny went completely offline and somebody probably gale had to pinch his side to kickstart him back to life and whatever came out of his mouth next was comprehensible only to meatball

benny leaving meatball with macon and them bonding,,,,,,meatball resting his head on macons lap/feet while macon does Important Paperwork/Calculations,,,,,,,,

also its soooo funny how those two are the shortest of the boys is this actually important to the plot (there is no plot btw) or even in general? no. is it something i noted and kept close to heart? yes.

is this a modern au? a post war au? a no pow au? i literally cannot tell you because i do not know

again just incredible self indulgence sorry

[husbandhoshi]

2:17am + coups? author’s choice ~~~~

[2:17]

the night presses into your eyes, two indigo thumbs deep in the sockets.

february is an unkind month. the air is cold and wet and lives in your bones, even under the weight of the blanket you have wrapped around you.

i should really go to bed, you tell yourself, but sleep is a capricious lover, and it feels like the kind of 2 AM you spend rearranging your fridge magnets and staring out the fog-damp window, searching for the swallowed up moon.

it's a bad habit, which is what you like calling all the broken things in your apartment. the whine of the central heating, the dishwasher you have to ram your hip into to close, the missing handle of your pantry cabinet. you like to joke that your rent also pays for whatever sleep anomaly befalls you.

seungcheol has tried to fix every single one of those things. he rolls his white tee to the shoulders, americana smile almost the perfect kind of flex tape.

you tell him you prefer it this way. there's a groove in the pantry door the shape of your hand. you think better at night.

now, you're reminded of what could possibly be the worst sin of your apartment—the front door squeaks like a bastard, and this time it's loud enough to startle.

it's one more thing that you refuse to fix. this, too, you want written into the dna of your home because it means seungcheol's back from another late night at work.

when he first moved in, he had really tried to live quietly as to not wake you. hushed step, held breath, a ghost as he wordlessly slipped into bed. but you both know seungcheol's all big voice, big laugh, big hands searching for your warmth—asking for anything else was like living with all the lights off.

(one night, seungcheol attempted getting ready for bed in the complete darkness. he was doing remarkably well until he stubbed his toe on the nightstand and unleashed the loudest string of whisper-curses you had ever heard.

welcome home, loser, you had said, full blast into the pitch black, and you both laughed, heady and full bellied and in love.)

i want to know when you come home, you had told him, and only after he hemmed and hawed about a sleep schedule did he fully sink into the warmth of being so loved by you.

as certain as just about anything in your apartment, you can predict exactly what happens next.

the thud of his bag as it hits the floor—the keychain on the zipper rattles. the dull click of the deadbolt. the terrifying surety of his strong arms wrapped tight around your middle.

he doesn't ask if you had a hard day at work. he doesn't ask about your february bones or why the magnets are out of order.

much like he knows about all of the ailments these four walls hold, he knows you.

"i missed you," he says, smushed against your cheek.

"you always miss me," you reply. you thread your hand through his own, eager, never tired of the mondays or tuesdays or any day after that because he gets to do this at the end of it.

"and?" he laughs. his lips are soft on your neck. he's cold from outside but he is never without warmth and you think that's your favorite thing about him. "permission to defrost under the blanket?"

"hm," you say, pretending to think. the truth is that the answer is always the same, but no one keeps him on his toes quite like you.

" 'cause i can think of a whole lot of other ways to warm up."

"hopefully one of those involves a long shower."

"are you propositioning me?"

your back is to his chest, but the honey-drip smile he's got pressed to the crown of your head is all but secret.

he smells like sweat and car freshener but the second truth of today is that it's like home and 2 AMs and you and that's the terrible thing about being in love. you never were the type to share, and now there are two pairs of slippers by the front door.

"i'm propositioning that you have a hot date with a bottle of shampoo," you tease.

"and my beautiful wife?"

"your beautiful wife has work tomorrow."

as per usual, he's not listening—his smile has turned to kisses, and it's all over for you.

a hand up your hoodie, his laughter on your tongue, the gauzy, too-dim kitchen light. the days are long and home is made of many creaking, tired things, but it's this moment that you'll always want to return to, again and again and again.

[softrozene]

“Stop Pushing Everyone Away” - Arthur and John

From an old event I did called the Sad Yee Haw Hours: 

Anon asked: For the sad yee haw hours can I please get # 16 with john x reader x arthur i hope you're good and thanks in advanced!

rdr2 masterlist

Thank you, Honey and I hope you’re ready for your heart to sting a bit.

Originally published on May 18, 2020

Arthur Morgan x Reader (Gender-Neutral/Non-Binary) x John Marston

Scenario Starter Number 16: “Stop pushing everyone away.”

Warnings: Angst, Arthur and John need a hug

Words: ~700

-

“Stop pushing everyone away.”

You stare at them with bewilderment. Arthur is petting your horse trying to get it to relax from your current state that made it stressed. John is holding onto your wrist holding the reins and they both stare at you with sadness.

“Were you really just about to leave without telling anyone?” John asks the hurt evident in his voice.

The burning stares they give you makes the guilt in you build up fast and ready to burst. Of course, you deny it, ignoring their first sentence.

“No. I was going to take a ride. I need it,” You murmur.

Arthur challenges you. “Alright. Let’s go take a ride then. John and I can stay a bit behind that way you are safe and not alone.”

“No. I can go by myself. Done it plenty of times before,” You say rather harshly.

Arthur glares at you and John feels the tension. He is of course siding with Arthur. He speaks in a rough harsh voice as well. “Done it plenty of times before when you were okay. It’s obvious you haven’t been okay lately. We just don’t want-“

“Me to be alone? What you don’t trust me? Let me lay out some harsh truths here and now. I love both of you dearly but it isn’t going to work out. I need to push you away because I want to leave. This gang has turned toxic. You two are always clashing at each other’s throats for my attention and putting your friendship on the line? It is not worth it just for me. You both have better things than me. You have each other and that friendship is so much better than just being sweet on me,” You state.

The two stare at you and the dread fills their gut as they realize you are not going to come back if they let you leave. They don’t want you to leave. The look in your eye suggests that they can’t make you stay either.

You shake off John’s grip on your wrist and the look of hurt flashed across his face. It makes your chest sting but you ignore it to glare at him before turning that glare to Arthur.

“You are a bit late in demanding I don’t push everyone away. I made everyone at camp hate my guts now and it ain’t that hard with everyone on edge thanks to Dutch. I am almost as despicable as Micah. Nobody but you two will miss me. It’s time I go and start fresh. I… Care about you two. Please take care of each other.”

Your body tenses and the two glance at each other before agreeing on something. They agree to let you go. It is going to hurt but you are right. This group has gotten toxic and maybe if you leave now you can have a fresh start. Something the two don’t even dream of having.

Even if they agree on it they try once more verbally to get you to stay.

“If you really cared ‘bout us you wouldn’t leave us like this,” John says going straight for the guilt-tripping.

Arthur only gives you that one sad look that tears your insides apart. “(Name), please don’t do this…”

They accepted that you’re going to go but a part of them wishes that you’ll stay and fall with them on this path that is inevitably going to destroy the gang. You don’t. You don’t say anything to them as you dig some pressure into your horse and get the already anxious horse to full speed.

You don’t hear them call for you and you don’t look back. It’s finally time to heal and move on.

The two males watch as your horse takes you away. Arthur does his best to ignore the pounding of his heart and the need to chase after you. He instead glances at John whose eyes are misty. John tries to smile but it looks too sad.

“Nobody wants to stay with us, do they?”

[thebrownstone]

Anniversary Fic Exchange

June 13th marked one year of our server, so in celebration we hosted a fanfic event! Each participant submitted a prompt and was randomly assigned a prompt in return. You can read all the fics by going to the event’s ao3 collection or on this tumblr post. Thank you to all our participants! And, again, happy birthday to our little server. We love you dearly. 

key: title by author (tumblr)  [rating*, word count, chapter count]

prompt

*G - general audience, T - teen and up audience, M - mature, E - explicit; 18+

Tiempo de Vals by 14carrotgold (@14carrotghoul) [T, 5.5k, 1/1]

Alex was having a perfectly wonderful time when the very last person he wanted to see came waltzing into view - Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor.

Baby, it's Cold Inside by Celaestis (@celaestis1) [E, 9.8k, 1/1]

Acting like they’re cold to have an excuse to cuddle or share clothes or blankets.

It's Getting Hot in Here (So Hot!) by Celaestis (@celaestis1) [E, 10.8k, 1/1]

Acting like they’re cold to have an excuse to cuddle or share clothes or blankets.

All The Ways I Love You by Treluna [G, 1.5k, 1/1]

People think they're doing it on purpose but they're really not - they're truly THAT nauseatingly in love with each other.

Trick Rider by OrchidScript (@orchidscript) [E, 2.5k, 1/1]

Chaotic night with the super six ft. Henry saying yee-haw and any character saying the dialogue "Can I offer you a nice Shirley Temple in this trying time?"

jump in with your heart first by stutteringpeach (@stutteringpeach) [E, 7.5k, 1/1] 

he moved in the day we met and never left.

the beagle, the ghost and the wardrobe by stutteringpeach (@stutteringpeach) [M, 10.9k, 1/1]

he moved in the day we met and never left.

questions and answers by elegantdumpling [M, 1.6k, 1/1]

"There are years that ask questions and years that answer." - Zora Neale Hurston

“You jump, I jump, Jack.” by Muddbloodpotter05 (@mudbloodpotter05) [M, 8.8k, 1/1]

"I just saved your life, so you're welcome."

Hoping You'll See What Your Love Means to Me by politics_and_prose (@historicallysam) [T, 2.4k, 1/1]

Nora and Alex get drunk or high and one of them starts waxing poetically about their partner and the other gets it on video to make fun of them

Always Where I Need To Be by chamel (@cha-melodius) [T, 5.4k, 1/1]

Alex can’t find his glasses again - but he has a suspect in mind for the theft.

The Wrong Classroom by viciouslyqueer [T, 2.6k, 1/1]

Alex and Henry are college professors and are accidentally assigned to teach one of each others’ classes, which is so utterly specific that they know absolutely nothing about it.

SNL | Season 45 Episode 2 | HRH Prince Henry & FSOTUS Alex Claremont-Diaz by TheLastKnownSurvivor (@xthelastknownsurvivorx) [M, 9.7k, 4/4]

"Listen, I’m trying to cut down on the innuendo. But it’s hard... so hard."

i was right there beside him all summer long by hearitinthesilence (@heartitinthesilence) [T, 3k, 1/1]

“You really thought you could get away with this?”

pull the truth right from my lips by athousandrooms (@athousandrooms) [M, 2.4k, 1/1]

"I think someone's a little needy."

There's Smoke in my Eyes (and love in this kitchen) by vonPeeps (@vonpeepsisback) [T, 1.8k, 1/1]

"I didn't know it was possible to burn scrambled eggs to a crisp without actively trying to, sweetheart, but it's still the nicest thing a date's ever done for me."

don't you let it go by smc_27 (@smc-27) [M, 6.9k, 1/1]

Henry blinks into the mirror once, twice, and then frowns, wondering who the brown skinned, curly haired man is that’s staring back at him.

No Sense or Sensibility by InexplicablyMine (@inexplicablymine) [T, 5.5k, 1/1]

“Don’t look at me I thought we were getting Ice Cream.”

Uncut not Uncultured by InexplicablyMine (@inexplicablymine) [E, 6.4k, 3/3]

“Don’t look at me I thought we were getting Ice Cream.”

Promises, Promises by EmmaLostInWonderland (@emmalostinwonderland) [E, 1k, 1/1]

Henry and Alex explore Henry using 'every inch of authority in his blood.

of fathers and sons by adreama (@adreamareads) [T, 7.6k, 1/1]

"Not a win, no, but certainly not a disgraceful performance."

peace by raysletters (@raysletters) [M, 14.2k, 1/1]

Sky High AU

Burnin' Through The Sky by cricket (@cricketnationrise) [E, 5k, 1/1]

museum curator x lawyer au

dibs - (informal) The right to use or enjoy something exclusively or before anyone else, often expressed as an interjection by Poutini (@Cheesecurdsgravyandfries) [E, 1k, 1/1]

"I walked into this party and someone yelled 'dibs!'"

Dibs, the extended cut by Poutini (@Cheesecurdsgravyandfries) [E, 2.4k, 1/1]

"I walked into this party and someone yelled 'dibs!'"

There's No Chocolate by logan_love [T, 2k, 1/1]

And then it was found that all the chocolate was gone.

(you just) call out my name by outofthesun [T, 3.4k, 1/1]

"Sorry, my hands are shaking."

Lost and Found by sherryvalli (@sherryvalli) [T, 3.9k, 1/1]

“Single dad Henry (non-royal) moves to the United States and meets the hurricane of Alex.”

‘Kiss,’ ‘Egg’ and ‘Meeting You’ by everwitch (@everwitch-magiks) [T, 4.9k, 1/1]

An Outside POV from the painter/painters Henry/Alex hire for getting the Brownstone ready to move in.

Dinners and Diatribes by alightlefton (@a-light-left-on) [T, 7.6k, 1/1]

“5+1 anniversaries, any kind, any pairing”

Maybe Dreams Do Come True by Softheart777 [G, 1.3k, 1/1]

"You must be dreaming"

Just Business by bleedingballroomfloor [T, 11.3k, 1/1]

wedding ringer au (but make it gay)

three grubs in a trench coat + gay brit wizard by clottedcreamfudge (@clottedcreamfudge) [E, 8.1k, 1/1]

"Can y'all stop flirting in the google doc :/"

Biggest Fan by Sirius4Life [E, 905, 1/1]

Alex and Henry meet at a Con while separately cosplaying characters who are a couple in that franchise.

Diners & Double Dates by ACDs_Coffee [T, 2.4k, 1/1]

“It’s not a date - we’re just third and fourth wheeling!”

So Quiz Me by indomitablelove (@indomitable-love) [E, 10.6k, 1/1]

“Baby, sweetheart, I love you, but what in the everloving fuck did you just say?”

Not Even At All by ifigo (@juxtaposed-variety) [M, 4.3k, 1/1]

“10 things I hate about you” style AU: “But mostly I hate the way I don't hate you, Not even close, Not even a little bit, Not even at all”

[darkwood-sleddog]

I just watched some of your bikejoring (?) videos, and I was wondering if you could talk a little about the commands/instructions you're giving them? I know absolutely nothing about dog sports, but they're really cool to watch!

I scooterjor (it's like a large, beefed out razor scooter, but for dogs) when there's two dogs in the video dryland and I'm on a steel cart when there are 3 dogs. When we have enough snow, we're always on a sled!

I use traditional english language mushing commands which are taken from horse driving, since this was the closest context to animal directional commands white colonizers (often missionaries...) had when first coming across dog sledding in the Americas. Traditional Indigenous practices typically still use their own languages.

What I use:

-Hike: meaning "go" (although I rarely if ever have to use this command, they will go regardless)

-Gee: meaning turn right

-Haw: meaning turn left

-On-by: meaning keep going past that distraction (if still moving).

-Line-Out: meaning lean into harness and hold the line tight until release. This is super important to reducing potential for tangles as well as having the dogs stay in place when asked (they are strong enough to pull through every brake I have with the exception of my snow hook and that's only dependable under certain weather conditions that are becoming rarer with climate change).

-Woah: meaning stop

The reasons these commands are used, besides tradition, is that they all end on different sounds and/or are quite distinct which makes it easier for the animal to learn and employ what is asked of them. With training animals, be it dogs or horses or cats or rats or anything else, clarity is KEY. It also ensures that when discussing directions with others in your group you aren't accidentally commanding your animals as you can say "right" and "left" freely before a decision is made.

Woah, said in a long slow tone, is universal amongst many languages and amongst many animals that work together with humans. Patricia McConnell goes over this in her book "The Other End of the Leash", which if you have any passing interest in animal behavior and the communication between people and dogs, is a good read.

Even Indigenous language commands are meant to be distinct such as in Greenlandic where they typically use "ILI" for right and "IJU" for left. (Notice how even in Greenlandic the command for right ends in that more "eeeeee" sound like "gee" vs the command for left is a more low tone. Language surrounding such simple things, such as directions, is super cool imo.

Regardless of traditional commands mushers may choose to use their own entirely. It's really up to personal choice. A lot of us also bulk out more typical commands with others that suit our specific needs.

Additional commands that i've trained:

-leave it: meaning leave that distraction alone (if already distracted and stopped). I brought this command in from regular daily obedience training. If they don't leave the distraction at this command in harness we stop them running and reset them which they do not want (stopping = boring for sled dogs) so they're usually pretty motivated to avoid having this told to them and will react pretty quickly.

-Gee over: meaning get to the right hand side of the trail (useful on walks as well)

-Haw over: meaning get to the left hand side of the trail

-Trail: get on the trail (if dog is off the trail, usually after holding them in a stay when asked to go over). We run on a multi-use trail that often has bikers and snowmobiles. Having my dogs get to the side and hold themselves there is crucial not only to the team's safety, but to be conscious of other trail users.