#i was going to caption this but honestly. i think it's better left to speak for itself

[chronicowboy]

[h0neytalk]

Practicing the Arabic Alphabet

I honestly lucked out so much taking Arabic in college and learning basic MSA reading/writing/grammar from an excellent professor but I’m gonna compile the most useful things we did in class here to help people learning on their own (this isn’t focused on resources, just strategies, might do a separate post with worksheets and videos but they’re pretty easy to find):

Get the alphabet in front of you. We had a packet with a page for every letter with the letter written in the three positions, pronunciations, names, and lines to trace and write like 100 times. And then a page with all the diacritics. These sheets abound for free online. Make yourself an alphabet packet. Watch copious videos/listen to recordings going over the letters and how they sound. Repeat it back. Work in chunks and don’t move to the next set until you can recognize and write the current set.

Tracing! Learn to write the letters right to left and with the proper order from day one. This sounds obvious but people in my class were still drawing letters left to right as isolated shapes next to each other so idk maybe it’s not. Having nice handwriting in Arabic is both satisfying and absurdly helpful. Learn how the letters connect. Spend more time than you think is necessary on this.

Write English words and sentences phonetically using diacritics and Arabic letters. Do not worry about translation and spelling. Just make the connection between shape -> sound. Use anything you have. Lists of names, entire pages from books and magazines, texts from friends, menus. Literally anything. Work through how to make those words with the new alphabet. You will learn a surprising amount about the language and pronunciation by doing this. How do you translate sounds that don’t exist? What about multiple sounds where English only has one? Read it back with the accent.

Transcribe English phonetically. Same as above but do it without the English in front of you and just listening. Make that voice to visual connection.

Hand write word lists once you get to vocab. Then type them on your laptop and phone (if you want to be able to type in Arabic, also highly recommend a keyboard cover with the letters next to the Latin alphabet). Copy all the diacritics even though that’s not necessarily how native speakers do it. I have a notebook that looks like it belongs to lunatic toddler because it just has the same words and snippets written over and over again lmao.

Finally, transcribe Arabic. If you can use something with a transcript or captions to check your work even better! But don’t check for perfect spelling, check you used mostly the right letters and marks. You will definitely smash some words together and miss a silent or elided letter or something but try and hear the difference between ع and ا or ق and ك etc. The more sources you use the better.

We did this for one full semester of 50 minute classes 3 times a week while sprinkling in some basic vocab towards the second half. It felt like forever at the time but I never lost my ability to phonetically read and write in Arabic despite 4 years of complete non-use while living in America in an area without any significant Arabic-speaking population or language presence. It is absolutely CHISELED into my brain.

[vocaliveparty]

Night Sky Patrol of Tomorrow - Design, Effects, and Extra Notes.

Design

Designed and Modeled by Maydayfireball, with some touch ups from jjinomu ! I distinctly remember sending him to her and going "yeah i dunno what to do for his shoes" and her sending him back with "no shoes." so free feet pics i guess.

ANYWAY.. Some people caught it, but he was loosely inspired by the vocaloids in the "Empty" sekai of project sekai. He's intentionally fairly monochrome, so that the wings towards the end seem even more vivid. He's meant to appear a bit hopeless and messy, like he's really down on his luck. I imagine a Piko like this would be gentle, but a little sad most of the time.

Effects

There's two Big effect points for this one, so I'll go into both.

The first is the night sky. It has an intentionally painted, flat look. It's suppose to feel like the backdrop of a stage, not like a real night sky. Like he's performing, but his heart isn't in it quite yet. I added a light dust particle effect in as well to make a contrast between it and the still background to really hammer in it's falseness.

And then of course, the climax.

Using a flat black plane behind him, i abused mmd's transparency bug to display the artwork behind him through the wings.

The wings are also directly shaped from the wings shown in the MV.

This moment wasn't just a climax for this song, but a climax for the concert as a whole. Like Piko gaining hope and a better outlook for the future thanks to those who reached out to him honestly.

Extra Notes

BOY. I apologize in advance, i have SO MANY THOUGHTS about these lyrics. If you're an english speaker, I highly recommend watching it with the closed captions on. They're a bit on the nose, even without me digging into them.

「I'm a boy who picks his battles depending on whatever suits his mood」 「No hopes for the future, I wanted to be drawn in a dream.」 「and yet I fear the future- hating tomorrow, wishing for the past.」

These are the opening lines for the song. Coming off the back of our angry streaming heart piko who longed for the past, this version of him has given up. Like there is nothing left for him to do.

「Leaving the old me behind,」 「but that night was different from all the others.」 「You took my hand...」

I like to believe, in a way, Piko would be referring to the first Piko Live Party here. Like a moment of light in a dark future, You reached out your hand and supported him.

「If this is to end as a dream, at least allow me to change yesterday...」 「I won't say anything like that, so let me keep smiling together with you, tomorrow as well.」

I've said it before, but we made the first Piko Live Party assuming it wouldn't get attention. We worked hard, but with the expectation that it wouldn't be seen by many. That's why, during this chorus, the backdrop is flat. Like a kid's play. Or, like not-quite-discovered potential.

「Even if I think that the world truly changed,」 「and even if I tried to hope or change, the future was cruel.」

The screen goes darker, and the colors become fully monochrome. It's a bit like a reality check - We're supporting Piko, but aside from us, there's not much he can do to change his fate as a discontinued vocaloid.

「Even so, the world I always watched with you was truly beautiful.」 「I still haven't forgotten that, I've placed it in my heart so I can remember.」

This is a Piko who's speaking to us from the present. I interoperate it as if he's referring to the rush of support he got, and how he'll always cherish it even if his future is bleak.

Of course, this is followed by what feelings and emotions you've given him. The colors burst forward, creating wings like the summer sky. They're a physical representation of your support and the future it's given him.

「I want to be together with you in the future, however short our time may be」 「so I'll shout "Remember this day someday in the future, whoever we are then..."」

Again, I highly recommend watching this song in particular with the closed captions turned on. It really adds to it.

I was extremely happy when Mio picked this song to cover, because I knew immediately what direction I should take this concert in at that point. I knew what I wanted to do with it from the very beginning, and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out.

[tarosin]

the great adventures of y/n and ranboo

this is an extra part to the great adventures series

summary: part two to the angst imagine (the not so great adventures of y/n tommy tubbo jack and ranboo) it’s a happier ‘ending’ please read what is written in bold

this is an “alternative ending” around 15 years into the future this doesn’t mean this is actually how the series is going to end im writing it now and including it as part of series as their friendship is already established i can confirm y/n and the group are going to have a happy ending when the series eventually comes to an end this also does not mean the series is anywhere near the end i plan on continuing the series as vlogs come out, i feel the need to confirm this now love between y/n and ranboo in this imagine is completely platonic

it had been about a month since you last streamed whereas ranboo continued to stream a few days after the fallout as he wanted to make sure you were going to be okay. even though ranboo knew this huge fallout would eventually happen, it still hurt him, especially since he knew there was no way to prevent it, the four of you in the same house mixed with the stress of being some of the most-watched content creators made living rather difficult. it was like walking on eggshells as you didn’t want to interrupt someone's stream, then there was the additional stress of obsessive fans finding out where the four of you lived, you still remember that day very vividly. you were sat in between tubbo and ranboo watching the office whilst Tommy was in an interview when you received a message from your mod.

Chris: hey y/n I received this message earlier I don’t want to scare you, but maybe get the locks changed. someone sent a message claiming this is your address *image of message from ‘fan’*

it didn’t take long for tubbo and ranboo to receive a message from their mods saying the same thing

“holy shit...”

“chances are Tommy has the message too. we shall go check around the house when Tommy is done with the interview.”

luckily no one ever showed up to the house, but the fact some people were so obsessed to the point they found your address was enough to put everyone in the house on edge. and now it was just you and ranboo in the house. you didn’t feel safe as even though ranboo promised to not let anything happen, you didn’t wanna risk it.

“we should move. there’s no point in having such a big house for two people, what are we going to use the extra space for heh? hide and seek with people who have our address. no thank you. I say we move leave this mess behind and start completely over, hell I’d feel safer in the us and that’s saying something”

ranboo agreed the house didn’t have the happiest memories attached to it anymore, it hurt walking past the hallway as it would bring back the memory of him crying into the crook of y/ns neck whilst tubbo left the house.

“let’s do it, I’ll do an early stream then we can look for houses. go take a shower. I’ll stay close to the door so you’re safe, then you can stay in my room whilst I stream, you can join me if you would like.”

“you’re being very protective all of a sudden...let me guess you got the message from our mods announcing the obsessive fans are at it again?”

“go take a shower.”

“no.”

ranboo ended up picking you up, carried you to the bathroom and turned the shower on before putting you on your feet.

“quick shower I’ll see you later.”

and with that he left the room shutting the door behind him, 30 minutes later you got changed and followed ranboo to his room ready to join him whilst he streams

“hey boo, can I join you? I kinda wanna get into streaming again.”

“I'm so glad you asked, I was going to do a face cam stream, if that’s okay?”

“of course.”

you grabbed his mask and glasses whilst he locked the door so you were both safe. “here you go.”

“thank you.”

the pair of you started the stream and it was honestly going well, you were having so much fun you forgot about all the negative things currently going on, you began to understand why ranboo continued streaming as for those 2-4 hours of streaming it felt as though everything was back to normal. 3 hours later the two of you ended stream and Twitter went crazy. tweets ranged from fans talking about how ranboo was streaming with you, how Tommy was in chat, and how tubbo was modding as people who mentioned anything about their address being leaked were banned by tubbo. the one thing that caught ranboos eye was fan art and a picture of you both from the stream captioned ‘they’re platonic soulmates your honour’ ranboo went as far to like, retweet and comment on it.

ranaltboo: glad you liked the stream it was great having y/n back, think I might make them play tattletail next stream

definitelynoty/n: isn’t that the Furby game that terrified you in 2021? bring it on boo!

Twitter went crazy over this interaction, you had finally come back to social media after months of being inactive, and it looked like you were here to stay. a month later you and ranboo moved out of the house and sold it to your aunt and her wife and their three adopted children, you explained the situation and even changed the locks for them all before they moved in.

“Please do tell us if anyone shows up who shouldn’t be. we changed the locks as you were aware- oh hello little one.”

you noticed one of their children decided to cling onto your leg

“I like your hair it’s colourful!”

“Indeed it is.”

“WOAH A GIANT!”

the little girl let go of your leg and ran to ranboo asking to be picked up, unsure of what to do he looked towards you. however, you were too busy laughing about the fact he was compared to a giant.

“I'm so sorry uh if you want to pick her up you can, you don’t have to.”

“pick me up, tall man... I want to be taller!”

ranboo ended up standing next to you with an arm around your waist whilst the child sat on his shoulders happily playing with his hair.

“ranboo do not drop that child.”

“I didn't- I didn't plan on it y/n.”

eventually, it was time to leave and the child reluctantly let go of ranboo.

“bye-bye!! hope to see you soon!”

soon enough you were at a smaller house, far away from the old house, leaving behind the negative feelings. it could only get better, a week later the pair of you had settled into the new house, it finally felt like home. you and ranboo were now streaming full time again, safe to say the two of you were thriving and closer than ever.

“so I’m thinking if I hit the sub-goal today I’ll let chat pick what colour I dye my hair.”

“make it higher, and I’ll let you cut my hair.”

“Are you being serious? oh my god!”

a few minutes later you took to Twitter to announce you were going live.

y/n: kidnapping children in the sims with ranboo psst check the subgoal.

within 20 minutes you had hit the sub-goal, chat ended up picking another random neon colour for your hair.

“right hair dye and the cutting stream will be this weekend, now let’s go back to kidnapping.”

tubbo, tommy, and jack felt awful for what happened and went back to the house where you used to live, hoping to see you there so they could apologise, tubbo knocked on the door only to be met by a young child.

“my sister watches you on twitch!”

“oh that’s lovely.. are y/n and ranboo here?”

an older woman came to the door.

“oh no, I’m sorry dear they both moved out, but they left this box and said to give it to you if you returned.”

“do you know where they moved to?”

“I'm sorry dear, I'm not allowed to tell you that information for safety reasons.”

“I understand, thanks anyway.”

they ended up going back to jacks where the three of them had been staying.

“We should open the box.”

tubbo opened the box and emptied the items onto the floor, inside was the rocks y/n handed tubbo from every trip, photos of the group, a necklace y/n had gifted to Tommy a day before the argument, and a hat y/n had taken from jack during a trip to a zoo.

“what the fuck!”

“holy shit!”

“they really kept all these in hopes we would come back?”

“and now we’re too late.”

it was now the weekend you and ranboo were ready to stream, you stood leaning on ranboo who was significantly smaller than you as you lowered the chair he sat on.

“starting stream...now.”

after the starting soon intro played, you explained what was happening to any new viewers or people who didn’t watch the stream.

“so I’m about to become Edward Scissorhands...I love that film can we watch it later?”

“yeah mhm sure!”

you didn’t know this but your ex best friends were watching and ever so often would show up in the chat.

“so boo, what are we doing with your hair today?”

“just a trim please darling?”

“This is y/ns hairdressers you get what I’m capable of!”

you ended up doing a pretty good job of cutting ranboos hair, even he was impressed.

“I didn’t doubt you for a minute!”

“mhm sure thing please don’t mess up my hair tall one!”

soon enough you had the dye on. 45 minutes later you left to wash it off, leaving ranboo to entertain stream,

“chat I think I missed some of their hair it’s okay, I own scissors, I’ll just cut it.. speaking of they did a great job, didn't they? I honestly expected them to mess up.”

a few minutes later you joined ranboo again and spent the next few hours talking with chat. tubbo, tommy, and jack stayed the entire time. they loved the fact you and ranboo were able to stay close after what happened, Tommy noticed you were still wearing the necklace he got you many years ago and spammed them chat with him tubbo and jack

Tommy: THEYRE WEARING THE NECKLACE!!

jack: so what? they clearly don’t wanna talk to us.

tubbo: shut up listen to them.

“chat why are we spamming platonic soulmates?”

“they’ve been saying it all over Twitter, look on trending y/n.”

you started to blush slightly at all the amazing artwork soon enough the stream came to an end, after saying goodbye the pair of you sat together going through fan art. unfortunately the one that caught your eye was this one twitter post where the artist had created a drawing of a piece of paper with you, ranboo, tommy, tubbo, and jack, however the paper was ripped separating you and ranboo from the others, captioned ‘it was never meant to be’ this clearly upset ranboo as he took off his mask and glasses placing them on the desk before going straight to his bed.

“boo…are you okay?”

“Are you tired of me? are you going to leave next?”

“what? no of course not! I could never get tired of you, why do you ask?”

“everyone else has left..i thought they cared about us, i knew it would happen eventually and i couldn’t stop it, i’m sorry, y/n, please don’t hate me.”

you sat on the edge of the bed looking down at the floor,

“come here.”

you watched him roll over to face you.

“you know there’s no one else who I'd rather spend the rest of my life with, right…if i hated you i wouldn’t have moved house with you. it’s not your job to fix everything and make everything better, you’re a streamer for christ sake not a therapist.”

“i guess so.. can we watch that thing you were on about for ages.”

“edward scissorhands? “

“mhm!”

you could tell he wanted to be distracted, so you agreed and put the film on, towards the end you began to get upset due to how overwhelming everything was.

“Why are you crying?”

“poor Edward.”

“come here.”

ranboo pulled you into a hug you laid there crying into his chest, he knew that wasn’t the reason you were crying, but he wasn’t about to make you tell him, luckily it didn’t take long for you to stop crying as ranboo quickly distracted you.

“ranboo..”

“yeah y/n?”

“I feel bad i didnt realise how much pressure was on you whilst everyone was arguing.”

“Hey, it’s okay, is that what’s upsetting you?”

“mhm.”

“don’t blame yourself, i’d do it all over again to keep you safe and happy..then again i didn’t do a good job on keeping you happy.”

“you did..you were always there for me even when i gave up on social media, you shared your room with me after i started receiving creepy messages from that obsessed fan, hell you even went on adventures with me even though it was clear you hadn’t been sleeping, just so we could spend time together and forget about what was happening. you mean a lot to me boo.”

“i love you.”

“i love you too bud, I’m tired.”

“go to sleep, it’s been a long day.”

“okay.”

“you just staying there?”

“yes.”

“oh, oh okay, goodnight.”

about a year later the two of you were still thriving, ranboo got you a promise ring a few months earlier.

“heh what’s this for?”

“as your best friend i promise to stay by your side and keep you safe and make sure that you’re happy, in other words you're stuck with me till the end of time.”

“boo…i really don’t know what to say.. thank you so much!”

“you don’t have to say anything!”

you ended up going out to buy him a promise ring when he started the stream and decided to take your cousins with you now that they were a little older. ranboo was doing a facecam stream when the door slammed open revealing you covering your three younger cousins ranboo not realising you were hiding them from the camera, instinctively stood up covering the camera

“ranboooooo!”

“yes you three and y/n ,what do you need?”

“we would like to watch a film!”

“Okay, i’ll go put one on, y/n will you entertain chat?”

“sure thing boo boy!”

once they left you sat fixing your hair forgetting you were wearing the ring chat noticed this and went crazy, so did Tommys group with tubbo and jack.

tubbo: that’s a ring, right??

jack: yeah looks like it.

Tommy: holy shit I always thought if anyone was gonna get married it would be tubbo and y/n, they were inseparable.

tubbo: hilarious.

jack: it could just be a ring, no one mentioned marriage tommy!

Tommy: we should congratulate them.

jack: at least let them explain fucking hell.

soon enough ranboo came back into the room,

“sorry one of them found it hilarious to steal my glasses...”

“they’re little shits i swear to god but i love them.”

you both noticed chat going crazy and both looked at each other before laughing.

“i'm sorry, i can’t take you serious in the mask and glasses!”

“i can’t take you serious with neon hair, but here we are!”

“rude!”

you and ranboo quickly put an end to the rumours,

“no we’re not engaged or married, it is a promise ring. no they’re not our children, they’re y/ns cousins they just spend a lot of time here..chat stop calling me and y/n parents and comparing us to phil that’s not..that’s not how it works okay!”

“parent arc!”

“y/n, don’t encourage them!”

“it’s a little bit funny!”

soon enough the bit came to an end and eventually ranboo ended the stream.

“hey boo look what i got you”

you handed him a little black box, inside was a ring similar to yours

“i promise to always stick around and be here for you”

“oh my god”

ranboo tackled you into a hug thanking you several times for his rings. you and ranboo were living your best life meanwhile jack, tommy, and tubbo were stuck dealing with the guilt of what happened, but they’re weren’t giving up that easy. they wanted you both back, that’s when you received a notification, tommyinnit has sent you a message request: hey y/n can we talk..please?

taglist

@dumb-chaotic-bi-energy @uselesssapphickitten @l0ver0fj0y @etheriaaly @xx-smiley-xx @hawarun @kylobensgirl @cawcaw-pretty-thing @reverse-iak @renleicrashed @augustine-is-joy @c1loudee

[the-bau-quinjet]

Round 2: Tik Tok

Bucky x reader

Part 2 to Round 1: Fruit Snacks

Summary: You enlist Peter to help you prank Steve, Sam, and Bucky.

Warnings: Language!

Word Count: 1795

a/n: Ahh, part 2! Gotta love tik tok. This entire part was inspired by the first Chris Evans tik tok I linked... I linked all the tik toks I referenced, but the descriptions in the fic have been edited a bit to better fit the scene!

Masterlist

"Peter!" You called to him from the other end of the hallway as he entered the elevator. "Hold the door!"

He smiled back at you, holding the doors open as you ran down the hallway.

"Perfect. I need your help." You whispered as the doors closed, never knowing if a super soldier could hear you or not. You had an evil glint in your eyes that clearly said you were scheming.

"Oh, okay. What do you need Ms. L/N?" His eyes were wide, never having seen you this devious before.

"Peter. How many times have I told you to just call me Y/N? You make me feel old, and I am not old." You huffed, stalling for time.

"Right, Y/N. Got it. What do you need my help with?" He asked as the elevator doors opened.

You peaked your head, looking both ways before exiting. You gestured for him to follow you, exiting the compound and walking toward the gate where May was picking him up after a date with Happy.

"I need you to play the video on this flash drive at Tony's next party." You said when you reached the end of the driveway, handing him the mentioned flash drive.

"Why?" He took the device, albeit with a bit of hesitation.

"Because, I'm pranking Steve, Sam, and Bucky. They tried to get me the other day and failed miserably. Honestly, just watching them on edge has been great, but it's time for payback." You smirked, knowing the prank wouldn't do any real harm.

"Oh, Mr. Stark told me about that!" His eyes were wide with recognition. "Good job with the fake crying, I would've loved to see it."

"Well, you can help me get them back if you play that on the projector screen at Tony's next party." You nodded toward the flash drive, wanting to confirm the plan.

"What is it?" Peter looked nervous, unsure if he should get involved.

"Don't worry, it's nothing bad. Just a few tik toks I found from fans. Three for each of them." You smirked, already picturing the blushes. This would really get Steve and Bucky more than Sam, but when you came across the first video you couldn't not do it.

"Alright. I'm in!" He smiled, happy to help you. "But, why can't you just play the video?" He questioned, obviously not well versed in the world of pranks.

"Because, if they see me doing anything out of the ordinary at the party, they'll know something's up. I have to act normal, so it's a surprise." You outline the plan, explaining the need for two people.

"Why me?" He asked again, genuinely curious.

"Because, they won't think I'd go to you for help. They think you'll do anything to get them to stop teasing you, so they won't see it coming."

Peter nodded, understanding your logic. "Wow. You've really thought of everything." He smiled as May pulled up.

"I know. It's going to be great." You smirked, turning and running back inside before anyone could see you.

-

The night of the party, it took everything in you not to wear the world's biggest smirk.

Sam, Bucky, and Steve have been on edge ever since your warning, waiting for you to strike. They were huddled by the bar, appearing deep in conversation.

"Hi boys." You greeted them from behind, causing them to jump at the intrusion.

Sam recovered first, smirking at you. "Y/N. We've got a theory."

You raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue.

"You warned us about your next prank, and then planned nothing." You bit your lip, trying to appear deep in thought.

"Interesting theory. What do you have to support it?" You tilted your head to the side, waiting for more of an explanation.

"It's been a week, and you haven't done anything." Steve started, less confident than Sam, but still sounding sure.

"I haven't?" You questioned, enjoying watching them squirm. "You sure?"

Bucky shook his head with a grin. "You're doing it again. Trying to make us paranoid."

Your gave them your sweetest smile, running your hand up and down Bucky's arm. "Whatever you say, dear." You said it with mock reassurance, then walked away grinning.

The three men shared a look, trying not to seem overly paranoid, but failing.

-

You felt eyes on you for the entire party. There was never a minute at least one of them wasn't watching your every move. You were fairly certain they were even keeping tabs on Wanda and Nat, just to make sure you hadn't enlisted their help.

You chatted with Nat, Wanda, and Pepper, danced for a bit, and ate some food, all while ignoring their stares.

Around 9:30, Peter managed to get the video queued up. All eyes were on the projector screen at the sudden noise.

A tik tok started playing, flashing different images of Steve as the music played.

"Hush hush hush, blush blush blush, you are now my big fat crush."

Steve's face grew redder as the video played, turning into a tomato by the end.

"Love me, and hug me, and touch me. And well, fuck me."

Another video immediately started playing, also featuring pictures of Steve.

The caption read "Let me present to you: Steve Rogers Walking" backed by some sexy music.

"When marimba rhythm starts to play, dance with me, make me sway."

Clips of Steve walking, whether it be in uniform from a news clip or in suits from press events, graced the screen.

He was hiding his head in his hands, too embarrassed to even think you could have done this. He had been watching you all night, you couldn't have set up the video.

Bucky and Sam laughed as a third video started to play.

The on screen text read as follows:

"People: how do you sleep at night? Me:"

A girl fell into her bed, swaddled in a blanket covered in pictures of Steve.

The screen flashed black for a few seconds, making everyone think the impromptu display was over. That is, until a new video began playing.

A heavy bass started thumping as a girl appeared on screen, counting down with her fingers along with the sound.

"3, 2, 1."

Sam appeared on screen, a plethora of his most used interview and press clips being played.

He was enjoying the praise, although slightly embarrassed at the video being played in front of all these people.

Another video began playing, showing Sam acting out different Avengers in a game of charades.

"Oh!" It was highly edited to draw attention to his amusing sound effects.

Finally, a clip from an interview Sam did with Steve and Scott came up.

"The problem isn't the kids, the problem is the parents."

You knew he wouldn't be embarrassed by the same things as Steve, so you chose a few random videos you found to call him out for not always thinking before speaking.

The screen flashed black again, transitioning to videos of Bucky.

A clip that had gone viral from Sam's account was edited with new music, resulting in the crowd hearing Bucky say:

"Suck my dick!" Followed by the song "if you gave me a chance, i would take it."

These videos were really just for you. You watched them so many times while looking for the three best ones.

Although, Bucky's wide eyes and rosy cheeks definitely didn't hurt.

The next video began with Sexy Back by Justin Timberlake.

"Take it to the chorus. Come here girl."

Pictures of Bucky flashed across the projector screen, showing off his physique. You don't know where fans find this pictures, but you loved them for it.

The last video of Bucky was a pov someone made about yours and Bucky's relationship. Although the two of you were flirty, nothing had been discussed.

Maybe that's why you chose this one.

You and Bucky were having a fake conversation that went as follows:

Y/N: "Bucky, I like your last name."

Bucky: "Oh thanks, that's sweet."

Then, in sync with the music in the background:

Y/N: "Can I steal it from you?"

Bucky: "Of course, doll."

Y/N: "What'd he sayyyyy?"

The crowd laughed at that one, knowing how the media and fans speculate about your relationship.

Finally, the screen went dark, no more videos lined up to play.

You made your way over to the guys as everyone resumed their normal party activities.

"What a show guys. Really well done. Don't forget to thank your fans." You slow clapped, enjoying their flustered faces.

"How long were you planning that?" Steve, blush just beginning to fade, questioned you.

"I've had the video made for 6 days. I started planning the second you left for the store." You grinned, enjoying the high of a good, harmless prank.

"We've been watching you all night. How did you manage to queue the video?" Sam questioned, eyes narrowed.

"I had help." You shrugged noncommittally. You wouldn't give up Peter's role in the prank unless he wanted you to.

"From? We had eyes on Nat and Wanda." Bucky questioned further, but you just shook your head.

"I can't reveal my sources." You laughed again at their matching looks of annoyance.

Suddenly, something clicked for Bucky.

"So, you chose all of the videos?" He sounded so curious, you couldn't help but fill him in.

"I did. It didn't take long. The internet is full of videos of the three of you. They were pretty fun to look through." You laughed at a few videos you opted to leave out of the montage.

"What's this about you liking my last name then?" Bucky had a new confidence about him with this question.

Having expected this question at some point, you had already thought of how you would answer.

"Well, the fans want what they want. Maybe we should give it to them." You stepped closer as Sam and Steve awkwardly shuffled away.

"You think so, doll?" Bucky relied, hands moving to your waist.

"I don't see why not." You closed the distance, pressing your lips to his in a moment you had been thinking about for months.

You moved together, pulling each other closer even when you were already chest to chest.

Eventually, the sound of a throat clearing caused you to break apart.

Tony was playfully glaring at the two of you.

"L/N, if you ever use my protégé to pull a stunt like that again, at least include some videos of me." He whined.

You laughed at his statement, having expected him to be annoyed at you interrupting his party.

"Can do Stark."

He walked off as you turned back to Bucky, whose mouth was hung open like a fish.

You gave him a questioning look as he sputtered.

"Parker helped you?!"

Permanent tag list:

@averyhotchner

[beauvibaby]

become a family – a.beauvillier

You hadn’t meant to keep Gia a secret from your childhood friend, really honestly, you two had just lost touch, and by the time you found out you were pregnant and her dad left, it felt wrong to reach out simply to tell him that. So you didn’t.

But when you found out you were relocating to New York, Long Island specifically. You knew you had no choice but to reach out, it only made sense, it felt wrong not too. “Mommy.” Gia whined, “play!” She demanded with a tilt of her chubby face, motioning to the Minnie Mouse tea set she had sprawled across your tiny unpacked apartment floor. “Just a second baby.” You assured her with a soft laugh, you read the message you had typed out, you let out a deep breath and pushed send before moving to join your daughter on the floor, forcing the thought of checking your phone to the back of your mind.

“Hey, Tito. I know we haven’t spoken in forever, but I’m moving to Long Island, with my daughter, I thought it’d be nice to meet up sometime. Hope all is well!”

When he got the notification from Instagram, both of you long having lost each other’s phone numbers, his heart stopped briefly, he scrambled to unlock his phone, Mat eyeing him suspiciously. Tito read the message at least five times before what you said had processed with him, he clicked on your profile, he hadn’t really paid much attention to your posts, and they were so far and few between, he scrolled to the first one that was baby related.

A picture of your sonogram in front of your crossed legs, your ready to pop stomach on display, “just me and you against the world baby girl.”

Tito’s heart clenched in his chest, guilt, curiosity and sadness running through him, he scrolled to the next, a simple black and white photo of Gia when she was born, the caption only being her date of birth. The next wasn’t for another six months or so, the two of you in a small apartment back home. “Gia and mommy’s first place!”

He went through them all quickly, up to the most recent, from just before you sent the message, you with Gia on your hip, the two and a half year old hanging on tightly to you with a giggle as you grinned at the camera, your keys hanging off your finger. “New beginnings…”

“Tito? Dude, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Mat finally spoke up, Tito nodded, “you remember, Y/N? Right?” He questioned his friend, Mat nodded, curiously. “She’s here.” Tito whispered, Mat raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean she's here?” “She moved to Long Island.”

***

You truthfully had forgotten to check your phone that night, you ended up putting Gia to bed late and you simply passed out right after. So when you woke, the memories came flooding back, you rushed to grab your phone, seeing a response on your Instagram.

“Long Island? A kid??? We definitely need to meet up, I’m dying to know everything. Missed you.”

Your heart returned to normal at his response, thankful that he was accepting and not shutting you out.

“Missed you too, you became a big shot! I’m taking Gia to a park down the street from my apartment today, I’ll send you the address if you want to come.”

That’s how you ended up here, pushing your daughter in the swing as she shrieked excitedly. Your laughter echoed through the remotely empty park, your attention solely on her as she had a nervous look on her face as the swing went a little higher, you slowed her down and she resumed her happy shouts. “Y/N.” Tito called, your head snapping in his direction, his hands shoved into his jacket pockets as he looked over at you with a grin, his eyes flickering between you and Gia. “Hi.” You grinned right back at him as he walked over to you, he wrapped his arms around you in a hug as he reached you, Gia slowly coming to a stop in the child swing. “Oh god, it’s been too long.” You spoke, voice muffled by his jacket. “Definitely.” He agreed easily, pulling away as Gia began to fuss. You pulled her out of the swing and she clung to you, eyeing him suspiciously, she was always particularly wary about men. “Hello.” He spoke softly to her, giving her a soft wave. She smiled weakly, hiding her face in your neck. “Say hi, Gia.” You whispered to her, she lifted her head, looking over at Tito who was still smiling fondly at her, “hi, Gia.” She spoke, sending you both into a fit of laughter. “We’re working on it.” You assured him through your giggles, your daughter dramatically hiding again. “That’s ok.” Tito assured you, noticing all the ways Gia resembled you.

“Lunch?” She whispered to you, wiggling to get down, “yes, let’s go.” You led her over to the covered portion of the park, where you had left your things, Tito followed behind you, holding in a chuckle at the way Gia happily ran towards the table, swinging her arms for exaggeration. You sat her up on the bench, sitting beside her and Tito sat across from the two of you, watching you silently, “how have you been?” You started speaking, feeling your skin warm up under his gaze. “Good, yeah, I’ve been good.” He answered, “what about you? Been busy I see.” He joked, Gia glanced up at him as she took a bite of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. “Yeah, she keeps me on my toes, in the best possible way.” You smiled at your daughter, she happily minded her own business, clueless to half the stuff you two spoke about. You told him about her dad, only using his name so she wouldn’t be confused, already learning that she didn’t have the two parents that some of her other friends have.

Jesse, you never expected him to work out long term, but you never expected to get pregnant either. Long story short, you told him and you gave him the option to not be involved, but he had to be committed to being a co parent or nothing at all. He chose the latter, and never looked back.

“That’s-“ “it’s good, I think, he wouldn’t have been able to stay committed.” You cut Tito off, not needing the apology speech again. He nodded, moving past the subject, a large grin started etching across his face as Gia tugged on your sleeve. You leaned down and smiled as she whispered to the best of her ability, “share?” She asked you, Tito cocked his head to the side as you nodded and leaned away. Gia grabbed one of her fruit gummies and held it out to Tito. “Share.” She mumbled cutely, smiling shyly with her head tilted down a little, just like you do. Tito gasped dramatically, placing a hand over his heart, “thank you!” He took it from her and popped it in his mouth, earning a genuine laugh from her that made his heart sore. Already so in love with your daughter and wanting nothing but the best for both of you. She tried to offer him more but he sweetly told her no, and that she should eat her lunch, she listened and continued snacking away. “Has she been to a game?” Tito asked you with a wicked grin, “no, actually, I haven’t been to a game since I had her.” You admitted, cringing as he gaped at you, muttering in French under his breath.

“I’m getting you tickets.” He spoke, already pulling his phone out, “what? No, Tito.” You rushed feeling guilty,

“Yes.” He stuck his tongue out at you, typing away on his phone before asking for your phone number to send you the info. You gave it to him, knowing he would just be stubborn anyways. “Thank you. Really. She’ll have a blast, I’m sure.” You spoke as you opened your phone to look at what he sent you, “Anthony!” You scolded, Gia jumping in her spot next to you, “Y/N!” He mimicked, giggling at your daughter who glared at him. “That’s too much, those seats are–“ “Those seats are necessary.” He cut you off, “it’s final. No take backs.” He teased, much like he did when the two of you were younger. You sighed, shaking your head with a small smile, “fine, you better win, for her.” You told him, motioning to Gia who was getting sleepier by the second. “I should take her home.” You added as she yawned, her head resting against her arms on the table. He smiled at her eyes fluttering shut, “yeah, but I’ll see you at the game, right?” He raised an eyebrow as he stood up, you nodded, moving to give him a hug goodbye.

You watched with a bursting heart as he pushed some of Gia’s hair back, leaving a feathery light kiss to her full cheek, “bye, sweetheart.” He whispered, she whined, nestling further into herself. You wiped at your eyes once he was no longer facing you, the sight before you simply pulling on your heart strings.

***

You adjusted the jerseys on yours and Gia’s bodies, the both of you wearing jeans with them. She smiled at the excitement on your face, “do you remember mommy’s friend we met yesterday, Tito?” You questioned her as you walked hand in hand to the elevator, she looked up at you curiously, “we’re going to see him do his job, you get to watch them play hockey.” You explained to her, she simply smiled, all oblivious to what you meant, but she got excited because you were excited. “Teo.” She spoke, an attempt at his name, not very good but adorable nonetheless. You whipped your phone out, squatting down in the elevator, you started recording her, “who are we going to see?” You asked her, she shook her head happily, her pigtails bouncing around, “teo!” She said proudly, clapping for herself. “Tito, good job.” You praised her before ending the clip, you sent it to him with a thumbs up before continuing to acknowledge Gia’s babbling.

He responded quicker than you thought he would, “I guess I’ve grown on her.” He sent a heart afterwards, presumably putting his phone away for the night to prepare for the game.

Gia whined as she clung to you, terrified of all the people surrounding the both of you, “it’s alright honey.” You shushed her as you slowly inched forward in the line, she nodded against you, arms wrapped around your neck and legs trying to wrap around your waist. You thanked the person as they scanned your tickets, letting you two begin the journey to your overpriced glass side seats. You were relieved to see they had already begun warm ups so she would be distracted by them, once she adjusted to her surroundings you knew she’d be fine. “Look baby, see how fast they go.” You held her up, pointing out to the ice, she instantly became mesmerized by them whizzing by. You sighed in relief as you tried to spot the oh so familiar number 18. The two of you wearing jerseys with his name, something you knew he would get a charge out of, as long as you could remember, you would wear his number to his games. And now would be no different.

You spotted him at the same time he spotted you, a bright smile coming over his face as he flicked a puck up and caught it in his hand, skating over to you. He waved at you and Gia and she grinned, recognizing him and suddenly no longer being shy as she tapped on the glass with an amused smile. “Hi!” She shrieked, earning a laugh from him. He motioned the puck in his hand and you nodded, easily catching it as he tossed it over, handing it to Gia who stared at it in amazement, “good luck.” You mouthed, fist bumping the glass like you did as a teenager, he grinned and did the same before skating off, some of his friends nudging him and asking questions as you settled into your seat for the night.

Gia enjoyed the game and the loud sounds more than you thought she would, she adjusted quickly to the slamming of the boards, if anything, you think that may have been her favorite part.

Once the game was over, you were directed by Tito to tell one of the arena employees your name and they’d bring you down to see him. Much to your surprise, it worked, Gia was antsy to be let down to run around, and thankfully the person leading you through the huge building was a sweet young girl, probably your age, who was just absolutely loving Gia. “Just go to the right, and stop at the double doors.” She explained to you as the elevator came to a stop, “thank you.” You smiled, ushering Gia onto the concrete floor, her laughter echoing as she had some room to run around and burn up some of her energy. You were speed walking behind her just to keep up with her little legs, “baby, hang on!” You called, sighing as you rushed to grab her, just in time too as the doors opened and a couple of guys walked out, thankfully Tito was one of them. “Hey.” You breathed out, Gia looked over, “teo!” She ran over to him, putting her arms up, he looked at you for approval, “oh, of course.” You gave him a look, as if you wouldn’t trust him with your daughter. He easily lifted her up, smile widening when she wrapped her little arms around him. A stark difference to her greeting yesterday. “You must be, Y/N.” One of them spoke to you as Gia began babbling to Tito who nodded along enthusiastically. “I am.” You responded, shaking his hand, “Mat.” He grinned, you nodded knowingly, “I know, I follow the sport.” You teased him, earning a snicker from Tito as he walked over to you. “Hey.” He mumbled, giving you a one armed hug as Gia refused to leave his hold. You lightly tickled your daughter as she hid in his neck from all the other guys. “You played good.” You assured him, he smiled softly in return before introducing you to some of his teammates, laughing when you became all shy, staying close to him and your daughter. You answered all the questions they threw at you, not noticing Gia was drifting off on Tito’s shoulder until she was already out like a light.

***

It’s been about 6 weeks since that game, the season kicking into full gear, Tito traveling very often but still coming over to see you guys when he wasn’t on the road, and today, he was coming over for the first time in two weeks, and Gia had no idea. The relationship between them was more than you could ever ask for, even yours and Tito’s relationship had changed, it wasn’t even spoken, it just happened, one night as he was leaving after you put Gia down. You leaned up to kiss his cheek but he turned, not knowing what you were doing. You both jumped back, muttering apologies, but you kept your hands on his chest, slowly you inched back together, your lips coming together softly.

Then it became more often, sneaking in kisses here or there, I miss you texts, phone calls. And now, now you were bouncing with excitement just to see him.

Tito knocked on the door with a wide smile, excited to see his two favorite girls, that thought running through his head the whole trip back, in his mind, he wanted to call you his, but he knew he hadn't even spoken to you about what this was.

You rushed over to open the door, Gia only just waking from her nap, “hi.” You whispered immediately being engulfed in his arms, yours going to wrap around his neck. “I missed you.” He admitted into your hair, kissing the side of your head, “I missed you too.” You assured him, leaning away to meet his eyes, something went unspoken between you two as he pulled you in for a kiss. This one was different though, more powerful than the rest had been. You sighed against him, melting into his hold as you kissed him back slowly, not wanting to rush the moment. “Tito.” You went to speak after you pulled back to breathe, “yeah, I know.” He murmured, pecking your lips again before finally stepping all the way inside. “Is she sleeping?” He frowned, wanting to see her, “she’s starting to wake up, I heard her fussing.” You explained, neither of you making any effort to untangle yourselves. “Would you want to go out with me sometime? Like a date.” Tito asked, you nodded instantly, “can’t we just count all the times you’ve stayed over here late as dates?” You teased, instantly making him relax. “Well, then I think it’s fine if I do this, as much as I want.” He joked, kissing you again, squeezing your hips.

“I think so too.” You agreed, pulling away once you heard Gia climbing out of her bed. “Gia, I have a surprise!” You called, hearing her giggle and run down the hall, she saw you and then she saw Tito standing beside you. What neither of you expected was the word about to come out of her mouth, “daddy!” You nearly passed out right there, literally swaying and having to grip Tito for stability. She hugged his legs, looking up at him with a grin. “Tito.” He corrected her gently, lifting her up once you regained your composure. “Hi, sweet girl.” He tickled her sides as he hugged her tightly, her laughter filling the room, you smiled at the sight, hoping that one day this would become a reality.

****

“Rough day?” You questioned Gia as she dramatically huffed and sat at the kitchen counter beside her sister. “Yes.” Gia spoke with a sigh, you held back your laughter, knowing that 1st grade could just be oh so difficult, Tito walked in a moment after with her backpack and lunch box, smiling at you as you held the two month old to your chest. He walked over to the girls, laughing at the bored expression on Gia’s face as she watched her two year old sister munch away on her fruit, “hi princess.” Tito greeted Sadie with a kiss to the head, before making his way over to you, kissing your lips and whispering a hello before taking the baby from you. He smiled as Cade gripped his finger tightly, looking up at his dad with the bright blue eyes that they shared. “Daddy, can we go for ice cream tonight?” Gia pouted at him, using the look she got from you that made him cave immediately. He glanced at you, who nodded, “only because it’s friday.” He pointed an accusing finger at her, watching as her annoyed expression broke into a smile. “Thank you!” She sang happily bounding to her room upstairs. You laughed at the sigh he let out, “Aw, did you have a rough day too, honey?” You teased, resting your head on his chest as he wrapped his free arm around you, Sadie coughing for attention and succeeding as you both looked over to make sure she wasn’t choking. She only smiled, Tito’s smile as she continued to eat her blueberries slowly, you glared lightly at her as she giggled. “I did have a rough day, thanks for asking.” He mused.

“My wife didn’t text me once all day.” He pouted at you, “I’m so sorry, I assumed you would be busy working and all.” You laughed at him, cupping his stubbled jaw, “how ever did you survive?” You asked with fake concern. “I’m not really sure. But I did, and I lived long enough to pick her up from school, I’ve earned my ice cream.” He quipped.

taglist: @boqvistsbabe @tortito @2manytabsopen @heybarzy @barzysreputation @yzas-stuff @iwantahockeyhimbo

[surferboypizzas]

rank the main st kids from most annoying to least annoying- i sent this ask to another st blog too. compare notes 🤨

ok i'll be your lab rat but i need you to know that i care about all of them, and that i have the emotional complexity it takes to love someone and also hate them. also i'm assuming in this theoretical they are babysitter-needing age not 14 or whatever.

El Hopper. She would be a joy to be around. I cannot think of one single thing she could do that I would find annoying.

Will Byers. Not at all annoying- but I feel like if I was sent over to babysit little ol' William he would just be silent. He would barely speak. Like if I said "Do you want to pick a movie to watch?" at eight he would say "Oh, no I've gotta go to bed at nine. Maybe a show." And I'd say "Cool. I mean it is Saturday so if you pick a one and a half hour movie that would be fine. You could do that." And he'd refuse. You're twelve, sir, you're too young to be tired enough that you are actively excited to sleep at night. He's equally as mentally unwell as Mike, but Mike would take his emotions out on me and Will would bottle them up inside.

Max Mayfield. Definitely wants me to french braid her hair. In an ideal world she would think I was ~cool~ and look up to me or whatever but in all honestly I think she would find me lame. Would a swear a shit ton. Thinks she's too old to need a babysitter but instead of acting all rebellious because of that she acts like we're peers. We aren't on the same level kid, ya mom left me in charge. So I get to put the closed captions on the movie we're watching, and you're gonna have to deal with it! If Billy was going to arrive home before her parents Max would probably try to shove me out the door in fear of Billy killing and/or hitting on me.

Lucas Sinclair. Would beg to eat out, say he'll pay for his own food, then forget his wallet. And, yes, I would have payed for his stupid hamburger and onion rings because I'm a softie that's easily swayed, ok? It also turns out that "coincidentally" three other kids he knows are here with some other babysitter and he dragged me here just to hang out with them. The audacity. But I guess it's fine, loser. Your little sister is funnier anyways.

Dustin Henderson. At first babysitting Dustin would rock because we have similar loser interests and are the same enneagram type and all that jazz. He also has that turtle. That's pretty sick. And Claudia always leaves pizza money. The easiest night of babysitting ever, right? Until the little twerp keeps complaining about you only being here because this random dude named Kleve or whatever was busy playing in an important basketball game. Then Dustin would go on about how originally he was supposed to be at that basketball game but then his mom's old friend came in from out of town and now he's stuck here with me. He'd be all whiny about it. "If only there was a way I could make it to Steve's basketball game!" Then I would take him out of pure irritation, recognize Steve from that time when I was babysitting Lucas, and internally declare him as my mortal enemy. There's only enough room for one babysitter in this here town, pardner. And it sure as hell isn't gonna be you.

Mike Wheeler. I'm so sorry Michael but fuck. I know you don't want to be babysat, I know you are angry that I'm here instead of your sister who apparently "became a bitch" (as you put it so eloquently) or whatever, and I know you had a "important mission that could have saved [my] ass from confronting [my] own mortality." But I needed gas money (because I think in this theoretical I'm like 16 or whatever babysitting age is and probably don't have another job), and Mrs. Wheeler needed a last minute babysitter. So shut up and go reheat the left over pot roast in the fridge yourself while I hang out with your adorable little sister, because Karen said I was the boss. Bummer, I guess you better suck it up and save my mortal ass another day you little devil man. Like- God I know it sucks you missed your D&D game (I assume you're talking about D&D and they're aren't actually monsters coming to kill us, haha) you seem overly invested in, but work with me here for once. Anyways, the joke here is that the world would be ending, and he would probably just sneak out his bedroom window. But before that he would try to start a fight with me and I would indulge him because that kids gotta take out his raging undiagnosed (because it's the 80s) mental problems out on someone.

[gyucore]

to reach a happy ending

pairing: beomgyu x reader

tags: fluff, childhood friends to lovers

word count: 1.6k

warnings: beomgyu swears like once

prompts:

017: "A fairytale with a happy ending always brings a smile to my face."

023: "Do you believe in love at first sight?"

— requested by ⛅ anon! sorry this took so long to make. i hope you like it!! ♡

"Ew, look at this." You hand the dusty old photo album to Beomgyu who's sprawled across the floor by your side.

"Wait—" He stops you, rolling away before letting out a sneeze so loud that it managed to echo off the dusty untouched walls of his old room. The poor guy couldn't help it, his room hadn't been cleaned since he moved out in the middle of high school, and his mom preferred to keep things as they were— dust and all. You wonder if it was simply an excuse to clean one less room.

Beomgyu did say he had dropped in yesterday without notice. You'd think he'd want to spend some quality time with his parents first, but he'd decided to invite you over after spending a single night under this roof. Having heard nothing but radio silence from your best friend in years, you were thrilled to get to see him again. And what better way to shed off the ever present awkwardness in the beginning than to go through old photo albums?

"Okay, show me." Beomgyu rolls back to your side, scooting in closer to rest his head on your lap.

You turn the photo album, pointing at one photo in particular of you and Beomgyu dressed as a knight and damsel in distress— Beomgyu playing the role of the latter. Contrary to the roles, you were pummeling Beomgyu to the ground as if having caught a thief, and Beomgyu was shoving his handkerchief to your face, blocking your eyesight. The context behind the photograph alludes you, but this might just be a case of seven-year-olds doing whatever they want whenever.

"The fuck you mean ew? I look great in that dress!" Frowning, Beomgyu grabs the album to stare longer at his past self's glory.

"Lying to yourself isn't good for you, Gyu." You jokingly disapprove. It was fun seeing his reactions right after.

"Oh, look at these."

Beomgyu points at a photo of you and him on stage, wearing the same costumes as before. You figured it was for a play back in first grade when you two had been classmates. The next series of photos included one of you holding out a sword towards a kid in a cheap dragon costume, one of Beomgyu holding back his tears after tripping over and ripping his dress, and ones of you rushing to Beomgyu and kissing away his tears.

"This takes me back." Beomgyu lights up with a smile, failing to notice the surprise on your face. "Remember when your mom made us believe that kissing any injuries we had would make it go away? I knew you wanted to help me back then but I couldn't stop crying and tell you were it hurt, so you started kissing all over my face hoping it'd go away."

You find yourself laughing at your past self's foolishness. "But did it work?" You ask in between laughs.

"Well," Beomgyu chuckles, getting up from his position on your lap. "I don't think it would've worked if another person had done it. But since it was you— Wait." He takes one last look at the album, letting slip a wheeze before placing it back in its box. "Mom wrote something right below the photo."

"What did she write?" You ask, holding out your hands for Beomgyu to grab.

"A fairy tale with a happy ending always brings a smile to my face." Beomgyu tells you as he helps you up, trying his best to keep a straight face after delivering that line.

The two of you burst into laughter at his mother's words. You knew she'd been fond of fairy tales all her life but the caption was taking you out. Beomgyu was literally crying in the photo yet somehow this, to her, was a happy ending.

You eventually take notice of all the photos plastered around his room, some framed, and some simply stuck to the walls— memories of happier times. Most were of you and him, and in some, just you. He'd shown off the Polaroid camera his mother bought for him in seventh grade, proclaiming he'd only take photos of moments he'd want to keep in his memory forever. It never actually crossed your mind that a lot of them would be of you.

Beomgyu notices your wandering eyes and chuckles, placing an arm around your shoulder. The distance between you shrinks as he holds you closer. And at that moment, you take note of everything that's changed.

He'd gotten taller since the last time you saw him. Gone was the lanky boy you knew, evident in the way his muscles flexed with every small movement you wish you hadn't noticed. Beomgyu had grown his hair out; the thick, wavy locks tucked behind his ears, covering the back of his neck. The deepness of his voice had been a surprise when he greeted you at the door earlier, but you held back from pointing it out.

You feared that if you acknowledged all the changes, you'd be forced to face reality. That things weren't the same anymore, no matter how hard you tried. After all, Beomgyu wasn't the only one who changed. You had quite the few character development arcs yourself, and experiences which Beomgyu remained oblivious of. And somehow despite that, in his presence, you started to feel like your old self again.

Beomgyu's invitation had come as a surprise last night. You thought he'd forgotten about you, what with all the silence these past few years.

Life continued on as it should even without Beomgyu by your side, but you could argue that all the amazing experiences you've had on your own would've been better if he were there to experience it with you. And now here you were in his old room, pretending everything was the same as he'd left it.

You look up at your old friend, wanting to tell him what had been plaguing your thoughts the entire day but find yourself tongue tied when his dark eyes stare back into your own. And you wonder, how many times had it been that you'd stared into each other's eyes just like this? How many times had he pulled you close into his arms all those years? And just how many nights had you spent wondering if your feelings for him had grown into something more?

"I missed you." Beomgyu speaks first, his gaze never faltering.

Hearing his voice, you swear you could've melted right then and there. Part of you had wished he'd tell you those exact words, confirming that it hadn't been just you who'd been wanting to see him all these years.

"I missed you too."

Beomgyu could only smile at your response.

His arm leaves your shoulder— hands slowly finding their way to your own. His hold was gentle as he slowly guided you to face him.

"Don't laugh, but," Beomgyu starts. "Do you believe in love at first sight?"

"Love at fir—"

The question throws you off.

"What?"

"I heard you the first time!" You cut him off, wanting so bad to cover your face from the secondhand embarrassment. "I can't believe you just said that. What even happened to you in college?"

"Hey! At least hear me out before you make fun of me." Beomgyu bursts out laughing at your reaction, his thumbs caressing the back of your hands to help you calm down. "Judging from your reaction, I'm guessing your answer is a no. And I honestly felt the same too until a few hours back."

"Okay, you lost me there."

"Shut up. What I'm saying is," Beomgyu squeezes your hands, leaning in closer. "I'm sorry I haven't been in touch the last few years. I had a lot of trouble adjusting, and it took a while for me to really get the hang of living alone. I wanted to talk to you as soon as I got there but then I thought that maybe it would've been better for you if I left you to live your own life for a while too."

"Beomgyu.." You squeeze his hands back, sensing the sincerity in his eyes.

Beomgyu shakes his head. "I know this sounds silly and all, but I didn't want you to feel the emptiness I felt when I left. I wanted you to go and make experiences of your own without me."

You frown, refraining to speak until he's done.

"But then I couldn't stop thinking about you. Everywhere I went, I'd think of you and how the place would've been better if we got to hang out there together. Every time I had fun or ate something that tasted good, I wanted you to share the experience with me."

Beomgyu sighs. "Honestly, I thought I could make it through my visit home without seeing you but I passed by your house on my way home yesterday and I just.. I couldn't hold back. And when I saw you for the first time in years at the front of my doorstep.. I knew I had to tell you."

Half of you knew what to expect, and the other half doubted the reality of the situation. But all the doubts instantly melt away as soon as Beomgyu closed the distance between you, pressing your foreheads together.

Face flushed, you stare at him in awe and notice he had his eyes closed shut. "Cute." You thought.

He whispers in a voice so quiet you could barely hear.

"I like you."

You couldn't hold it in any longer, the rush of emotions crashing into you like raging waves against a cliff. The next moment, you find yourself inching closer and closer, face heating up even more as you press your lips against his as a reply.

Beomgyu's eyes widen, body freezing in place. He hadn't exactly expected you to respond so soon, especially not like this. And he couldn't be happier.

You feel Beomgyu returning the kiss, his hands going up to cup your face— his hold gentle. The two of you wanted nothing more than to stay in this moment for as long as life permits, because for once, you could finally see the path to your happily ever after slowly unraveling.

This was just the beginning.

[henrycavillobsessed]

Captivated

Henry x first person reader 

Words: 2377

Summary: You and Henry have a “friends with benefits” situation going on,  but you’ve caught feelings, and so has he. Everything comes to a head when you see photos of him out with another woman. 

CW: Angsty smut! Sex, male and female oral giving and receiving; female ejaculation. Bad language. Anger and slight violence (struggles).

Notes: Hope you all enjoy this smutty, angsty one! I really enjoyed writing it :)

Looking in the mirror, I smiled widely. Damn I look good, I thought to myself. It was Henry’s turn to visit my house, and I knew he’d love the new lingerie set I’d bought that day; a scarlet babydoll with matching lace panties. Pulling on a silk robe and stepping into a pair of black stilettos, I quickly checked my makeup and hair was still perfect and then I left my bedroom. In the kitchen, I pulled out a chilled bottle of white wine from the wine cooler and set it on the table with two glasses, and then lit the scented candles and dimmed the lights. Looking at the clock I saw that I still had half an hour until Henry arrived, so I took a seat on the table and turned on the TV that was mounted on the wall. The showbiz news was on, and funnily enough the newsreader was talking about Henry and his new movie. I smiled to myself. It always amazed me whenever I saw Henry on TV, or in a celebrity magazine, knowing that I was sleeping with him, and had been for the last six months. It had started off as a one-night stand after I met him in a club on a night out in London, and it soon turned to a regular “friends with benefits” situation. The secrecy was what made what was already hot sex even hotter, and we regularly met up, taking it in turns to go to each other’s places for the evening, always leaving in the early hours to avoid the paparazzi. It was a complete no-strings attached arrangement, with both of us knowing it would never go any further, although recently I had started to look forward to our evenings more and more. I suppose you could say I missed him when I wasn’t with him, which was dangerous territory to be in. I needed to keep a check on that. Shaking my head away from these thoughts, I reached for the wine and poured myself a glass, glancing up at the TV. 

“… and speaking about Henry Cavill, could there be a new lady in his life? Known as one of Hollywood’s most eligible bachelors, Cavill was spotted today in Kensington enjoying a drink with an unknown, but incredibly pretty, brunette…”

A photo flashed up on the screen, and there he was. Sat at an outside table of a wine bar, holding a large glass of red, Henry’s head was thrown back in laughter. The woman next to him was also laughing, her hand resting on his forearm. They looked incredibly cosy. It was obvious they were on a date.

I felt like someone had literally grabbed my heart and was crushing it. My stomach plummeted, and I went icy cold. I gasped for breath, my hand flying to cover my mouth to try and stop the sob clawing its way up my throat from escaping. Tears sprung to my eyes, spilling over and streaking my mascara. Where was my phone? I grabbed it from the counter, opening Google. Typing his name in the search bar, I cried out as photos of them both popped up immediately, all with speculative captions asking who this mystery woman could be. I threw the phone across the room. My breathing was too fast. Grabbing the wine, I drank the whole glass in one. 

“What the fuck!” I whispered to myself. What was this reaction? I knew this would happen one day. He was Henry Cavill for fuck sake, I was lucky to have managed this far having a secret fling with him. Of course he’d end up with someone for real one day, probably an actress or a model, not a nobody like me. But if I knew what was coming, then why did it feel like my heart had been shattered? Why did it feel like I’d just lost him?

“Fuck!” I said again, louder this time. I poured myself some more wine, trying to get my bearings and control my breathing. As I was drinking the second glass of wine, slower than the first, I heard a key turn in the front door. Shit. I forgot he had a key. Usually he’d knock and I’d answer the door, giving him his first view of whatever lingerie I’d chosen for that night; he’d barely make it through the door before his mouth was on mine, his sexy muscular arms wrapped around me, a hand reaching down to

Jesus Christ, this was not the time to get horny over memories! What was I going to do? I stood up, wobbling slightly on my heels. I pulled them off, and turned to face the window so he wouldn’t see my tear-stained face when he entered the kitchen.

“Hi! I did knock but you didn’t answer, I hope you didn’t mind me using the key,” I heard him call as he walked down the hallway. 

I could smell his aftershave as he came into the room; he smelled absolutely delicious. I hastily wiped the black streaks from my face, using the dark window as mirror, and turned around to face him. 

“There you are!” Henry beamed, and then whistled. “Wow. You look breath-taking. But hey, um, before we, erm, begin, I need to talk to you about something…” 

Something inside me snapped, anger replacing the devastation I’d felt at seeing those photos. Who the fuck did he think he was? Did he honestly think that I’d still get on my back for him after he’d told me about his new woman?!

“Oh, I know what you’re going to say,” I said, my voice low. 

“You do?” Henry looked taken-aback. “But I-“

“I saw the photos, Henry.”

He stilled. I walked slowly towards him, seething. 

“How long has this been going on then, huh? Have you only come here to tell me because you knew I’d see the news today?”

I stopped in front of him, wishing I’d kept the heels on. He towered over me, his male scent overpowering my senses. 

“Listen, it’s not-“

“It’s not what I think it is? Ha, spare me,” I spat, my voice louder now. The anger was bubbling up to the surface; I couldn’t control it. “What have you come here tonight for, Henry? One last fuck before you move on with your brunette?” 

His face clouded over with anger of his own. He stepped closer to me. “Y/N, you don’t know what you’re saying.”

I laughed humourlessly. “Oh I think I do! That’s all I ever was to you, wasn’t I, a hole to fill- literally! – until you found someone better! Well, fuck you, okay! I’m a human being, with feelings! Didn’t you know I’d end up-“

My hand flew up to my mouth again, halting the words before I said something I’d regret. Henry frowned. 

“You’d end up what?” he asked. He walked towards me as I shook my head. 

He didn’t stop until he’d backed me up against the wall. 

“Nothing, just forget it-“

“I asked you a question.” His voice was dangerously quiet. 

“I said it was nothing!” I pushed against his chest, trying to get away from him. I’d have had more success pushing against a brick wall, but I didn’t stop. 

“Y/N!” he shouted, grabbing the tops of my arms.

“Get off me!”

“Not until you answer me!” 

I struggled against him, and he growled, the sound echoing in my sex which traitorously clenched in response. He was all male, and I was completely captivated by him.

“For fuck- I love you Henry, okay? I love you don’t you see that?” I angrily wiped the fresh tears from my face. Henry let go of me, finally, and stared at me, an indiscernible look in his eyes. 

And then his mouth was on mine, our lips crushing together. One of his hands grabbed the back of my head, and mine wound up behind his neck. His other arm was around me, holding me tight against him as we made out passionately. He growled again, and I could feel his erection straining against his jeans. He picked me up one handed and kicked the door behind him; we fell into the living room. He threw me down onto the sofa, and pulled off his t-shirt, his perfectly sculpted chest and abs coming into view. I was panting, and so fucking wet; my legs clenched together for some relief as he ripped off his shoes and scrambled to take off his jeans and boxers. He impressive cock sprung free as he stood there naked, eyeing me up like a lion does his prey. Then he bent down and threw open my robe, his breath hissing as he saw what I was wearing. He stretched his body out over mine, and kissed me again, hard, and then moved to my neck, biting down. I cried out, raking my nails down his back; I was sure I drew blood. He moved further down my body, taking one of my nipples in his mouth and rolling it around with his tongue. I arched up, the onslaught of pleasure taking over. I was desperate for him to touch me elsewhere, my pussy pulsing with need. After giving attention to my other breast, he moved down, looking me dead in the eyes as he tore the delicate lace panties off me with his teeth. And finally, his attention was on my clit, and I nearly came there and then just from the first lick of his tongue. He thrust two fingers into me, and fucked me with them as he ate me, and the first orgasm exploded around him, as I squirted hard, causing him to groan erotically; he licked my juices up, looking up and licking his lips when he was done. I sprung up, twisting him around and down so that he was sitting on the sofa and I took his dick in my mouth, sucking him feverently, licking up and down the velvety warmness, tasting the exquisite salty flavour of him. His threw his head back, a vein popping on his neck. He came quickly, and hard, the onslaught of ejaculate flooding my mouth. I swallowed it down quickly, wiping my mouth. Henry reached out and grabbed me, pulling me down towards him. I knew what he wanted. I mounted him, taking all of him in one, and then I was riding him, hard, his hands grabbing my hips, urging me to go faster, harder. We didn’t speak, our breath coming out in pants and gasps, both of us racing to climax. I screamed as I came again, ferociously, almost painfully, tightening around him, milking him as hot spurts of his cum pumped into me as he roared his release. 

As far as last fucks went, it was spectacular. Wait. Last fuck. The argument before came back to me, and I gasped, the pain in my chest returning. I got off of Henry quickly, grabbing my robe and covering myself up again. I could feel tears choking my throat and I did nothing to stop them. 

“Y/N, wait, I-“

“I didn’t need your pity, Cavill. That was a mistake.”

“For fuck sake, Y/N!” Henry cried, getting in and stepping into his boxers. “That wasn’t about pity!”

“Then what was it about?”

“I love you too! There, I said it! I fucking love you too, alright!” Henry thrust a hand through his curly hair, pacing around the room. I stood rooted to the stop, speechless.

“But… but what about that woman, your date?” I asked when my voice returned. 

“She wasn’t a date! She’s a new director, we met for a drink to talk about a potential project!”

Realisation began to dawn on me. “So when you said you needed to talk to me about something…”

“I wanted to tell you how I felt, how I truly felt about you! Because I saw the paparazzi at lunch, I knew that there would be photos, I knew you’d see them. And then I thought, if it had been the other way around, if you had been seen out with another man and I saw photos of that, I’d be consumed with jealousy. The mere thought of it made me rage.” He stopped pacing and turned to face me. 

“I know we have a “friends with benefits” thing going on, but it isn’t enough for me anymore. I love you. I want more. I need more.”

I looked at him incredulously; I can’t believe how wrong I’d gotten it. 

“You actually, really love me? Like I love you?” I asked, daring to hope.

“Yes!” Henry laughed. He picked me up, and spun you around. “I really love you!”

We both laughed together. It was like the beginning of the evening hadn’t even happened. When I thought I’d lost him…

“I thought I’d lost you,” I said, voicing my worries. “Not that I was yours to begin with, not really…”

“I think you’ve always been mine Y/N, and I’ve always been yours. I’ve been captivated with you from the moment I first saw you, first kissed you. I couldn’t even look at anyone else. It’s always been you.”

I started crying again, the whirlwind of emotions I’d felt since seeing that news report completely overwhelming me. Henry smiled indulgently, opening his arms. 

“Come here, baby.” 

I entered his embrace, taking in his scent of expensive aftershave and sex. Being in his arms felt so familiar, like I was always meant to be here. 

“What’s going to happen now?” I asked, looking up at him. “Am I going to be seen as the “new lady” in your life?”

He responded by gifting me with the most gentle, loving kiss. “Hell yeah, baby. Now I’ve got you, I’m not letting you go, and I want the whole world to know.”

He kissed me again, and we went upstairs to spend the night as we’d originally intended. But now our true feelings for each other were out in the open, it was like the first time all over again. Plus I didn’t feel like a nobody any more. I was Henry’s, and he was mine. And I couldn’t wait for the whole world to find out.

[join-the-joywrite]

and I don't want to (but I love you)

@jatp-week Day 6: favourite trope

Not me doing a self-indulgent and stupidly long enemies to lovers au :>

Julie Molina didn't have enemies in her life. She had competitors, sure. Everyone did. But Sunset Curve took the whole cake. She didn't have enemies but Luke Patterson came dangerously close.

Luke Patterson, on the other hand, fully considered Julie Molina his number one enemy. He had zero qualms about saying that to her face and behind her back. He knew his band was the best but Julie had a real knack for knocking his ego down a bit and he hated her for it. Maybe he wouldn't get so riled up if she was nice about it or if not nice, she was less nasty and more stern. Honestly, it seemed like she took pleasure in criticizing Sunset Curve.

The rivalry between them extended to their bands and friend circles. Well, for the most part, anyway. Julie and Luke let Willie and Alex get away with their little forbidden lovers thing because they both thought the pair was cute together. It was pretty much the only thing they agreed on. Ever.

Willie only ever talked about Alex, not the band and Alex made sure to steer clear of mentioning Julie whenever he talked about Willie. The arrangement worked for all sides.

Julie and Luke's rivalry extended far beyond their music. It crept into their classes and had them fighting for the top spot. The teachers were thrilled. It meant Luke put in as much effort as he possibly could into every assignment or test. Even if it was out of pure spite, it was working.

And then, oh dear, and then there was a group project. Obviously, they split to opposite ends of the room with their friends to choose pairs (except Willie and Alex, who were shoved together and assured it was perfect) but apparently, it was important to learn how to work with people you dislike because in the workplace you might be forced to work with people you dislike -- or something like that.

Julie and Luke had never let their rivalry coerce them into doing stupid things -- except the one time where Carrie was convinced Luke could hold his breath longer and Julie almost drowned in the school pool to prove Carrie wrong -- but the moment they were paired up, Julie and Luke both wanted nothing more than to break several school rules, vandalism being the top one and starting violent fights being the second. It was unclear if they wanted to fight each other or their teacher.

Matters were made worse when their friends got to pair off together on their own terms while they were stuck with each other. The only thing keeping them from completely refusing to do any work was that they both were still competing for the highest scores.

Their friends had never been more entertained and the two opposing groups bonded over watching the two most stubborn people they knew suffer out a school project together. The clear awkwardness between them was hilarious and it was a pleasant thing to see them sitting at the same table and not trying to verbally murder each other. Bobby turned out to be the funniest person in the whole group. He had a meme-y caption for every moment they caught of Julie and Luke sitting near enough to have a normal conversation and the others loved it. He also seemed to be able to relate all the memes to the pair and was strangely good at photoshop, which earned him the Groupchat King title. (Julie and Luke were completely unaware of this groupchat excluding only them -- which, for the others' safety, was for the best.) Flynn's favourite was a photo of Julie with a feral look on her face, miming strangling a smug Luke. Me & 2020 was Bobby's winning caption. She wasn't sure which was which and that made it even better, in her opinion.

As the weeks passed, Julie and Luke's rivalry mellowed. As far as they said, it was still going strong but their actions told another story. There were playful nudges in the hallway, now. Teasing death glares across a classroom. Locked gazes and stifled giggles at inside jokes -- the fact that they even had those was surprising enough. They willingly shared a lunch table for the sole purpose of interrupting a mini date between Willie and Alex but most of it was spent in their own world anyway. Their mockery of each other had become gentler and more harmless teasing than anything.

And then one Tuesday, Luke didn't show up at school.

Of course, Luke's band knew exactly what was up, but they -- with support from Julie's friends -- decided it would be fun to play dumb and send Julie to Luke's house, just to check up on him, you know, despite the fact that the group project was long over and she really had no need to meddle further into Luke's life. The mere fact that Julie forgot she still had class and was seriously ready to leave immediately said a lot.

"I can promise you that it's really not as bad as it looks," Luke said from under several pillows, a puffy duvet and maybe three stuffed animals, "but there's no band practice today and I'm not coming to school tomorrow either so can one of you flick Julie's forehead for me? It's tradition."

"Band practice, huh?" Julie said, dropping her bag on the floor with a soft thud. "And here I thought you just had nothing more interesting going on in your life than disrupting mine."

Luke sat up fast enough that his head spun, his vision swam and two pillows fell off the bed. "Who told you where I live?"

"You did, dork. Here, I brought your homework and my dad's trying something out in the kitchen. He misread balf the recipe so it's the blandest thing I've ever tasted but if you're sick, it'll be good for you."

Luke responded to the bit that made sense. "I don't want bland food," he said, scrunching up his nose as Julie set a small stack of papers on the desk in the corner and walked up to him with a covered bowl.

"As if you'd know the difference. Your mom said you can't taste anything anyway."

"You talked to my mom?" Luke asked, looking mortified.

"Yeah, duh. What, did you think I climbed through your bedroom window? I don't care that much for you."

"Aww, I knew you cared for me."

Julie didn't respond to it. "So this is supposed to be a vegetable stew," she said, tapping the plastic wrap over the bowl, "but like I said, mistakes were made."

"Well, what is it then?" Luke asked, leaning over to peer at the bowl.

"I'd call it . . . semi-flavoured water with surprise veggies."

"Joy."

"I know, right? Anyway, I'll leave you to your . . . pillow fort? Cute stuffies. I have the same penguin."

Luke glanced at the penguin that was still secured in his arm. "Don't you dare tell your friends. Especially not Flynn. She's ruthless."

"She is not. But fine, only because you're sick. I'll be back for my bowl tomorrow and it better be empty."

Luke watched Julie leave with a look of amazement. As soon as he heard his front door close, footsteps pattered through the hallway, leading up to his mother sticking her head in his room. "I like her."

"I'm going back to sleep," Luke said, diving back into the safety of all his pillows, wondering if it was the fever or Julie that set his cheeks blazing.

Probably the fever.

"Good afternoon, dork. Reggie says you said you liked the semi-flavoured water and my dad felt very appreciated by that so he's made some actual stew for you to try. It's beef stew this time so please don't get surprised. Did you do yesterday's homework? You should, because I brought today's. How do you feel?"

Luke, who had been staring at Julie with his mouth slightly open in a perfect picture of surprise, blinked when he realised she'd stopped speaking. "Don't you knock?!"

"Your mom said you were asleep and I could just leave everything here for you but you were awake so. . ." Julie trailed off, shrugging.

"You . . . you are so strange."

Julie shrugged as she set the homework down on the desk and walked up to the nightstand to put the covered bowl down in Luke's reach. "You need to come back to school. I feel bad bullying your friends."

"I'm sure they'll be glad to hear that," Luke said sarcastically. He paused for a second. "Yeah, I did the homework. Most of it. My mom said it'll help to get out of bed and do something. I tried to play the guitar but she was adamant I didn't do that something."

Julie nodded and walked back to Luke's desk. She rifled through the mess and picked up all the homework. "I'll finish this essay for you," she said almost absently, searching among the pages. "Please tell me you did your science homework. I got a lot of that wrong and no one wants to give me the answers because apparently, I should learn my work."

"Uh . . . yeah. Um, yeah, I did the science. Wh-- what do you mean 'do the essay' for me?"

Julie looked up as she gathered everything into a pile of messy and uneven papers. "It's on the African American civil rights movement. It's factual and ninety percent of the class will have the same essay anyway so--"

"No. No, I mean . . . why?"

"Oh. Uh . . . why not?"

Luke didn't have a response, so he fell silent.

"Well, that's all of yesterday's homework. Get some rest and then make sure you eat. I can't have my favourite punching bag get too weak to take a hit."

As Julie turned and left his room, Luke felt the sudden urge to scream, so instead, he slammed his burning face into his favourite penguin. Yes, she had called him a punching bag, but she'd also called him her favourite.

"Music class just isn't the same without booing you. Also, Alex said you managed to keep the beef stew down yesterday so my dad thought you could try something a little heavier. This is an experimental chicken and fried rice . . . thing. I do not reccomend eating unless you're sure you're okay enough for a full meal. That said, I brought more beef stew in case you're not up for the chicken and rice."

"You can't just walk in unannounced!" Luke cried as Julie set down the two bowls on the nightstand.

"I can, actually," Julie said, flashing a set of keys at Luke.

Luke's jaw dropped when he recognized the keychains. "Hey, those are mine!"

"Wow, so observant. Your mom gave it to me before I left yesterday because your dad is at work and she needed to go out today and with you holed up in here, there wouldn't be anyone to open for me."

Luke frowned. "Oh, yeah, she said something like that but I was half-asleep."

Julie was pleasantly surprised to find Luke's homework neatly gathered at the corner of the desk. It didn't escape her how Luke seemed to glow with pride when she commented on it. She had to fight a smile as she dropped Luke's homework into her bag.

"Get some rest, dork. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call someone from Sunset Swerve. I'll be busy."

"It's Sunset CURVE and you know it."

"Really? I never noticed."

Luke pouted. "Tuxedo Sam says you're being very mean right now. I'm sick and I deserve care."

"Well, you can tell your stupid penguin that Skipper will beat his ass."

"You named your penguin after the penguins from Madagascar?"

"You call yours Tuxedo Sam."

"Yeah, okay, that's fair."

Julie rolled her eyes and turned to leave. "Take a nap, Moody McSleeveless."

Luke glanced at the penguin laying nearby as he heard Julie lock up the house again. "Don't look at me like that, she's mean all the time."

"I BROUGHT CAKE!"

Luke scrambled up, launching Tuxedo Sam off the bed. "Who died?"

"No one died," Julie said, picking up the penguin as she walked up to Luke's bed. "It's Friday and since you're doing a little better, I thought you could do with a small treat. Tuxedo Sam agrees."

"Give me back my penguin," Luke said, reaching both arms out to Julie.

"Did you do yesterday's homework?"

"Yes."

"Did you really eat both bowls of food yesterday?"

"Yes."

"And keep it down?"

"Yes, ma'am, now can I please have my penguin back?"

Julie passed Luke the stuffed animal. "You're adorable," she blurted, turning away immediately to hide her own stunned look. She cleared her throat as she headed to the desk to grab Luke's homework. "So, that group project? We got a ninety-five."

That distracted Luke easily enough. "What happened to the other five?!"

"We're very bad at teamwork," Julie said, glancing back at Luke over her shoulder to see him relax against the pillows.

"Ah. That . . . makes sense."

Julie nodded. "Mhm."

The silence that blanketed the room wasn't as awkward as it should have been.

"I have to go. Most of the teachers said it would be okay to get your homework on Monday, but Mr Hughes is on my tail about your chemistry paper. My dad is making cupcakes tonight for some reason and I told Willie he could have some, so I'll send extra with him to give to Alex to give to you, but enjoy that crappy store cake for now. I left proper lunch with your mom for when you feel like it."

It didn't register that the only reason Mr Hughes would be harassing Julie about Luke's homework was if Julie herself had taken responsibility for Luke. Well, it did register, but by then, Julie was long gone and the only response Luke could muster was a muffled scream into poor Tuxedo Sam.

"Oh, ew, gross. Luke, it smells like the middle school locker room in here. What were you doing?"

Luke had never looked more sheepish in his life as he pointed to the canister on his nightstand -- right next to his alarm clock. "My phone went off about an hour ago and I thought it was the alarm so I did the smart thing and slammed it down but I missed. Obviously."

Holding her nose, Julie dropped everything she was carrying on Luke's table and tore the curtains open, pushing the windows as far as they could go. She stood there for a moment, relishing in the fresh air. "I'll come back inside when I can breathe," Julie said, halfway out the window.

Luke wanted to melt into his pillows. A week later and he was only feeling slightly better. The pros of it was that Julie visited every day with something tasty and a level of snark that only amused him. The cons of it was that Julie visited every day and left him flustered and red in the face.

He firmly believed that Julie only came by every day because she had homework to drop off, but today was Saturday. There was no more homework to drop off.

And she could have just backtracked right out the door again but instead, she headed for the windows on the other side of his room. Why?

Because she's taking care of you, dork.

Luke couldn't help but think that the logical voice in his head sounded suspiciously like Julie.

"Hey, my parents have some stupid couple's yoga thing on Saturdays. Did you break in?"

Julie pulled the windows halfway closed and stepped back into the room. "No, I still have your keys. Your dad tried to give me the spare key to the front door but your mom said it'll be fine if I kept yours until you're back on your feet."

"Wow. She really trusts you, huh?"

Julie shrugged. "I'm a very trustworthy person."

"No, you're not. I saw you lose a pen that you stuck behind your ear and then you proceeded to lose three more by tucking them behind your other ear and in your pockets. You then tried to steal mine."

"I was fourteen," Julie said defensively.

"It happened last week!"

"I felt fourteen."

Luke gave Julie a deadpan look.

"Cute pyjamas."

"I know, right? Bobby got us matching ones when we were like fifteen for band bonding. I mean, I grew out of the pants but the shirt still fits."

Julie scoffed as she stared at the dark haired cartoon smiling at her from the pink shirt. "Looks really good on you, Skip."

"Hey, I like being Skipper. She's Barbie's most intelligent sister."

"Oh, yeah?" Luke didn't even notice that Julie had made herself comfortable at the foot of his bed. "And if you're Skipper, who are the others?"

"Bobby is Chelsea, 'cause he's the youngest of us, Alex is Barbie, 'cause his summer jobs have been everywhere, and Reg is Stacie, 'cause she's Bobby's favourite and Bobby's favourite bandmate is Reg."

Julie's head tilted slightly. "You sound drunk."

"The bottle said one teaspoon of cough syrup but I didn't read and I took two tablespoons. It's okay, though. Mom panicked and called the doctor and he says the cough syrup he gave me is for kids and I'm just really, really, really intolerant. Which you should remember for me because I plan to be super famous with the band and there are gonna be a lot of after parties and I don't wanna get drunk five minutes in. I think the cough syrup is kicking in."

"Luke Patterson, you are unbelievable."

"I know, right?" He attempted a winning smile, but it came off as plain childlike.

Julie chastised herself for finding him adorable. They were mortal enemies and she had to remember that. Then what are you doing in his room on a Saturday, after explicitly telling the rest of his band to stay away?

Julie found it unnerving how much the voice in her head sounded like a teasing Luke.

"You're like, really annoying."

Julie frowned. "I -- I'm sorry?"

"You should be." Luke was sitting cross-legged now, fiddling with the ears of a stuffed bunny. "It's really messing with my head."

Julie decided she liked tipsy Luke -- even if it was just cough syrup. "How so?"

"No, it's nothing."

"You can tell me, Luke. I promised not to tell anyone about your stuffed animals and I kept it, right?"

"Yeah, but this time the secret about you. You're not allowed to know."

Curiosity more than anything made Julie lean forward slightly. "It'll be our secret."

"Okay, but you have to promise not to talk about it."

Julie nodded quickly. Luke tugged at the bunny's ears for a moment.

"You're like . . . really pretty."

Julie couldn't help the soft laugh that bubbled out of her. Adorable, she thought.

"Like, a lot of pretty. You're pretty on the inside, too."

"On the inside?"

"Yeah. On the inside. You know, your heart."

"M-my heart?"

Luke nodded at his stuffed rabbit. "Yeah. You have a really pretty heart. It beats like a drum. Making music. Like you."

Julie's mouth hung open, surprise silencing her.

"You have the prettiest music in you. I can hear it like -- like a song that gets stuck in my head all day. It's really annoying but it's so pretty. It smells like flowers and it looks like butterflies."

At this point, Julie didn't think she'd be able to speak, even if she knew what to say. Luke was talking to the stuffed animal, frowning as he struggled to voice his thoughts understandably.

"Sometimes it's just so loud and I wanna cover my ears and run away but it just gets louder and louder and then you come over and you're saying something mean but the music is there and it's not so loud anymore but I still can't hear anything else. Your heart sounds like a ballad."

Julie was frozen to her seat at the edge of the bed. Part of her wondered if it was Luke talking or the fever. Part of her desperately hoped it was Luke.

"Julie, you are music."

It was a simple sentence. Anyone could have said it. It could mean a lot or it could mean nothing at all. If anyone else had said it to her, she would have taken it as the highest form of a compliment. But that wasn't what Luke was saying.

Everyone knew that Luke spoke best through lyrics and chords. His books and desks were covered in etched notes and scribbled words. Luke lived and breathed music. It was everything to him. Without it, Luke didn't know who he was.

And he compared it to Julie.

Julie stared at the text on her phone. She bit her lower lip, unsure of what to say in response.

Mom said you visited yesterday. I was dazed for most of it. I didn't say anything stupid or incriminating, right? Not that anything could be more incriminating than the three stuffed animals on my bed.

Ten minutes after that, another had come through. Jules, are you ignoring me? Did I do something?

Then another five minutes later. This is still Julie Molina's number, right?

Julie quickly typed out something before she chickened out again and tossed her phone to the foot of her bed once it was sent.

Hey. Got busy in the kitchen with dad. No, you're good. See you at school tomorrow?

Julie scrambled for her phone to send one last word.

A few streets away, Luke stared at the word 'dork'. He was sure he had said something. He vaguely remembered yapping on about music to Julie -- duh, what else did they share? -- and then suddenly, she wasn't there anymore. He wondered if he'd fallen asleep talking and Julie had left then or if he really had said something to make her leave.

Yeah, he wrote back, see you at school.

Luke cornered Julie as soon as he caught sight of her in the school hallway. "You've been ignoring me and I don't like that."

Julie squeaked. "I most definitely am not ignoring you."

"Julie, you're pretty much the only person in this school that doesn't keep their phone on mute or vibrate. I know you heard my texts yesterday."

"So what if I am?" Julie asked, folding her arms. "We're not friends, so why should you care if I reply to your texts or not? In fact, why were you even messaging me in the first place?"

While Luke fumbled for a response, Julie slipped past him and continued on her way to class.

"Oh, that is just rude!" Luke yelled after Julie.

She ignored him all through any classes they shared and when lunch rolled around, she made sure to sit with Carrie and Flynn at a small table. Luke had never looked more offended in his life as he joined Reggie in sitting with Alex and Willie.

"What did you do on Saturday?" Alex asked, leaning forward to whisper. "Julie was fine when she told us we don't need to come by at all."

"Julie told you not to come over?" Luke asked, ripping his gaze from Julie to Alex and then Reggie, who shook his head.

"Bro, she actually called Alex and told him that we don't need to come see you because she was going to."

"Yeah, I remember her being there but I was drugged up on cough syrup."

"Weak," Alex whispered loudly, grinning when he made Willie laugh.

"Maybe you said something?" Willie suggested.

"Yeah, probably! But she's not talking to me. She's not even insulting me, which I would very much prefer over this apathy."

"You know where she lives," Reggie said dismissively. "Maybe you should pay her a visit."

Luke glanced across the cafeteria to see Julie quickly whip her head down to stare at her fold. "Yeah. Maybe."

Julie was tired and wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. Her plans were thrown way off the rails when she walked into her room and found Luke petering around the shelves beside her bed.

"What are you doing here?"

Luke drew his hand back sharply. "Cute box. What's in it?"

"None of your business," Julie snapped, hurriedly closing her bedroom door. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you but you were ignoring me and--"

"You could've just yelled at me from outside," Julie hissed. "I would have come down to shut you up! You can't be in here. Get out of my room."

"No. Not until you tell me why you've been avoiding me since Saturday. Jules, what--"

"Fine! Go and wait for me in the garage. I'll come talk to you in there."

Luke hesitated, unsure if Julie was serious.

When she heard footsteps getting closer, Julie grabbed Luke by the neckline of his shirt and dragged him to the window. "Get out," she whispered hurriedly, "I'll come down to the garage, I promise."

Thankfully, by the time her father arrived, Luke was gone.

"Who were you talking to, mija?"

"Luke," Julie said with a smile. She pointed at the phone. "He liked the cupcakes I sent with Willie."

"Oh, that's great. You didn't take something yesterday and today? Is he feeling better?"

"Much," Julie said, nodding, "in fact, we have some talking to do, so I'm gonna meet him in the garage in a few minutes."

"So late?"

Julie absolutely could not lie to her dad. But she could do half truths. "It's a long overdue discussion."

"School work?"

Julie shrugged. "Music."

"Ah. The garage makes sense. Well, do you wanna take some food down? Midnight snack?"

"Thanks, dad," Julie said with a smile, "you're the best."

"Oh, your dad is the best!" Luke cried as soon as he saw Julie walk in with a plate of cookies.

"These are experimental, too. They're some kind of oatmeal and choc mint blend. They taste good, in my opinion."

"Everything your dad makes tastes good," Luke said, grabbing three cookies. "My mom's starting to get jealous of how much I love your dad's cooking."

Juli smiled and set the plate down on the coffee table. Was there any point beating around the bush? Sugarcoating things?

"You told me I was music."

Luke paused, one and a half cookies gone. "What?"

Julie kept her gaze trained on the tassels of the carpet. "You told me I'm annoying . . . because I'm pretty. Because I have a pretty heart. You said it beats like a drum and I have the prettiest music in me that gets stuck in your head. It --"

"Smells like spring and looks like butterflies. . ." Luke looked positively mortified.

Julie, refusing to look up, did not notice. "You said . . . you said my heart sounds like a ballad and then -- and then you told me I am music."

Had he really said all that aloud? Well, no wonder Julie was avoiding him like the plague.

Julie tensed up when she could see Luke's feet step in front of her. Almost every part of her screamed that this was wrong. They shouldn't be so close without bickering and fighting. But deeper within, beyond the confines of logic and sense, Luke's voice told her that this was the furthest thing from wrong.

"I said all that? Aloud?"

Julie nodded.

"You know what music is to me."

Julie nodded again.

"Jules," Luke said gently. "Julie, look at me."

Julie refused to, so Luke gingerly tucked his finger under her chin and lifted her head, waiting until her gaze fell on him before speaking.

"You know what music is to me," he said again, prompting another nod from Julie. "Then you know what you mean to me."

Julie blinked a few times and shook her head. "No. No, that's just the fever talking. You -- you didn't really mean all of that."

"If you really believe that, why are you avoiding me?"

"I . . . I don't know."

Luke dropped his hand to take hold of Julie's. He glanced at her, waiting for her to pull away. When she didn't, he interlocked his fingers with hers. "I meant every word. Okay, maybe not literally, but you know what I mean."

Julie shook her head. "We're not even friends, Luke."

"Hm, well, who said I wanted to be your friend?"

Julie wanted to hate Luke. She wanted to loathe the sight of him. She didn't want to like him, let alone love him.

And yet, she did.

So before the overthinker in her could stop her, Julie leaned up on tiptoes and brushed her lips against his. Luke beamed at her like a kid on Christmas morning.

"Not the response I was expecting, but definitely one I'm enjoying."

"Don't make me regret it."

"Yes, ma'am. Now, what are my chances of getting two more? And one for the road? Within the next five seconds becaus my mom doesn't know I snuck out and she think I'm still sick."

"Dork," Julie said fondly, shaking her head.

"I'm serious!"

"You can have two."

"Three."

"Two."

"Four."

"One."

"Two will do," Luke said, letting go of Julie's hands to wrap his arms around her. He gave her a small squeeze. "Plus a hug."

"Dork," Julie said again. But he was her dork and he was her favourite.

Before anyone comes for me about the cough syrup thing, I'm drawing from experience. I mean I never confessed my undying love for anyone but I did blurt out some weird shit. Also, THAT WAS LONG AND IF YOU SURVIVED THE ENTIRE THING, CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU

Mara's masterlist

[calypsoff2]

Ninety Two.

A lot has been said, a lot has happened. I’m raring to go back to LA and just get things sorted, with myself and everything, I’ve had a sleepless night because I’ve been thinking so much. Pressing send on the post with me, Herb and Captain. I just realised I didn’t even add a caption, let me add one now, pressing edit and adding a caption ‘Real Onez 🇯🇲’ pressing done “Good Morning” looking up at Herb “I was about to get breakfast without you, you good?” Dapping him “yeah my bad, Melody Facetimed me, crazy? I’m like young lady, what you want? I just woke up and she was just babbling about a whole lot of shit” he laughed “that’s nice, Melody is better than my kids, they haven’t bothered” I laughed “oh they busy though, they got people to see, people to meet. A store to run, I heard they be in that store they got” I chuckled “yeah I heard about that too, man” taking my shades off “not slept?” Herb said “you know it” stretching out “I have had so much going on, so much to think about” rubbing my hands together “that must have hurt to hear she will have another child with or without you; so Rih would move on” licking my top lip “she’s a beautiful woman, most intelligent and niggas don’t care, I think he’s right, I got to do better, I have too but over my dead body will she be with another, I will go down for murder” Herb laughed “it’s just things, I have too. I have to forgive within myself and when I was just thinking in bed and thinking of all the good and the bad and honestly, I just was so angry with her, Imani did not have a good start but to see her be like daddy I love you, it chokes me up. And generally I don’t think I could let go of my kids they mean so much to me, but” I drifted off “I forgive her, and I mean it” my voice broke “I just felt like I was dumped with the kids but when I look at it she did what she had to do and maybe I could have put a condom on, but I want my wife. She has been the strongest woman, I want to help her, I want to be there for her. If she could, she would have been at home with us” Herb smile grew “yes nigga, have you ever said that last part” shaking my head “not really” he did a clap “growth, any mother would be home with her kids. You know that” nodding my head “I forgive her man” putting my shades on, I am crying again “she needs to hear this, it’s ok saying it to us but she needs to hear it and also she needs to see the change bro, I think personally like me and Mel were speaking and she said that she can’t believe that Robyn is so calm and that she is in Barbados working again and that she think she’s waiting on you to do something, and I think you need to jump at this bro” flicking my tear away.

My kids are awful they FaceTime me now “girls, do not touch the phone ok, no running away with the phone keep it there” Robyn said, they been arguing over the phone “I sit in the middle!! Oh my god” Rylee said, they always arguing about something “y’all done?” I asked, “they don’t listen dad, are you in Barbados?” She asked, “now what makes you think that baby?” That was random “because it looks like it” shaking my head “I’m in Jamaica, the better of the places. Barbados ain’t got nothing on Jamaica, beautiful place” I laughed “I know he isn’t saying that” Nikita said in the background “I hope someone kidnaps him, tell him that kids” Robyn is bitter; I laughed out “daddy, dad. I want my dog, where is he?” Imani asked “he is at home; he’s waiting for you. You left him” she looks so offended “I did?” She pointed at herself “yes you did, you left him home” she frowned “mommy, can I get him?” Imani asked her “if you are there then why aren’t we there dad?” Tianna questioned “because your momma said no, she said she hates me” Tianna looked at Robyn “really?” She said, I had to laugh because I know Robyn will be pissed off “baby don’t believe him, he’s being weird. How is Captain Chris?” She asked, she ain’t showing me no face “show me some skin then I will tell you?” She scoffed “if the kids weren’t here I would give you the finger” I sniggered “mhmm you need those yourself” I mumbled “let’s not, before I put it where your prostate is then you’ll cry” I busted out laughing “you did that?” Nikita asked “mhmm don’t worry my nails weren’t done, he cried” she is so disgusting “you have no shame” she doesn’t “so tell me? How is he?” Clearing my throat “kids, can you hear a bird chirping?” Rylee smiled, I think she gets it “no just mom” I snorted laughing “exactly, remember to not feed the birds” the phone got snatched “mom, noooo” Tianna said “you’re actually a child, I asked a question” I smiled, I can see her face “no comment” I mumbled “yeah, you will be saying that in court” she retorted “no comment” I said again “I hope he made you cry!“ she spat and then gave the phone back, she gets so angry so quickly “tell your mom I love her” I said “mom, dad said he loves you” Rylee said to her “I don’t listen to dogs barking” I had to laugh “tell her I know she’s smiling, is she smiling?” The girls are just between us both “do not tell him anything” oh she is then “mommy is happy!” Imani shouted “oh my baby, see how she came through for me. That girl, you two. Traitors” Rylee scrunched her face up at me “you did the same! You went on holiday without us” she got a point “I do miss y’all so much though, how is the boy, the future of basketball?” Rylee laughed “he just sleeps, he’s lazy. Boys are boring dad; we need a new sister instead” I chuckled “you want another sister? You prefer sisters then? Even though y’all get at each other every day?” Rylee nodded her head “that’s because they are annoying, but I like them, so if we have four girls and the just one boring boy it’s ok. Then you have a friend and mom has four friends!!!” Raising an eyebrow “ask mom, go on” I laughed “the answer is no, I didn’t get surgery just for my body to be stretched out again, so no” I sniggered “Rylee, just let her say it. I will sort it out, I will use my magic powers and I will get you a fourth sister, maybe five? Just watch” I busted out laughing, Robyn is a child. She walked by and put a finger up at me “I love you all so much, and soon we can be together again” Tianna nodded her head “soon dad” she added.

Kids have been spoken too; things are ok over there. Little smile from Robyn, that makes me happy now I am seeing Captain before I go back home to California, I think I got really annoyed with him and it wasn’t his fault, I’m much calmer and I’ve thought a lot “hey son” Captain laughed; he is always laughing. Hugging him “better today?” He patted my back “yes I am, I’m sorry about yesterday, a lot happened, a lot was said, so my bad” moving back from the hug “don’t be, you took your time coming down” sitting down on the couch “yeah, thank you for coming to me at the hotel. But I was speaking to the kids, I feel so light hearted” Captain smiled “take your shades off for me, I like to see your eyes when speaking” taking my shades off “you are remorseful, you need to take this with you back home. Time is not on your side, your key to this is your music Chris, and what I told you about that girl. She wants to see this, you may think you want to brush it under the carpet, but she meaning Robyn, she wants to see you fight for her and her name. I think you shouldn’t hold back either, you should tell Robyn how you feel too, talk more. And I just wanted to say this Chris, you are going to be a very big star Christopher. You are going to be huge, you already gaining but this next song is going to have you travelling the world, big name Chris, I hear people chanting your name. You are going to be what you wanted to be, a big star. You may be mad that Robyn made you do it but you are going to be a big star” he laughed “don’t forget me and do not trust people. And erm, your mom will come back in your life with a new man” frowning at him “your dad will grow old with someone” he laughed, then he laughed even more “but son, you take care. You know what to do star, I expect to see you soon though” Captain is a whole trip, he makes me laugh.

Listening to Jay Brown talk to someone else “so when are you landing again?” He asked “erm in like three hours and I will go straight there, look I have some shit I need to set straight, I don’t care for it to be live, let them record it. Just make it happen, I know you can make it happen” my phone is beeping, Robyn is calling “bro; I need to go Robyn is calling but please get get that for me” looking at my phone screen and accepting Robyn’ call “hello” I like to answer her calls; can be anything. Kids wise too “hey” that’s all she said, “ok bye then?” I laughed “shut up, I literally called to ask if you are ok” she didn’t and she knows it “I’m good, going for a nap now. I’m tired” I’m really not even joking, I’m so tired “ok but before you do what did Captain say?” She’s just too nosey “come to me and I will tell you” I joked “wow you really want to be my ex” she’s a trip “the sex will be better, it will be hateful” I shrugged “oh shut up, you’re so smug. Tell me what he said, I just know he said something because you ain’t sad” she is too nosey “he said about your dad, I don’t know if you’re ready to hear it though” I admitted, the line went ever so silent, I don’t want to upset her though “what did he say? I want to know” clearing my throat “he said that your dad is very proud of you, he said that you were always a daddy’s girl, but your dad took a step back when he did what he did, he disappointed you but you were his heart, he adores you and that he is ever so proud of you. It was sweet, that was like the first thing he mentioned but the rest is secret” I know she is upset “thank you” Robyn said “it’s cool, also he sees another” I grinned “another argument because I know damn well I am not having more” I busted out laughing “as long as it’s not yours, fine” she is spiteful “ain’t nobody coming near you, keep talking that shit. You talk that talk like you do about making music, yeah, yeah” Robyn gasped “you ass!” she is being so playful, I like it.

I came to the Breakfast club this is the place where she came here and aired me out, I come here to do the same but also these motherfuckers weren’t shit either. They all up my ass now anyways, Jay Brown didn’t want me to come here and do this, but I am, it’s funny because they begged me to change it to the morning, I said no, pre-record the shit. I had to come New York first for this shit “this shit unprecedented, we weren’t expecting it at all. We are recording anyways, Chris Brown? You know I had to leave my home for this” I smiled “well you can invite random females to your show so why not” I shrugged “y’all jumped on some random girl like nothing so you can come when I say” Charlamagne eyes widened “she came to us, she had things to say. Now how is that my fault she has shit on you, like you playing in Riri face, we just giving news out” shaking my head “nah, you invited her because y’all wanted some fucking gossip shit, you know what” clasping my hands together “yes I shouldn’t have text her, I shouldn’t have even bothered. I hold my hands up, my fault. I shouldn’t have ever gone near her; she isn’t and wasn’t ever worth my marriage. It’s funny how she can air me out because of who my wife is, and the thing is I never wanted sex with her. And y’all can laugh but I just wanted friendship” Angela laughed “you should know that these girls aren’t going to be friends with you, she has a picture of you in bed” shaking my fault “false, that never happened. I am here to clear my name, I went to big boy with the wrong attitude, I pushed the narrative to her because I can but I am going to admit fault and it’s not because I am forced too but it was my fault, so yeah. That is all fake, she showed you what you wanted to see. I have proof on my phone that she paid her so called friend, she staged that picture and first of all that nigga is not slim like me. Y’all hyped up some bullshit, I have been quiet because I respect women, I do. I have three daughters of my own, I don’t want to be out there disrespecting females but sometimes these hoes ain’t loyal, at all and I am going to clear my name” shaking my head.

“Wow, but at the end of the day you still messaged her, you were caught slipping?” Envy said “I suppose but you were fed shit, she is a scammer. She is a liar, she wanted to have sex with me and in no way would I ever cheat on my wife because she is above anyone. If y’all went through her phone you would see how many players she scammed, lied too. She fucked with a certain player, I won’t say their name because he is married now” the studio hollered “yeah she lied about herself being pregnant just so she got paid off, she is a video girl. What do you expect. Yes I did think she was cool people but half of the shit she has done, she come at me when she has done what she has done” I laughed “then why did you text her those things, that is real right?” Angela asked “it’s real but I was venting to a friend, she was also never at my home. Teyana, I am coming for you too. She was there, she sent her those pictures. I vented to a friend. Robyn and I argued, and she didn’t give me sex, out of the three hundred and sixty five days she didn’t give me sex, I had a tantrum, so what. Like this whole situation got blown up to be so bad, it wasn’t Robyn and I always had sex, we have no issues. I got carried away so what, y’all are losers for believing the hype and wanting a little laugh for nothing, thinking some video chick had purpose, more fool y’all. I get it people want to see what marriage we have, we good over here. But let’s get back to Nury and the story y’all believing” I am mad as hell, this shit has gone overboard.

I think they all know I am pissed off “how come it’s taken you this long to come and speak on it like this?” Charlamagne asked “I have generally been minding my own business, I have been in the studio working on my album while everyone is hearing this chick, she got her little five minutes, now I am here to clear my name, and y’all want the name of the player, but it ain’t just one. There is several, you know when you release secrets Nury, don’t forget what I know too. I listened to it all, you wanted to see my slip. She really thought I would cheat on Robyn with her? I mean what does she have, nothing. I showed you them texts” I pointed at Charlamagne “yes and she really was getting at you, like she wanted you to leave Rih, that is crazy. But she flipped those messages to make it seem you wanted too. Name a player, if you can. Go on Nigga” Charlamagne said “how about Tristian, she fucked him at the family home, and I don’t mean his family” Charlamagne gasped “see you should have sat there and accepted what you had got!” I spat laughing “but whatever, she started it, I will end it. I am telling the world that these hoes ain’t loyal, listen to what I say” with my song coming out, let me get that out there “but I admit my own fault in this, I know what I did, I know where I went wrong. It’s not all pointing fingers because I wasn’t, I was quiet. But I have had enough, just that with me, it’s facts” I explained myself, I just want Robyn to get what I am saying, I am taking fault in this, I really am.

[simplybakugou]

Nights Like This

↝ After getting sick during a hurricane, you stay by your boyfriend’s side as you attempted to make his bleak day a little brighter.

BINGO SPACE: Cuddling

⋆ PAIRING: prohero!todoroki x fem!reader ⋆ WARNINGS/TAGS: fluff ⋆ WORD COUNT:

A/N: here’s another @bnhabookclub bingo piece! genuinely feel like this is absolute garbage because todoroki is such a difficult character for me to write honestly so i’m really sorry if my character portrayal is bad, i tried my best truly. thank you to @honghearts for requesting todoroki for this prompt! i’m sorry rosie if it’s not good :( the transparent todoroki cap is from the bnhabookclub drive.

FULL BINGO MASTERLIST

✐posted 08.29.2020✐

The cracking of thunder roared through the sky as raindrops pelted the window furiously. Flashes of lightning glowed through the blinds every few minutes and you couldn’t help but sigh as you peered outside through the window. The day was coming to a close and yet it had been pouring in this manner for the past few hours.

From the news you found out that many pro heroes were sent back home from their agencies and from patrol as the storm showed no sign of slowing down anytime soon. The past few days were filled with these harsh conditions as meteorologists labelled it as a hurricane, ordering people to seek shelter indoors for as long as possible until the weather wasn’t as bleak. Fortunately this meant the rate of crime was low as criminals and villains alike would not be able to ensue their chaos during a tropical storm.

You grabbed your phone as you settled back in bed, deciding to call your boyfriend. It took a few rings but he finally picked up. “Hello?” Todoroki’s voice seemed more hoarse and deep than usual, causing you to be taken aback for a second.

“Oh I was just calling ‘cause I wanted to talk to you, but are you alright, Shouto?” You asked.

You could hear Todoroki coughing before he began speaking with the same hoarseness in his voice. “It seems I’ve gotten sick… but I’m alright so don’t worry.”

“You never get sick, Shou,” you chided softly as you felt more and more concerned. “Give me a few minutes, I’ll be there soon.”

“No, wait, Y/N--” You cut the call short, not bothering to hear your boyfriend’s protests as you grabbed a raincoat, shoes, and any other belongings you needed with you. Fortunately Todoroki only lived a few blocks from your apartment so the drive wouldn’t be as trying. 

Although you knew you should probably stay inside during such harsh weather conditions like this, you couldn’t help but be concerned, knowing the countless amount of times Todoroki looked after you while you had fallen ill. It was your turn to take care of him, especially since it was so rare for him to get sick like this when he would use his quirk to regulate his body temperature. 

You parked into his driveway, scurrying inside as fast as you could to seek shelter from the rain. Even with the few seconds you stepped foot outside, you were quickly drenched as you pulled out your key to Todoroki’s home and let yourself in. 

Despite being one of the top pro heroes in the country at the time who made the most money a human could make, Todoroki was a simple person when it came to the extravagance of his home. It was a traditional Japanese style home, modeling his childhood home as it brought him a sort of comfort. Whenever you visited his house, just being inside brought a smile to your face.

You dropped your things off to the side, going towards his room as you slid the door open. He was lying in bed with a blanket covering half his body. “Shouto?”

Todoroki opened his eyes, turning his head to look at you. “Y/N, it’s too dangerous out there for you to be driving. You didn’t have to come, my love.”

You smiled at his cute pet name for you. Even during times like this he was able to verbally address you in the sweetest way possible.

“It’s okay. You live right by my place so it’s not like I’m traveling to the ends of the earth.” You leaned over his bed, placing a hand on his forehead. Your fingers felt his skin burning up and you frowned. “I’ll be right back. Let me make you something to help you feel better.”

Todoroki let out a small sigh. “Y/N…”

You waved him off. “It’s fine, Shou. Let me take care of you, alright?”

You didn’t bother to hear his response as you slipped out the door and made your way to the kitchen. You looked through his cabinets and fridge, taking whatever vegetables and other ingredients he had lying around to come up with something quick yet refreshing to eat. Finally deciding on something to whip up, you quickly went to work, chopping up the vegetables. Recalling all the times you had fallen ill as a child, you remembered your mother making your favorite soup to make you feel even a little bit better. Although you were suffering with the sickness, those moments were special as you could feel the love radiating from your mother’s cooking.

The house quickly filled up with the delicious, mouthwatering aroma of your cooking. Todoroki glanced over as you had left the door open when you left, being able to watch you work in the kitchen from his position in bed. A smile crept up his face as he fondly recalled all the times his mother would cook for him as a child in this same manner. Other than his mother and sister, you were the one woman he loved dearly and being able to have someone love him unconditionally brought joy to him in a way he would never be able to describe into words.

Within ten minutes or so you were able to finish up with your cooking, making sure to clean the space in the process. As you completed washing the dishes, you scooped some of your homemade soup into a bowl, carefully holding it in your hands as you proceeded back to Todoroki’s bedroom.

Todoroki watched as you knelt down beside his bed, smiling sweetly at him. He broke out into a fit of coughs, groaning afterwards. Beads of sweat lined across his forehead and you noticed this, setting the soup on his bedside table as you brushed back the hairs from sticking to his skin. You got up once again, this time grabbing a clean washcloth and a bowl of cold water. It seemed his sickness was affecting the way in which his quirk worked as he wasn’t able to use his ice powers to cool his body down.

You crouched down beside his bed once again, dipping the washcloth in the bowl of water before wringing it out, folding it promptly, and placing it on his forehead. “Let’s just let this sit here for a minute and then you can eat, okay?” You gestured to the washcloth.

Todoroki hummed in response. “Thank you… and I’m sorry for making you do all this.”

You smiled, caressing his cheeks with your fingertips. “You don’t have to thank me for anything, Shouto. You’ve always saved and protected people, taking care of them in the process. Now it’s your turn to be taken care of so there’s no need to apologize.” 

“What’d I do to deserve an angel like you,” Todoroki murmured, instantly making you heat up from his sweet talk. 

“I think the fever’s getting to you,” you teased, removing the washcloth from his forehead. “Can you sit up for me?”

Todoroki obliged to your request as he sat up and you propped his pillow up to support his back. You handed him the bowl as the heat from the dish warmed his hands almost immediately. He took one spoonful into his mouth, the broth from the soup covering his tongue as the flavor was absolutely delectable, just like every other dish you’ve ever made. As per usual, your cooking always made him feel better. “It’s delicious, Y/N.”

“I’m glad. I hope that makes you feel a bit better,” you said, standing up and sitting on the chair by his desk.

“It does. Thank you.” The soup warmed his insides in a way that would’ve been fine if his quirk were working properly at the moment. 

You pushed back the curtains by his window, taking a peek outside as the weather was still relentlessly pouring down rain harder and harder by the minute. The sun had finally set, making it even harder to be driving in such dark and hazardous conditions. At least on the way to Todoroki’s house it was still light outside, letting you see where you were going. “I guess I can’t go back home tonight.”

Todoroki adamantly shook his head, coughing in between his words. “No, it’s too dangerous. I don’t want you to drive right now.”

“You’re right. The last thing I need is to get into a car accident in the middle of the night of a hurricane.” You stood up once more. “You finish that. I’m going to borrow some of your clothes to sleep in.”

Todoroki nodded as you briefly looked through his closet, grabbing one of his t-shirts and a pair of shorts. You swiftly changed into your clothes and neatly folded your own clothes to the side. “Do you want to go to bed now?”

“Yes.” He set his now empty bowl onto his desk as he was about to get out of bed. “I’ll go sleep on the couch.”

“What? Why? It’s not like we’ve never slept in the same bed before,” you asked perplexingly.

“But I don’t want you to get sick because of me,” Todoroki said, coughing and then sneezing right afterwards.

You approached his bedside, pushing him gently back into bed as you crawled right beside him, pulling the covers over your bodies. “I don’t care about getting sick. I just wanna be with you, Shou.”

Todoroki let out a sigh, smiling in the midst of it. “Alright. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll talk about it tomorrow.” You laid back into bed as he began to close his eyes, already feeling groggy from the soup and his fever. “Um, Shouto, is it alright if I put the TV on? I’m not that sleepy right now.”

“Sure, do whatever you want. I don’t mind,” he mumbled.

“Okay, I’ll put the sound down,” you said as you grabbed the TV remote and played your favorite show. 

For the next few moments the room was relatively silent as you turned the sound off the TV, relying on the captions to pay attention to what was going on as well as the roaring rain pouring and slamming against the window. You glanced over to your boyfriend who’s back was facing you as he had turned on his side. You assumed he had fallen asleep and you were relieved that he had gotten the well deserved rest he needed. After about two episodes of your favorite show, you ended up dozing off yourself.

What you hadn’t realized was Todoroki was having a little difficulty falling asleep as his congestion made it hard to breathe peacefully into slumber. Just as he was about to close his eyes again and force himself to fall asleep, he felt your arms wrap around his torso from behind. He glanced over his shoulder and turned around so that he was facing you.

You groaned in your sleep as he moved, immediately latching onto his torso from the front this time as you nuzzled your head against his chest. Your actions brought a small smile to his face as he rested his cheek on your head, wrapping an arm around your body.

The moonlight spilled over through the cracks of the curtains and shined onto your face, lighting your skin up luminously. You were beautiful, absolutely breathtaking even while you were sleeping. 

Todoroki couldn’t thank you enough for all that you did for him, loving him wholeheartedly in a way he never expected. Through nights like this, with you in his arms after a long and dreary day did he feel like he had fallen in love with you all over again.

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[moonbeambucky]

Hey Neighbor (Part 4)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader Word Count: 2652 Warnings: none

Summary: You had a plan and then life came along with one of its own. With your future almost derailed you worked hard to get yourself back on track and finally everything seemed to be going right… that is, until your new neighbor moved in.

A/N: A huge thank you to my wonderful beta Sam @buckyofthemyscira​ Feedback is always appreciated!

PART 3 | HEY NEIGHBOR MASTERLIST

The past few days have been exactly what you wanted a month ago, peacefully silent, yet somehow it doesn’t feel right. You were able to finish your paper in record time, fully concentrating on your work but part of you missed the incessant music from next door.

There was an odd comfort knowing Bucky was home playing, and with the knowledge of his musical talent you now wanted to hear what he would come up with. Getting to know him briefly was… well, it was something. It could have gone a lot better if you didn’t stick your foot in your mouth.

Bringing up the music related noise was one thing but how you ever managed to bring up the noise of his “nighttime activities” made you wish you could have vanished into thin air, never to be seen again. You had done your best to avoid Bucky ever since, rushing out of or into your apartment as quickly as possible. You weren’t sure how you could ever face him again but you couldn’t deny that a small part wanted to.

Facing your shared wall you imagined where Bucky might be, picturing him on his couch, lounging across the cushions of the soft leather as he leisurely plucks away at the guitar strings, sounding out a melody. Or was he more focused, sitting upright and gliding his dexterous fingers across his keyboard? Was he at his computer editing his melodies? Was he thinking of you?

The silence was deafening. With your palm pressed against the wall you began to lean in with your ear, hoping you could hear anything. With a slight gasp you jumped back, there was noise but not any coming from next door. Your phone buzzed against the coffee table, with Steve’s face illuminating the screen.

“Hey Steve!”

“Guess who I saw going into Sweetgreen?” The strain in his voice clued you in to the right guess, Lillian. “Yup, and she wasn’t alone … yeah she’s still with Jason, for now,” he muttered under his breath, expecting her to cheat again.

“I’m sorry Steve. You know you deserve better than her, right? I know you know this.”

Steve sighed heavily. Even though he knew what you were saying was right, seeing his ex still hurt a lot.

“Thanks Y/N, I do know that, doesn’t mean I’m going to torture myself though and go in there so is it cool if I pick us up something else? I’m in the mood for carbs.”

Chuckling at Steve’s admission you couldn’t help but agree, salads were great and all but all this Bucky stress you’ve put on yourself definitely makes you crave heavier foods.

“Tacos?”

“Mmmm, yes tacos! Extra guac please Rogers!”

You set your table in preparation for Steve to come over with food, remembering to throw your wallet on the table to give him money. The last time he came over you had forgotten, being so caught up in reliving the terrible memory of your interaction with Bucky. Steve might have been right, if he handled talking to Bucky maybe you wouldn’t be so worried about running into him.

“Sam tells me you guys spoke,” Steve said, digging a tortilla chip into the container of guacamole.

You chewed quickly to swallow the bite you had taken. “Why do you always ask me a question mid-chew?” you joked. “But yes, we did speak and…” your voice lifted with anticipation as Steve’s eyes widened, waiting for you to continue. “He gave me the number for Elena Rodriguez. She’s head of the social work department and…”

“Oh my god Y/N please just tell me!” Steve begged.

“I set up an interview with her next week!”

Steve’s eyes crinkled with his excited smile though it faded shortly after as you nervously mused about fitting the internship into your schedule.

“One step at a time,” Steve offered with a small laugh.

He’s right. One step at a time. You didn’t even go on the interview yet, you might not even be hired for it; the thought of which worries you even more, but you remind yourself to breathe and take things as they come.

The elevator ascends slowly, filled with your eager coworkers looking to join the rush home. As it lets off on the ground floor, everyone dashes to the heavy glass doors as you leisurely stroll to the security desk.

Mr. Lee had a big smile on his face as he seemed to be in the middle of telling Steve a story. Slowly you approached the desk, seeing Steve smiling down at something in his hands.

“That’s what I said but Howard was ahead of his time. A comic book movie…” Mr. Lee chuckled. “It didn’t work in ’47 but it sure would be a hit now.”

“Oh, what’s this?” you asked.

Steve held up a sealed copy of a comic book, Kid Colt, which you were unfamiliar with.

Leaning over the desk towards you Mr. Lee spoke, “Tony found that for me in his father’s things. That’s how Howard and I met. He wanted to make a movie outta this. Stark Pictures. He never did though, the whole thing became a big tax write off.”

“I didn’t know you knew Howard Stark.”

“Oh yeah,” Mr. Lee boasted humbly, “Since I was seventeen. He was a good man. You know he was so proud to finally be a father. He worked a lot, probably more than he should have but he had Maria and the nannies bring little Tony over to the office. Tony Stank I’d call him. Oh boy, you could smell those diapers from a mile away it was so bad.”

Hearing Mr. Lee talk about the head of your company so freely like this made you laugh. It also made Tony Stark seem a bit more human. As far as you knew he was a workaholic who may or may not be seeing Pepper Potts. You’ve caught the way she looks at him though, with an extra twinkle in her eye or how she hesitates for the smallest moment to gather herself before going into his office.

“Tony Stank, that’s amazing,” you laughed, wondering if Pepper has ever heard this story before. “Well, have a good night Mr. Lee!”

Steve came around to the front of the desk standing tall, filling out his blue uniform with his broad stature. It was unfair how he could pig out on food with you and not show any sign of it. Meanwhile, your stomach has been rumbling all day from last night’s dinner.

“I’m on the late shift today,” he frowned.

“Poor Stevie,” you joked, wiping an imaginary tear from your eye. “Not that my night will be any better, I’ve got a shit ton of laundry to do.”

“Enjoy the sweaty laundromat then.”

“Oh I will,” you said sarcastically.

The steady hum of the running washing machines drowned out the sound of the newscast coming from a small TV mounted on the wall. It’s muggier inside than out, and even with the door open you can’t escape the permeating smell of cheap soap and mildew.

The wash cycle is nearly over so you move from the metal chair you had been uncomfortably sitting on, listening to music to pass the time, and lazily stroll over to the machine that is spinning your clothes. Quarters jingle in your pocket as you walk, ready to be placed in the dryer as you wait some more. You hate laundry day.

It’s crowded too, with all the chairs taken and other people leaning against the wall. A few kids were running around screaming, not helping their tired mother who looked too exhausted to even reprimand them as she folded all their clothes.

No one looked happy to be there, not even the attendants who had to apologize to the screaming man who didn���t understand why he couldn’t use one of their reserved machines. It was a cut throat world on laundry night, with other patrons fighting to stake claim for the next free machine.

A loud buzz lets you know your clothes are done, you wheel a basket over and open the door. The shadow of the clearly impatient person waiting for your machine blocks the dull light from the fluorescents above so you hope to grab everything quickly without dropping anything on the dirty linoleum floor.

“It’s all yours– oh.” Your mouth hung open, not expecting to see Bucky standing beside you. “H-hey.”

“Hey Y/N. Didn’t want to startle you,” he sheepishly said. “Uhmmm, is this free?” Bucky gestured to the obviously open machine.

You nodded quickly. Not knowing what else to say you stared awkwardly at the basket of damp clothes and said, “I’m gonna dry these.” Smooth.

Turning around you let out a deep breath and worried over what would happen next. It would be extremely rude to ignore Bucky and continue to listen to music. He hasn’t done anything wrong to you, not this week at least, but you were too scared to risk saying something stupid, again.

It would take at least a half hour for your clothes to dry so you put on a brave face and decided to walk back towards Bucky. Dressed in casual black shorts and a white t-shirt, his smooth, toned arms were crossed over his chest as he leaned against a support column, squinting to read the poorly transcribed closed captioning on the TV.

“Hey neighbor,” you said, offering a small friendly wave as he turned his head.

Bucky smiled, standing upright as he turned to face you completely to greet you back. He looked genuinely happy to see you, which made you feel even worse for how you left things.

“I’m sorry if I made things weird the other day. I didn’t mean to,” you blurted out before your brain gave any thought to see if this was a good idea.

Bucky chewed on his bottom lip, the gaze of his ocean blue eyes staring right through you. “Don’t worry about it,” he said with a cavalier air.

“So how’s the music coming along?” You were truly curious, having not heard any sound.

“It’s not bothering you, right?” Bucky winked.

“No, not at all,” you smiled softly. “Are you still working on that one piece?”

Bucky asked which one and you hummed the tune. Closing your eyes you missed the way his own lit up in delight hearing you repeat his melody.

“I know I complained about the noise but honestly it was so beautiful,” your voice lightened and he felt the weight of emotion even through the simple way you described it. “Maybe that’s why I couldn’t focus.”

Bucky adjusted his weight, needing to ground himself after your words made him feel as light as air. His music meant so much to him, working tirelessly to bring to life the sound he envisioned in his mind, to know that the unfinished piece had such an effect already made his heart swell with pride.

He developed his music like a chef crafting a recipe. Each instrument was a different ingredient, carefully selected notes were gathered on the counter, waiting to come together in a symphonic skillet. The flavors of music combine, heating up together the piano is covered in the spice of an electric guitar, with the drumming rhythm simmering beneath the surface as the sound of strings are poured generously over the top.

In the end the dish is a delicious feast for the ears but here you were, happily devouring the unfinished ingredient in its raw form.

“Yeah…” his voice came out breathless. Catching himself Bucky cleared his throat. “It’s actually for an upcoming video game. I can’t say which, but it’s part of an emotional scene when the main character finds his family is gone.”

“I can sense the depth of it.”

“That’s not even the best part,” he explained as his face grew with a wide smile. Bucky became lost in describing the emotion of the violins that would come in. “They’re the voice of the character and when he’s lost everything I have them coming in, crying out in pain. It’s sharp and strong, and beautifully tragic.”

Listening to Bucky describe his music resonated in your soul. You saw the complete love and passion he had for it and once again you felt terrible about asking him to stop.

“I’d love to hear it, if that’s okay.”

You looked at him with hopeful eyes, and Bucky smiled, nodding before he spoke his answer. He couldn’t wait for you to hear everything together.

You passed the time by getting to know each other a little more. Bucky has a younger sibling named Rebecca who moved west to work as an avian veterinarian in a bird sanctuary.

“My parents are lost without them around,” Bucky joked. “Do you know how hard it is to try to explain how to use Skype to them over the phone?”

“Oh believe me, I know. Somehow my mom always calls at the worst time to have me explain the most basic function on her phone that she already knows because we’ve gone over it a million times but…” You threw your hands up as Bucky joined in with your laughter.

When your clothes were dry Bucky gave you some space to fold them alone which you appreciated, not wanting to showcase your intimate items in front of him. He was still a stranger, sort of, but you were glad you were getting to know him.

Checking the time you realized it was on the late side and you still needed to shower before bed. Your clothes were packed neatly into a laundry bag, well most of them were at least. One sock managed to get eaten by the dryer to your dismay, and you hoped its pair was somewhere on your floor having fallen out as you prepped the laundry.

Slinging the bag over your shoulder, you gripped the bottle of detergent with your other hand and walked towards Bucky.

“Hey,” you called out to Bucky who lifted his head from his phone. “I’ve got a few things to do tonight still so can I take a rain check on hearing your music?”

“Yeah, of course.” Bucky did his best to mask his disappointment but he understood. He noticed the slump of your shoulders, balancing the laundry bag high on one side and letting your other limb hang low with the weight of the heavy bottle.

“Do you want me to carry that back?” he asked.

“Oh, no it’s okay, I can manage.”

The apartment was only two blocks away, two long blocks but still, you didn’t want to inconvenience Bucky even though judging by the curve of his biceps it wouldn’t be a problem.

Bucky walked with you to the front of the laundromat as you smiled and said goodnight.

“Goodnight Y/N,” he whispered, watching as you walked down the sidewalk until he could no longer see you in the crowd.

The words stayed on his lips like they were always meant to be there and Bucky has a brief flash of a life he’s never thought about.

A warm bed, made even warmer by the figure curled against him. His breath syncs with theirs and he’s at peace. His heart beats to the rhythm of love and his lips purse together to plant a soft lingering kiss on their forehead. A smile secures itself on his face because he’s truly happy; surrounded by the comforting feeling knowing that when he wakes up that person, his love, will be by his side.

The machine buzzes at the end of its cycle dragging Bucky back to a reality that has him gasping for breath. He steps outside for a minute for air, needing to clear his mind of the vision that seemed so real it scared him; for better or worse he can’t quite say.

PART 5

[lemonpeter]

Secrets Kept pt 2

Part 1 here

Sorry for the wait everyone but here it finally is 💕 I hope everyone enjoys (and doesn’t hate me too much :)) 💕

Warnings: manipulation, abuse, noncon elements, blackmail, angst

————

A bitter taste flooded Tony’s mouth as he saw the headline.

‘Stark’s Ex Moved On.’ The heartless caption was paired with a picture. A picture of his Peter with some blond asshole with his arm around Peter’s waist. Definitely cozy. Couldn’t have been the first time they’d done this.

Tony couldn’t help but wonder if it was the same guy that Peter cheated with.

The thought was painful and unwanted, but it stuck in his mind like it was pinned there. It circulated through, latching onto his insecurities and hurt as it went.

He shook his head like that would help it leave. It didn’t.

He sighed softly, looking over the picture one more time like the masochist that he was. Yep. It was still there. Peter was definitely cuddled up to that guy.

Well, good for him.

———

“Come on, I’d rather just stay here,” Peter argued, gently cleaning himself up so that he didn’t have to look at Skip as he talked. “I’m perfectly okay here with May.”

The blond sighed, shaking his head. “Maybe you think you’d rather stay here, but we always have to be so careful here. I’d be able to be gentler and slower and all that if we didn’t always have to rush like we do here.” He quickly got dressed, leaving silence for Peter to think about his proposal.

It wasn’t really true and he knew it, but he didn’t feel like taking Peter kicking and screaming. He could at least try to convince the man to come willingly.

Peter paused, thinking through it as he gently pulled his clothes back on once he was clean. Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad. Sure, he didn’t really want to live with his abuser. But maybe he’d end up with less bruising and overall pain if they didn’t have to be so quick when they got together.

He couldn’t believe that he was actually considering it.

Skip sensed the younger man’s indecision and grinned to himself. “I know, Einstein. Doesn’t that sound better? Going slower, not having to rush things?” He slid his hands over the man’s arms, ignoring the way he shuddered. “Plus we could really be together. Have the whole boyfriend experience.”

It felt like ice water had been dumped through Peter’s veins. “You are not my boyfriend. We’re not together.” He was only Tony’s. He was supposed to be Tony’s forever. He didn’t want anyone else. But especially not Skip.

“Right.” He huffed softly. He gripped Peter’s arms gently, but enough to get the point across. “But I say we are. The tabloids say we are.” Possessive kisses trailed down the younger man’s neck. “And we’ve already determined that you go along with what I say.”

It wasn’t true. At least...Peter didn’t want for it to be true. He didn’t want to go along with anything Skip wanted.

A hard bite to his neck caused him to whimper when he didn’t answer. Skip didn’t like when he didn’t answer. “I know,” he whispered. He hoped that was answer enough.

When he didn’t feel teeth sinking into his flesh again he figured his answer was acceptable.

But then he felt greedy hands pushing up his shirt and feeling over every individual muscle they could find. He’d thought their last round would be the last for the day. But apparently Skip had other plans and was already ready to go again.

Nausea clawed at Peter’s throat but he did nothing to stop the other man, standing still and not helping or stopping in any way. He just wanted it over with. At least it never lasted long.

But suddenly the hands stopped and all weight pulled away from his body.

“I’ll help you start packing,” Skip told him. It was clear that there was no room for argument. Peter was moving again and that was that. He got no say.

“I don’t have any boxes,” he said weakly.

“Then we’ll only take what you need. A bag of clothes, toothbrush, phone charger. Whatever.” The older man waved a hand, effectively brushing him off.

Peter’s stomach clenched. He didn’t want to go with Skip. Everything else was bad enough. But at least he had his own bed to sleep in at night. And he had things around that reminded him of Tony.

He wouldn’t get either of those things anymore.

As he carried his too-small bag of things out to Skip’s car, tears streamed down his face and he had to stop halfway to try and breathe through his choked sobs. He didn’t want to go. Terror shredded his heart as he thought about how much worse things could be if Skip had constant access to him.

The older man gripped his arm when he stopped, yanking him close. “You’re causing a scene,” he hissed. “If anyone saw you, they’d call the cops. And you know what’ll happen if that goes down.”

Peter didn’t want to care. He wanted to just say fuck it and let Tony see the pictures. Hell, let the whole world see the pictures. He didn’t want to care.

But he didn’t want anyone to know how he’d been used. How much he’d been through. How disgusting and dirty he was. Tony wouldn’t want him if he knew. No one would want him if they found out.

So he couldn’t fight.

He put his bag in the car and then went back to May’s to leave a note.

He wanted to beg for help. To tell her where he’d be and to call the police.

But Skip was over his shoulder, watching every word he wrote. So he couldn’t do anything.

He left a simple note. Nothing that would cause his aunt to worry. He’d caused her enough stress during his life and he didn’t want to add any to it.

‘Hey, May. Going to live with Skip for a while. I’ll be sure to visit. I love you.’

His hands shook as he set the note down, vision blurring as his eyes filled with tears again.

————

The last person that May expected to have knocking at her door was Tony Stark.

Well, maybe not the last person. But he was up there.

Her jaw set as soon as she saw him, instantly moving to close the door again. “You’re not welcome here, Stark.”

“I know you don’t like me. I know. And I know I fucked up. But I have to see him, Mrs. Parker. Please.”

The desperation in his voice was something she’d never heard from the man. This was far from the confident, cocky person she usually saw. This man sounded every bit of heartbroken that Peter did.

Although Peter seemed to have moved on a lot quicker.

She sighed as she opened the door, arms crossed. “He isn’t here. So unless you have another reason you’re here, you should be on your way.”

Tony had never been someone she completely approved of. She didn’t believe that he’d changed all that much from being a playboy. But he’d made Peter happy so she tried to push down any bias.

Once he’d broken her nephew’s heart, however, she was okay with being harsher towards him. But the man she was seeing wasn’t the man she disapproved of. So she didn’t know exactly how to react.

Tony’s face fell as she told him that Peter wasn’t there. He’d expected a reunion, a conversation, maybe even Peter coming home.“When will he be back? I can wait.”

“He doesn’t live here anymore.” She sniffed, obviously disapproving of the situation. “Moved in with his new boyfriend a few days ago. No warning, nothing. Just gone.”

“He doesn’t...he doesn’t live here?” It had taken Peter months to be convinced to move in with Tony. Just how long had he known this other guy that he was willing to go so quick?

May shook her head. “That’s what I said. He’s gone. Hasn’t even visited yet. Called yesterday but not for long.” She shook her head. “Don’t know what’s gotten into him. I thought he’d finished with the rebellion shit when he finally told me about Spider-Man. But no, had to get with you, had to find this new-“ she cut herself off, sighing.

“You don’t like the new guy?” Tony asked. “Is he the one in the pictures?”

“The pictures...Stark, don’t tell me you’ve been looking at tabloids. You have to be above that. You’ve been in the spotlight how long?”

Tony didn’t look at her. “I haven’t talked to him, I couldn’t help it. It’s all I’ve seen of him in...too long. But you didn’t answer the first question.”

May snorted. “You should just come in and sit down. You look weird just standing in the hallway.”

She ushered him in, sitting on the couch and tucking her legs up beside her as she sat.

Tony sat across from her, fingers feeling at the worn fabric of the couch.

Sitting in May Parker’s apartment felt like home in a way that he couldn’t describe. Because it wasn’t like he’d ever lived anywhere like it.

Maybe it was just because it was where Peter came from. And wherever Peter was was home.

The man had broken his heart. Cheated on Tony for god knows how long and admitted to it. But he was still everything to the man. And he couldn’t help but feel like there was still something he didn’t know. Because Peter wouldn’t just do that.

May started speaking again, pulling Tony from his spiraling thoughts. “To answer your question, no. I don’t like him. He just...god, don’t tell Peter I said this, but honestly he creeps me out.”

“Really? How?” Tony asked curiously, looking at her.

“I don’t know. I can’t explain it. He’s just weird, constantly watching Peter. It feels like everything he does or says is fake, but he’s a really bad actor. Maybe he just has a weird personality, but I don’t know. He just gives me the creeps.” May shrugged. “But Peter likes him so there’s not much I can do.”

“I guess so,” the man mumbled.

“I didn’t think it would hit you this hard,” May told him. “Since you were the one that kicked him out and all.”

Tony winced. “Of course it hit me hard. Do you even know what happened?” He didn’t mean to snap, but he didn’t like her acting like he was the one that had done wrong. He regretted making Peter leave but obviously it didn’t hurt the other man too much.

The woman stared at him. “Don’t you snap at me. And no, I don’t. All I know is that my nephew came home crying so hard he couldn’t breathe and told me that you had kicked him out and said it was over. I didn’t ask for more because he didn’t give me more. I have the information that matters.”

“No, you don’t.”

Is this really what Tony wanted to do? Ruin Peter’s image to his last living family?

He hated how she was treating him. He hated how she thought that he was the one that had broken Peter’s heart. When Peter was the one who’d fucked everything up.

But he couldn’t do something like that. He couldn’t taint the way that she looked at him. Every time he saw them together she looked at him with such pride. He couldn’t ruin that, even with the truth.

“Then what is so important that you have to yell at me for?” She crossed her arms.

Tony sighed, posture wilting. “Nothing. Just- yeah. Nothing. It doesn’t matter. Maybe you can ask him when you next talk to him. But I’m not- no. I’m not getting involved. That can be between you and him.”

May watched him closely. She wanted to be angry at how he snapped at her. But he looked so broken that she just couldn’t. Instead she held her arms out. “Don’t make this weird. But you really look like you need a hug. So just...come here.”

He almost didn’t. It would have been so odd, hugging his ex boyfriend’s aunt who was easily five years younger than he was.

But it had been too long since someone had looked at him like that. And it had been too long since someone maternal had offered such a thing to him.

So he moved to the couch she was on, letting himself be wrapped in her arms.

She held onto him gently, rubbing his back.

It shocked her when she felt a tear fall onto her shoulder. But she just held him closer. He clearly needed it.

He shook with sobs before long, unable to stop it. The last month without Peter had been so hard and it all hit him at once.

May didn’t comment, just keeping her arms around him and doing her absolute best to soothe the man.

Maybe she didn’t like him all that much. But clearly something in him had changed.

She wasn’t sure she wanted to know what Peter had done to have that effect on him.

————

Peter curled in on himself, trying to make himself as small as possible. Maybe if he got small enough he would disappear.

Fingers pinched the already-bruising skin on his hip and he straightened out again, face contorting in pain. But he couldn’t make a sound or it would only be worse.

Skip pressed his bare body against Peter’s back, holding onto him.

Anyone else would have called it cuddling but Peter didn’t want to consider it that. Cuddling was gentle and nice and enjoyable. Skip had defiled him and then wanted to act like he’d done something to deserve affection.

It wasn’t cuddling. It was silent time after sex where Peter fantasized about escaping as he tried to ignore the body behind him.

Maybe one day it wouldn’t be only a fantasy.

Because even with the awful situation, as dirty and worthless as he felt, he dared to have the barest hope that he could get out.

And maybe...just maybe Tony would take him back eventually. But that wasn’t even something he dared to dream for yet.

————

The final part, part 3, is coming soon 💕

Tags: @lokitonypeter @nayamasters @puppypeter @softstarkerstuff @notfor-temporaryuse @bittersweetbeneath @nogenderpotato @venomondenim @haysend @awimespo @prettyunki @ikneelbeforemygod @noellemaldonado @jordanparker @preciouspeterbparker @virideer

[halliewriteshockey]

I was asked to make a Chris Kreider/Mika Zibanejad primer

Naturally I jumped at the opportunity. Let’s dive right in, shall we?

Chris Kreider

This motherfucker

Graduated college because his mother asked him to do that before going pro

Loves his mother

Has a communications degree, sharp as a tack even if he does sometimes have regrettable facial hair

“Sharp as a tack” except for that one time he ignored his body trying to tell him something was wrong and nearly died

Plays piano, guitar, and saxophone

Has a beautiful baritone singing voice

Has been known to serenade his teammates during practices

Avid reader, takes his Kindle everywhere

Tends to run over goalies (bad Chris, NO)

Teaches his teammates new words for fun

Speaks at least three languages—English, Russian, and Spanish. He’s rusty in Russian but he speaks it to the baby Russians on the team to make them more comfortable. Him speaking Russian

He really loves dogs. Like really loves dogs. I mean really.

I could go on, honestly

Mika Zibanejad

This motherfucker

French-braids his hair for special occasions (see above gif)

Born in Sweden, but is actually half-Finnish, half Iranian. He speaks Swedish, Finnish, Farsi, and English.

Drafted sixth overall by the Senators in 2011, traded to New York in 2016. Had literally just bought and started building a house just before he was traded.

Is left handed, wanted to learn guitar at school but they didn’t have any left handed ones so he took drums, wasn’t impressed.

DJs in his spare time. Is actually really good at it?? Has played for multiple Rangers’ charity events, as well as friends’ weddings. Did the player intro song for the team’s 2018-2019 season. Makes some incredibly catchy music. My favorite

Owns a restaurant in Stockholm with his brother and several friends—announced last year a portion of proceeds are going to women’s hockey

Volunteers with kids in Sweden to help grow the sport and encourage interest

Oh yeah he’s also really good at hockey?

Nbd he just scored five goals in a single game one time and here’s a video of all five

His father had come to visit and told him as they were leaving Mika’s place for the arena, “you know, I’ve never seen you score a hat trick”. So Mika casually went out and got five goals instead because that’s just the kind of overachieving bastard he is

Wraps his stick for Pride Night (so does Chris), and actually scored those goals on Pride Night, so he said GAY RIGHTS and I think that’s very sexy of him

Adores his niece Nikki and brand new nephew Knox, him and Nikki

His hair should be illegal

Takes the rookies under his wing, mentors them, and often lets them live with him until they find places of their own.

Will almost certainly wear the C sooner rather than later

And now for my favorite part

Chris and Mika’s relationship

Chris was Mika’s first liney when he arrived in New York

They bonded immediately

Chris has visited Mika in Sweden over the summers not once but at least twice that we know of

The first visit - this picture tragically cut off the caption Mika put on it, which was “reunited with bae 😍”

They did an interview game on how well they know each other. When they were asked who Mika would take on vacation with him, they both instantly answered “20” and Chris muttered, “You’d better take me.” 

(Also, Chris made a fantastically dorky reference to Robots [a movie like three people saw] at the beginning of that video, so that made me love him even more)

Here’s the video, watch it at your peril

The second time Chris visited him in Sweden

Chris represented America at Worlds last year. Mika didn’t represent Sweden, but he went to see Chris play. (Don’t have a source on this)

They’re addicted to hugging each other

No really

Like actually addicted

You think I’m joking?

Mika’s flirting is… not subtle

Oh did you think we were done with hugging clips?

That’s cute

Chris literally held Mika’s hand on the bench

MORE HUGGING, MOTHERFUCKERS

Mika has a Chris-specific smile, I’m not joking

Chris: *says anything* Mika: *gazes at him adoringly*

Mika is not shy about being tactile, and Chris clearly loves it

This one just makes me laugh because Chris is being so intense and Mika’s having none of it

In conclusion, please join me in appreciating not only the bond these two idiots share but also their individual personalities, because they’re both pretty damn great

[stxvercgersslut]

Missing you

Pairing: Ransom Drysdale x Reader

Description: You’re away on a business trip for three days and Ransom just can’t take it anymore.

Warnings: filthy! Insanely filthy! Practically porn with a little plot.

Three days! Three whole boring days without your boyfriend of 2 years Ransom Drysdale. Honestly you couldn’t think of anything more excruciatingly painful to sit through. Nothing would ever compare to being away from him.

Of course you missed cuddling up to him at night, watching tv with him or even just sitting on his lap whilst he occasionally planted kisses against your neck and whispered the things that he wanted to do to you in your ear. But oh how you missed the mind blowing sex with your former playboy. God did he know what he was doing in the bedroom. He’d definitely ruined you for other men. Nothing would ever compare to the feeling of being filled to the brim with Ransoms huge cock whilst he slammed in and out of your an impossible pace, or how sometimes the two of you would just be so exhausted from your days that you’d just sit down on his cock and cuddle into him whilst he occasionally moved his hips up, thrusting sloppily up into you. Point was you missed Ransom.

Which was why you were currently dressed in nothing but his extremely soft cream cablenet sweater, sitting on the floor with you back pressed against the edge of the bed and your legs spread open wide whilst your phone camera pointed straight at your soaking wet pussy through the body length mirror. Recording as you slowly played with your swollen folds, purposely missing your clit, head tilted so far back in concentration that you were almost a hundred percent certain that you weren’t even recording. Thankfully you were. Once you’d been positive that was enough of a show for Ransom you quickly pressed the big red button in the middle of the phone screen. The video was around 15 seconds long, only showing as much as your soaked fingers running through the slick of your pussy. Opening your folds for him every few moments to really give your boyfriend an all mighty show.

Once you’d watch the video a good few times and had actually approved of the quality of your small little ‘performance’ for Ransom, you opened your contacts. Soon pressing his name before attaching the video with the caption ‘Clearly I’m missing you a bit too much tonight daddy’ adding a winkie face to the end of the message before pressing send as quickly as physically possible, ensuring you no time to change your mind.

Shockingly the former playboy was still awake at 11pm on a Sunday. He most certainly must have been looking through your previous sexts for a little relief of his own since the second you sent it he instantly saw it. However, nothing could have prepared you for the message, well rather video, that you received in return.

‘You’re already soaked for me baby? I’m not even there yet your pretty little pussy is drooling for me. Can you see how hard you got me?’ Attached to the message was a rather intimidating video, include a extreme close up of his hand lazily stroking up and down his large erect cock. He really wasn’t lying when he said he was hard. His cock was practically screaming for you to suck it. And oh how you so wanted to be there in front of him, down on your knees with your lips wrapped around his gorgous cock.

Ransom clearly wasn’t in the mood for just nudes right now, since he didn’t even give you enough time to respond to his message. His name popping up in big bold letters, signalling that your extremely sexy boyfriend had called you.

Wasting no time what-so-ever you quickly answered his call, pressing the phone to your ear in one quick swoop before your lef hand began playing with you breast through your (well his) cablenet sweater, your thumb and ring finger wrapping around your nipple and giving it a harsh pinch causing a low moan to leave your lips before he could even speak.

“I would ask if you’re wet for me baby but that video left nothing to the imagination, you’ve got such a pretty pussy pink y/n. Can’t wait to get my mouth on that little clit in 2 days. Gonna make you cum so hard you won’t be able to walk for at least a week. Even then I’d be letting you off lightly.” He purred into the phone, every so often pausing to let out a low growl of pleasure, his hand was still greedily wrapped around his cock stroking slowly as he tried to prevent himself from cumming almost instantly from the little present you’d given him. Oh how he loved receiving videos from you. Especially ones as detailed as this. Although he would have preferred a little bit more then just your fingers toying with your pussy. In fact, what he longed for was to be there with you. His mouth latching onto that little bundle of nerves and sucking harshly as you moaned below him. But you were a whole different state away from him for another 2 days. This just didn’t seem fair to him. Not in the slightest.

Clearly he was expecting you to just mewl, moan and cry in response to his dirty talk. But what happened next surprised the both of you. You weren’t exactly the type of girl to dirty talk, especially when Ransom preferred to do most, of not all, of the talking during sex. Yet tonight all of that was about to change.

“Daddy....are you stroking your cock for me? I miss you so much. I miss how well you fill me with your cum. Wish you were here with me right now. I really need to cum daddy, won’t be able to sleep otherwise. Please make me cum..need you to make me cum. Can’t do it on my own” you begged, your left hand sneaking down to the hem of you, his, sweater and pulling it over your head. It was getting way too hot to wear such a thick sweater. Besides, Ransom preferred you naked anyway. Even if you were a whole state away from him, it was good to know that you followed his rules even when he didn’t tell you to. You were just way too good of a girl for him. The growl you heard on the other end of the line would have been enough to make you cum right on the stop if it wasn’t for your surprisingly excellent self control.

This was new, you hardly ever spoke like this, even during rough sex Ransom could barely get a sentence out of you. Yet now? Now that you were away from him you were filled with a wave of confidence. And to say he was excited about that would have been an understatement.

“Awe my poor baby” he began, lowering his voice a couple decibels without acre in world before continuing “can’t cum without daddy’s help can you? My pathetic little baby. Well then Princess go ahead and stuff that tight little cunt with three fingers for me.” He didn’t have to tell you twice. Because the next thing you know your following his orders, wasting no time at all in letting your hand go straight down to your heat, running a finger through your folds teasingly one more time before pressing each finger in one at a time until three fingers were inside you, causing a loud needy moan to erupt from inside of you.

“Doesn’t take much to make you moan does it baby? Your fingers feel good huh?” He teased, half expecting you to retaliate with a new found confidence like you had before, yet all he got were moane and whimpers in return. “Oh come on baby you can do better then that, where my confident princess gone? Thought you wanted me to make you cum? Can’t help you if you don’t tell me how it feels y/n. Now I’ll try again. Do your fingers feel good inside of you?” This time you mustered up enough courage to once again reply.

“Y....yes they do daddy....so good”

“Good girl....As good as my cock?”

“No daddy, wish my fingers were your cock”

“Thought so. You moving your fingers?”

“No” oh you knew better then to start fingering yourself without his permission. Had it been any other night you probably would have tested your luck by beginning thrust your fingers inside of you already, but you wanted to cum. And the only way that was going to happen was if you were a good girl.

“Wow, daddy’s proud of you princess. Following his rules without him even having to remind you. When you get in I’ll reward you for being so good. How’s that sound baby? You want daddy to eat your little pussy until you’re begging me to stop? Go ahead princess, finger fuck my pussy and make it cum.” He questioned, once again taking breaks in-Between every other word to moan or groans through his teeth. At this point he was fisting his cock at a much faster pace, desperate for release. You didn’t answer, but he didn’t expect you to. Not when he’d just given you permission to start moving your fingers.

At least he got to hear your little moans and crys of his name as you got closer and closer to your peak with every stroke of your fingers. Right now, more then ever he really did wish you weren’t so far away. If he could then he would have made his way straight over to you with it meant he could bury his face in your cunt and lick up your sweet nectar. It was no secret this man loved your pussy. Not that you were complaining.

“You close yet baby? You gonna cum for your daddy? Let him listen to your soft little moans? Come on baby I know you’ve got it in you. You can cum for daddy can’t you?”

“Mmmm” was all you could response with. Too caught up in the feeling of your fingers inside of you combined with your thumb strumming at your clit.

“Go on princess, I’m right behind you. Cum baby cum!” Was all you needed before you slipped over the edges, practically screaming in ecstasy as you squirted all over your fingers and onto your wrist. It didn’t take long before Ransom was growling into the phone, signaling that he had finally cum too.

What a way to relive stress and remind each other how much you loved the other.

Tag list: @et-lesailes @jtargaryen18 @chuckbass-love @cevans-fics