#jill afternoons

[4ndj4]

Live laugh love Al

[pricelesscinemas]

[godfat-her]

didn't work :(

[bloatedandalone04]

Love Drug

➪the one where you have a girls night while jake has a guys night, and he gets a surprise when he comes home and finds you acting more clingy than usual.

Warnings: drugs, weed, alcohol consumption, first time weed trying, swearing, fluff, pot brownies

Word Count: 2.3k

Do not repost this anywhere, reblogs are fine ♡

“I love you,” Jake spoke in between kisses as he pushed you up against the wall beside the front door. You couldn’t seem to get a word out as he kissed you again, his hands placed firmly on your hips. “Have a good night. I’ll miss you.”

You laughed against his lips, pushing on his shoulders. “You’re going to be late for drinks,” you warn softly, pulling away from his relentless mouth. “And the girls will be here soon.”

Jake groaned quietly, leaning down to press his forehead against yours. “Okay, okay,” he sighed, reaching up to caress your face as he guided you into one final, soft kiss. “Have a good night, baby.”

You smile, leaning into his touch. “You too,”

Jake reluctantly pulled away, straightening out his simple dark gray button up and smoothing out his hair in the mirror on the opposite wall from the one you were currently leaning against. “I’ll be back in a few hours,” he said as he turned to you and placed his hands on his hips. 

Nodding, you step forward and take it upon yourself to tuck his shirt into his jeans. You smile up at him, keeping your fingers tucked against the denim waistline. “I love you,” 

He grunted quietly, leaning down to kiss your forehead. “I love you, too,” he said back, turning to grab his keys and wallet from the small table by the mirror. “Text or call me if you need anything.”

You smile and nod as he opened the front door, and you leaned against the frame and watched as he got into his truck. You waited until he was gone before closing the door and heading towards the living room to wait for your friends to come over. 

Ever since you moved in with Jake, you two have been inseparable. Even more than you were before. Bradley liked to constantly point out the fact that he was against the two of you living together because he knew no one else would ever get to see either of you, and he was kinda right. 

To prove him wrong, though, you suggested a girls/guys night, where you invite some of your friends over and Jake goes out with the guys. 

Of course, you and he spent all morning and afternoon together before he left, so you both were able to get your fix before being away from each other all night. 

Only ten minutes had passed before you heard the front door open. “I’m here,” Nat called out as she entered the living room, a case of coolers in one hand and a plastic container in the other. “Jake better not be, even though I didn’t see his truck.”

You scoff as she places the drinks and container onto the coffee table and sits next to you. “No, he left,”

“Good,” she grinned before wrapping her arms around you. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever. You and Jake make me sick, seriously.” She joked as you hugged her back. 

“You’re so sweet,” you mutter and she laughed before pulling away. “I’m glad you’re here.”

Nat smirked as she gestured to the drinks. “I brought the goods. Where is everyone else?” As soon as she asked that, the door swung open again and your other friends, Brittany and Rachel, came walking in. 

Soon enough, the four of you were spread out around the living room. You and Brittany were having a pretty intense debate on whether white or red wine tasted better, while Nat and Rachel were poking through Jake’s old movie collection. The fifth and final guest, your childhood friend Jill, arrived half an hour late, but you expected that since she had never been on time for anything for as long as you’ve known her. 

As the night went on, Nat opened the container she brought and you were finally allowed to see what was inside it, and you were a bit underwhelmed when you saw that it was just brownies. 

She went on to explain that she made them herself, but you quickly tuned out when your phone went off and you saw that Jake had texted you. 

Jake💖: I miss you. The guys aren’t as fun to hang out with as you are. 

You smile, a blush coating your face as you texted him back.

I miss you, too… Of course they’re not as fun as me ;) 

You glanced up as the girls started to eat the brownies, and you took one from Nat as Jake texted you back. 

Jake💖: How’s your night going? Any guys in my house?

You grinned as you bit into the brownie, and you had to admit that it was pretty good. You never took Nat for a baker, but she should definitely do it more often. 

Don’t worry, I’ll kick them out when you come home.

Jake💖: You better be joking. I’ll come home right now.

A laugh left your lips as you finished the brownie, and when you looked up at the others, they were all looking at you with raised brows. “Sorry,” you mumbled as you finished chewing, assuming they were teasing you about being on your phone. “One sec.”

You know I am. Hope you’re having a good time with the guys. 

After that, you set your phone down as Nat gave you another brownie and waited with a small smirk on her face until you took a bite of it. “Okay,” you trail off, looking up at her when she stood to go mess with the speaker by the TV. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Were you not listening when I told you what I put in those?” She asked as she plugged her phone into the speaker. 

You shake your head slowly. “No, sorry, Jake texted me,” you answer and then you realized the other three were also smirking at you. “What am I missing here? Why are you all staring at me?”

“Oh, no reason,” Rachel shrugged. “I’m assuming you like the pot brownies?”

Your face fell and you quickly looked over at Nat before down at the half eaten brownie in your hand. “These are pot brownies?” You asked quietly, and when Nat nodded, your eyes widened. “Nat! What the fuck, you know I don’t like messing with drugs.”

She placed her hand over her heart. “It’s not my fault you decided to text your boyfriend instead of listening to me when I told you what I put in them,” 

You groan, falling back on the couch. “I had almost two of these,” 

“One and a half,” she nodded. “Yeah.”

“What the fuck,” you whine, setting the brownie down as a random song from her gym playlist started playing through the speakers. “What’s gonna happen to me?”

“You’re probably gonna get high,” Jill answered, finishing the brownie for you. “I’m actually kind of excited to see it. You were always such a good girl in high school. I could never get her to smoke with me.” She told the others as Nat sat down next to you. 

“Don’t worry,” she grinned. “You’ll be just fine. Trust me.”

And trust her you did, and then within the next half hour you were stumbling your way over to the bookshelf by the window, a cooler in one hand and the other half of Nat’s brownie in your other. 

Rachel, Jill and Brittany were all chatting about something that didn’t interest you, and Nat was laying down on the carpet and staring up at the TV as old music videos played. 

A grin took over your face as you looked at the framed picture of you and Jake on the third shelf, his arm slung around your shoulders and big, goofy smiles on both your faces as you looked at the camera. “You’re so cute,” you mumble to yourself as you trace your finger along the glass, outlining the shape of your boyfriend. 

“Y/n,” Rachel whined as she moved to lay down next to Nat. “I’m hungry. Do you have any food?”

“No,” you answer as you keep staring at the photo. “We meant to go shopping today but we got distracted.”

“Ew,” Nat groaned loudly, “Can’t you just ask Jake to pick up food?”

You turn to look at them and part your lips to answer, but your phone going off interrupts you. Setting your nearly finished cooler down, you grab your phone from off the couch and see a text from Jake. 

Jake💖: About to head home. Do you girls need anything while I’m still in town? 

“Do you want pizza?” You asked your friends as you sat down on the armrest of the couch. 

A multitude of ‘yes’ sounded throughout the room and you quickly type out a text,

Can you get us pizza? Pretty please?

You attached about six hearts onto the end of it and waited for his response, and you smiled when it arrived. 

Jake💖: Of course, baby. See you soon. Bird man is coming back home with me, by the way. 

You laugh at his nickname for Bradley before telling the others that food was on the way. Despite only being away from Jake for a few hours, you missed your boyfriend a lot and were having a hard time staying still as you waited for him to come home. 

The brownies definitely didn’t help calm you down, either. 

About forty minutes later, you heard the front door open and two sets of heavy footsteps enter the house. Jake rounds the corner and walks into the living room with Bradley behind him, and you were up and on your feet quickly. “Hey,” he trailed off as he took in the sight of you and your friends. “I brought the-”

You cut him off by throwing your arms around his neck and pressing your body close to his. Jake stumbled back a bit, the pizza nearly being knocked out of his hand before he quickly gave the boxes to Bradley. “Hi, baby,” you beam, kissing his cheek about five times, before burying your face against his neck. “Thank you for the food. You’re the best.”

Bradley raises his brow as he looks over at you, an amused scoff leaving his lips. “I knew you guys should’ve never moved in together,” he muttered before taking in the sight of the other four girls.

Jake ignored him as he pulled back to look into your hooded eyes, his brows furrowing in concern. “Are you okay?” He asked and you nodded quickly, laughing quietly after. Realization flashed through his eyes as he glanced behind you at your friends before looking back at you. “Baby…are you high? Or drunk? Or both?”

You bit down on your lip and shrugged. “A little? Maybe?”

Bradley scoffed again, walking over to Nat and sitting on the couch. “Damn, Phoenix, what did you do to our innocent Y/n?” He laughed as he set the pizzas down on the coffee table.

“I made pot brownies and she had two of them before she realized what was in them,” Nat answered, moving to sit next to him as she opened the pizza box. “Thanks for the pizza, Bagman.”

Jake gave her a quick glare before you brought his attention back to you by gripping the side of his face. “I had one and a half,” you correct, running your fingers through the hair on the back of his neck. “She told me what was in them but I wasn’t listening because I was texting you.”

His gaze softened as he wrapped his arms tighter around you. “Awh, baby,” he cooed, then you started pressing open mouthed kisses to his neck and throat as if you weren’t in a room with five other people. “Okay, honey, let’s get some food into you. Have you eaten anything? Well, other than pot brownies?”

You shake your head, keeping your chest pressed against his. “No,” you answer, pressing your forehead against his temple as you whispered in his ear, “I’d rather get you into me.”

Jake groaned quietly and shook his head, “Not while you’re like this,” he said quietly as he walked you backwards until you were by the coffee table. “Come on, baby.” He sat down on the armchair and you were on his lap immediately, your thighs draped over his as he held a piece of pizza up to your lips. 

Coaxing you down from a high when he got home was not something Jake had in mind when he left earlier, but he couldn’t deny how cute you looked as you clung to his side. You were even more clingy than usual, and he knew he would be hearing about this from Rooster for quite some time after this.

Jake watched as Bradley kept poking Nat in her side, and the way she kept swatting at his hand in annoyance, and then he turned his gaze to Jill, Brittany and Rachel, who all looked like they were about three seconds away from falling asleep. 

He sighed, wrapping his arm around your middle and pressing a kiss to the top of your head. He knew none of these people were leaving tonight, including Bradley, and the thought of having a house full of groggy and hungover guests tomorrow morning was something he was not looking forward to. 

But as you finished the piece of pizza and gave him the crust to eat, Jake just shook his head with a grin, because he knew he would happily put up with all of it just for you. 

And as he took the crust from you, the way you leaned down and pressed a kiss to his cheek before mumbling, “I love you,” was more than enough for him to push his complaints aside completely.

-

Me and my bsf are going to see Twisters tonight and I haven’t been this excited to see a movie in a hot minute 😌

[reasonsforhope]

"In a 4-3 decision released on Friday afternoon December 22, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that Wisconsin’s voting maps as currently drawn violate the state constitution and must be redrawn in time for the 2024 election.

Under the Wisconsin Constitution, state legislative districts must consist of “contiguous territory.” [Meaning: continuous] Yet, the majority opinion states, “the number of state legislative districts containing territory completely disconnected from the rest of the district is striking.”

“At least fifty of ninety-nine assembly districts and at least twenty of thirty-three senate districts include separate, detached territory,” states the majority opinion, written by Justice Jill Karofsky.

Contiguous districts are a safeguard against gerrymandering and help keep together groups of voters who live in the same areas and have the same interests, explains the decision, which includes maps highlighting the islands of noncontiguous voting areas in the state’s current districts.

The voters who brought the lawsuit, Clarke v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, argued that the current districts violate the constitution and asked the court to  order the adoption of remedial maps. They also asked the court to declare the November 2022 state senate elections unlawful, and to order special elections for state senate seats that would otherwise not be on the ballot until November 2026.

The court’s ruling agrees with the petitioners that “Wisconsin’s state legislative districts must be composed of physically adjoining territory,” and enjoins the Wisconsin Elections Commission from using the current legislative maps in future elections. But it declined to invalidate the results of the 2022 state senate elections.

Acknowledging that it is the legislature’s role to draw voting maps, the majority opinion urges the legislature to draw new maps that comport with the constitution. However, it also states, since the legislature might not draw such maps or the governor might veto them, the court will plan to adopt remedial maps that can be used in time for the 2024 elections and unless and until new, constitutional maps are enacted through the legislative process...

Wisconsin’s voting maps are widely considered among the most politically gerrymandered in the country. This was reflected in 2018 when Democrats swept every statewide election and earned 53 percent of assembly votes cast statewide but only 36 percent of Assembly seats went to Democrats. Voters in Wisconsin are evenly split along partisan lines, and statewide races are often decided by slim margins. Currently, however, Republicans hold a 22-11 supermajority in the state senate and a 64-35 near-supermajority in the state assembly."

-via The Progressive Magazine

Note: Article is a bit wordy but this is a Big Deal. We're going to get fair election maps in an important swing state. The maps thrown out by this decision were deliberately designed to give Republicans a massive advantage in the election.

This WILL make a huge difference in who's elected in 2024.

[porcelainseashore]

Us

Pairing: Guitarist! Leon Kennedy x Singer! Fem! Reader

Summary: You've joined Chris, Claire and Leon in Stars Rebellion as the band's new lead vocalist. If you thought chasing fame was hard, dealing with your growing feelings for a certain blonde guitarist might just take the cake.

Content & Warnings: Rock bands, friends to lovers, romance, slow burn, feelings realization, fluff and angst, swearing, recreational drug use, drinking, implied alcohol abuse, sexual harassment, suggestive themes, panic attacks, religious guilt, other Resident Evil characters (Chris, Claire, Ada, Wesker, Jill, Luis, Irons, Steve).

Author's Note: Mostly imagined RE4R Leon in this, though he's a cocky little shit in the beginning and mellows out later. As inspo, I’ve had Ethel Cain’s Michelle Pfeiffer on repeat and you’ll see why in the story. Special thanks to AliBelleRosetta for your wonderful feedback!

AO3 Link

It had only been a few weeks since you’d joined the Stars Rebellion, the band you were currently in, thanks to the recommendation of a friend of a friend. You’d somehow coasted along through college, finally free of your parents’ clutches, and made a new life for yourself along the way. It was as if you could be who you really were, without any tied past or history holding you back, and you’d never felt more alive.

You were backstage, warming up before it was time to head out for your first performance. Chris had come over to give everyone a pep talk, while Leon tapped out a beat on the body of his pacific blue Fender guitar impatiently. Claire was nodding away to her brother’s words as she frowned at herself in the cosmetic mirror, the bright LED lights illuminating her flawless skin. You sat at the back, quietly keeping to yourself as you always do, ignoring the jitters in your hands. The adrenaline was kicking in now, you were used to it. Soon, you’d be a completely different person. It was as if once you were on stage, a match was struck and you were on fire.

For now, you contented yourself with recalling the events of how you ended up with this motley crue. It had been a warm, humid Thursday afternoon, when you were done with your classes for the day, and you made your way over to one of the rental practice rooms at the back of a second-hand record store just a little off campus. Your friend Jill had told you that another friend of hers was looking for a new vocalist for their band. Seeing how you’d been singing on and off with various student bands that never really had the drive to go anywhere, she hooked you up, stating that said friend, Claire, was the most determined person she’d ever met.

So here you were, knocking on the door of the shabby, makeshift rehearsal room, covered in countless band and anarchic motto stickers.

“Come on in!” A chirpy, high-pitched voice called out.

The door creaked on its hinges as you opened it by just a crack, enough for you to poke your head through.

“Aw, she’s a shy one,” a boy with floppy, blonde hair who was sitting at the corner, hunched over his guitar remarked. His tone had no hint of maliciousness in it, just pure curiosity.

“Shut it, Kennedy.” The lady, wearing a distinct red leather jacket that matched the color of her hair tied back in a springy ponytail, rolled her eyes before greeting you with a warm smile.

“Hey…” She stuck her hand out, as you cautiously entered the room, taking in the new faces around you. “I’m Claire. You must be Jill’s friend.”

You returned back a feeble smile as you shook her hand. “Yeah, uh, and the Stars Rebellion, huh?”

“That’s right,” a beefy guy with cropped, dark brown hair behind the drum kit piped up. “Our previous vocalist left,” he paused, with his brows furrowed as if he had been reminded of something unpleasant. “You know how it’s like these days.”

You nodded understandingly as he continued. “We’ve got a sweet gig in about two weeks, so we need a replacement fast. You heard our stuff?”

“Yeah, ’course.” Jill had sent you all the recordings and info you needed to prepare yourself for today.

“Great, so-”

“Whoa, hold up a second,” Claire interjected. “Older brothers,” she sighed. “You know what they’re like.” She pointed towards the drummer. “Speaking of which, that’s my very own one over there.”

“Chris, say hello,” she ordered.

“Hi,” his monotone greeting accosted you while he waved over with a drumstick in hand. His confident and no-nonsense persona struck you as someone who was the natural leader of the group.

“Don’t worry about him, he’s really a cuddly bear underneath,” she whispered loudly enough for everyone in the room to hear. “Isn’t that right, Chris?”

He grunted in reply, still looking as stoic as ever, his square jawline unflinching, as if his sister’s words had no effect on him.

“Anyway, I guess you can already tell, I’m on bass.” She swayed her hips a little, gesturing towards the instrument that was strapped around her.

The blonde cleared his throat, seemingly irritated at being relegated to the position of the last person to be introduced.

“And that.” She pointed over to him. “Well, that’s just Leon.”

With a bold smirk, he cradled the guitar to his chest, as his fingers danced along the fretboard, unleashing a cool, intricate riff that spiraled through the air.

“Also a fucking show off,” Claire retorted.

You caught his gaze and the bright blue eyes that lured you in dangerously close, like you were Icarus flying towards the sun. He was one of those boys your father had warned you about. Handsome, charming, but the devil in disguise. You could still hear his stern words about perdition and hellfire booming in your ear. You closed your eyes before they hurt too much.

“So, erm, why don’t we start with the first track on our demo?” Claire’s voice snapped you out of your reverie.

Blinking your eyes open, you bowed your head slightly in response, before getting into position behind the mic. You can do this. A silent prayer reverberated through your head, as the opening chords played.

And just like it happened every time, that magical switch flipped, and you became someone else entirely different from yourself, yet it belonged to every part of you. As you bellowed, growled and sighed breathily into the mic like a rockstar on acid, you noticed a change in the air around you and how your future bandmates looked at you in awe. It felt like an electric current coursing through your veins. It felt like coming home.

You only needed to go through another two more songs, before they were completely floored and decided there and then that they wanted you in. The vibe between the four of you was great, there was no denying that. And you had already started throwing in some moves that were usually saved for performances with Leon, as all of you jammed together.

“That was fucking awesome!” Leon exclaimed, with Claire following suit. Even Chris was smiling widely.

“Yeah, that felt really good,” you panted, a little out of breath from the exertion.

All at once, Chris patted you on the back, cementing your entry. “Welcome to the family.” You felt your heart tug at the last word. Could you really belong here now?

“Nice to finally have another girl in the band!” Claire blurted out, as she pulled you in for a quick hug.

“Mm hm, very nice.” Leon gave you a cheeky wink, before Claire smacked the back of his head.

“Behave.”

“Oh, I will,” he snickered.

You shuddered, wondering how a silly remark like that could get you so riled up, as you chose to suppress whatever thoughts that came bubbling towards the surface. He was just one of those cocky bastards who would let fame get to their head, you discerned. Probably had a bunch of groupies lined up too. So you paid no more attention to him than needed.

A large, rough hand landed on your shoulder, giving you a reassuring squeeze. “You good?”

You shook yourself out of the daydream, coming back to reality backstage, as you eyed the imposing, broad figure in front of you. “Yeah, I’m ready. Thanks, Chris.”

“Don’t mention it.”

As you strode out onto the stage, the crowd clapped and whistled, though the reception seemed rather lukewarm. Perhaps most of them were waiting for the later bands, who also happened to be the more established ones, to play. It didn’t matter though. Your job was to get them hyped up, and you knew how to do it well.

Leon nodded at you, indicating that he’d start running through the beginning licks of the song on the setlist you’d all prepped. At the same time, he gave you an encouraging smile, which eased the tension a little. Even though you’d only got to know him a few weeks ago, you soon realized that your first impression of him wasn’t exactly the most accurate, and that despite being an insufferable prick, he had another side to him that was caring and gentle. He’d patiently helped you run through the songs with him, and even took a couple of your suggestions in improving them. He hung out with you outside of band practice, wanting to get to know you as a person, and trying to make you feel comfortable within the group. Most musicians had a stick up their ass and would’ve never given you the time of day. But he did. You’d even go as far as to call him a lovable asshole.

As the whirring of Leon’s guitar filled the space, you clenched your fist, pumping it above your head as you let out a low snarl into the mic, before belting out the lyrics, your voice raw and powerful as it soared over the riffs and the steady rhythm of the drum and bass. At a particularly heavy drop, you leaped into the air, before landing on your feet and tearing through the vocals as you rocked out with Leon at the front, playing off the energy you exchanged with each other.

It was infectious, like a feverish dream, and the crowd’s excitement grew. Among the sea of bodies pressed together, you could just about make out the look of enthusiasm on their faces, their eyes sparking with the thrill of the moment, as they jumped, moshed and cheered to the music. Time seemed to pass by so quickly, as one song flew into the other. In between, you made sure to introduce the band, thank the organizers and the audience themselves, coaxing more screams and shouts in unison as you teased them about hearing another song, what it was about, praising them on how great of a crowd they were, and with a sly wink, asking them if they could give you more. And they were more than happy to oblige.

In the final track, a devilish grin broke out across your face as you turned towards Chris and Claire, both of them laughing and shaking their heads as they knew what was coming next, before you faced the audience again. Tapping your foot in time to the beat, you murmured sultrily into the mic, “You wanna see me swallow this mic whole?”

The crowd went mental at the proposal as your velvety laughter rang out across the venue. “Come on, you can do better than that.” You pouted, licking your lips suggestively. “How much do you want it?”

Once the crowd roared, you nodded in approval and pulled the cord of the mic taut between your hands, making a grand show of it, as you tilted your head back, slowly inserting the head of the mic downwards into your mouth. As it went in, you bit at the bottom of the head, gripping it securely between your teeth, as you went hands free and a scream ripped through your throat at the climax of the song. 

Sweat and energy radiated from every pore, as your band members kicked into action. Leon jutted his hips out, launching into a fierce, breathtaking guitar solo, his fingers pressing and weaving in and out of the strings like a blinding lightning. Claire remained the grounding force in a whirlwind of melodies, keeping a consistent beat effortlessly, as her head swayed from side to side. Chris added to the wall of sound with each strike and rattle of the snare drum, quickening the pace as he worked in the bass drum pedal and clashes on the cymbals in perfect timing, his eyes laced in concentration on the controlled chaos unfolding before him.

To say you ended in a bright explosion of sound was an understatement. The four of you hugged each other tightly and bowed to a resounding chorus of cheers and hoots, stamping their feet for yet another encore. You saluted and waved at them, your final words spilling out into the mic in gratitude, “Thanks so much, we are the Stars Rebellion! Have a good night!”

As you headed off stage, Leon pounced behind you, pulling you flush against his chest in a sweaty hug as you gasped in surprise. His hair was in a mess, darkened and clinging to his forehead in damp tendrils. “Holy shit, you were a completely different person up there! Y’know, like Ian fucking Curtis or something?” 

He blabbered on nearly incoherently, name-dropping various famous lead singers. “Karen O, yeah? And Alice Glass…”

“God, just give her a break already,” Claire giggled as she shoved Leon off of you.

You stifled a laugh, your meek personality returning the more you moved away from the spotlight. “Yeah, I guess? Um, thanks.”

Leon paused, looking at you in disbelief as he shook his head. “Jeez, just like that.” He snapped his fingers. “Lady in streets, freak in the sheets,” he mumbled almost inaudibly as you choked on your saliva and coughed violently at his quip.

“Leon,” Chris warned, as Leon held his hands up in mock surrender. 

Turning towards you, Chris sighed wearily, “Sorry about that. You did good though.”

Before you had a chance to answer, an alluring, provocative voice interrupted. “You all did good out there.”

Spinning around, you came face-to-face with a stylishly dressed lady in a red, skintight catsuit and dark leather heeled boots. A sleek, black bob framed her face, highlighting her sharp features and high cheekbones. You noticed that she focused all her attention on Leon, even though she was addressing the group.

Leon’s eyes widened, her outfit clearly seemed to pique his interest, and you could feel Chris tense up behind you, as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. At this, Claire whispered into your ear with a hint of venom, “That’s Ada, the bassist of Midnight Sun.”

Midnight Sun. That rang a bell. They were one of the more established bands in the scene, though you’d heard rumors about how haughty they could be and that they would stop at nothing to climb their way up.

“Oh, there you are.” A man with slicked-back blonde hair and dark sunglasses sauntered over coolly. If someone had told you that he was an extra from The Matrix, you would’ve believed them in a heartbeat. 

The look of disdain was prominent on his face as he glanced over at you and your bandmates. He clucked his tongue derisively. “Tell me, what is it like being the warm up crew?”

Leon was about to lash out, but Chris’ reflexes were faster, holding his shoulder in a vice-like grip. Leon huffed, as he shrugged Chris’ hand off, conceding to remaining cordial for now.

“Wesker, you’re on next!” A stagehand called out from afar.

The man tipped his head in response, before wrapping an arm around Ada’s shoulders, pulling her away from your group as he smirked. “Watch and learn, amateurs.”

“Bunch of douchebags,” Claire muttered as all of you made your way towards the dressing room to freshen up. 

From the corner of your eye, you spotted Leon peering over his shoulder another time at the lady in red.

━━━━━━━━━━━

“Seriously? That’s what was written?” You groaned, chucking Leon’s phone to the side as both of you lay sprawled out on a picnic mat across a grassy hill which connected to a park. A couple of liquor and beer bottles littered your side. Clearly, this was more of a boozy brunch than an actual brunch at all. You should’ve known better than to trust Leon to prepare something substantial. However, whenever he was around you, it seemed like he would make an effort to control his drinking habits, at least to a point where he was only tipsy but not wasted each time.

Since the last gig, the band had received many other offers to play at various venues and Chris had been eager to accept them all, in the hopes of attracting a talent scout who would spot and sign you to a major label. You’d gone on stage a few more times, with each round bringing you new fans and followers, as well as getting hounded by music journalists. Claire seemed to have a word for everything and this was no exception. She described them as rats, and in particular, a man named Luis Sera proved to be the biggest one of them all.

You remembered his irritating voice which had a slight lilt to it, as he called out for you after one of your shows in the previous month. “Señorita… hey!”

He definitely had a flair for making a spectacle out of everything that he did, and soon you’d discover that he was also a master of exaggeration. “Pleased to make your acquaintance, mi amor.” He bowed his head dramatically, as he took your hand, bringing your knuckles to meet his lips.

In the end, your band had given him half an hour of your time, only for him to grossly alter whatever answers all of you had provided during the interview when the article was published. He had pitted the Stars Rebellion against Midnight Sun, when in your opinion, both bands sounded nothing like each other and he was just doing it to stir up sensationalist shit. In addition to that, he spent most of the article writing about your looks and sex appeal, as opposed to the actual music.

To be fair, that was part of your showmanship, but it seemed like yet another case of sexism in the industry, where other male vocalists weren’t subject to the same fate as you and the handful of frontwomen, who still cut their teeth and pushed forward.

“Great,” you whined, burying your face in your hands. “Now, not only have we become an even bigger rival of Midnight Sun, he’s got people wondering if I can actually sing at all!”

Leon seemed amused by your mini outburst, but was otherwise unruffled by the comments in the article. “That’s what journalists do.” He shrugged. “Create fucking bullshit and drama. What’s new?”

He turned over to face you, taking your hand in his and squeezing it briefly before letting it go. “You’re insanely talented, you know that. Don’t listen to them.”

You smiled at his affirmation. The past months had flown by in a blur, and along with it, your bond with Leon had strengthened. You were the very definition of fast friends, having discovered many similar interests and common topics of conversation between the two of you. Although he still made the occasional off-putting remark, and was a bit of an attention-seeker, especially among the ladies, you enjoyed the time spent with him. It felt like you could be yourself and could talk to each other about anything without judgment.

Judgment. That word aroused conflicting feelings within you. On the one hand, being on stage felt freeing and you could do so many things there that would’ve been considered shameful in any other public situation. It was as though you could ignore the judgment or were immune to it. Yet, when it was time to return to the ‘normal world’, judgment haunted you wherever you went.

“Got a question though.” Leon grinned, and you knew he was coming up with another one of his pesky jokes again. “Can you sing?”

You whacked his chest as he howled with laughter. “Alright, come on, look. We’ll do it together, ok?” He whipped out his phone again, tapping on his music playlist. “I just wanna hear you sing something softer, please?”

Sighing in exasperation, you gave in to his curiosity, clearing your throat as you exposed the falsetto that you’d been hiding all this while in the city you’d run off to for college. Leon joined you on the backing vocals as you flowed through the song together, while you tried to ignore his gaze which lowered at your lips, seemingly entranced by what he was listening to. A blush crept up along your neck as the song ended.

“Didn’t realize you had that side to you,” he muttered in astonishment. “Where did you-”

“Church choir,” you uttered abruptly, hoping he wouldn’t press further.

“Oh.” That seemed to surprise him even more. “Didn’t take you as the religious kind.”

“I’m not.” You swallowed thickly, looking away.

“Your parents-”

“Don’t know, don’t care,” you hissed through gritted teeth, a little harsher than intended.

“Hey, sorry, I didn’t mean to-” He cut himself off, before sharing about his background instead. “My parents were kind of shitheads too. Well, mostly my old man.” There was another pause, as he shut his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers. “Liked the bottle a bit too much.”

“I’m sorry.” You placed your hand over his, as he brushed his thumb over your knuckles.

“Don’t be. The band’s our family now.” He shifted himself up to his elbows, kicking mud off his boots. “Anyway, we don’t have to talk about your folks if you want.”

You softened up at this, realizing that he still had your best interests at heart, though a part of you felt like divulging what you had kept to yourself for so long. “It’s embarrassing,” you began. “Singing like that, kinda reminds me of the past I wanted to leave behind.”

Twiddling your fingers anxiously, you continued. “My parents were very into that whole religious thing. You could say it was almost cult-like,” you laughed nervously. “It wasn’t what I wanted to be, so I got out of it.”

Frowning, you pursed your lips as a vague memory of leaving your hometown amid a heated argument and tears came to mind. “Haven’t spoken to them in years. Probably disowned by them by now.”

“Their loss,” he replied sharply, staring you dead in the eye.

It wasn’t something you had expected to slip out of Leon’s mouth, but he had articulated it so transparently. You raised an eyebrow at him in confusion.

“You could’ve been a great televangelist,” he joked, and you chuckled along with him, finding humor in the otherwise unpleasant subject.

“It’s too bad, isn’t it?” You took a swig of the vodka bottle he offered you, wincing as the smooth liquid burned its way down your throat. “You know, when I’m up there performing, it feels like I can be whoever I want to be.”

“You can be whoever you want with me,” he spoke softly. You tried to search for any disingenuity in his eyes, but found none. “I like you all the same.”

“I like you too,” you professed, only to contort your face in horror a split second later, as you realized the implications of what you had just said. “Uh, I mean, not like that,” you sputtered helplessly. “You know, like-”

He rolled his eyes and snickered. “C’mere.” Tugging at your hand, he pulled you in close, giving you a solid hug. 

Gingerly, you wrapped your arms around his neck, inhaling deeply and relaxing in his embrace. Both of you carried a mild scent of alcohol, but you didn’t care. You were just happy to find a like-minded soul who saw you for who you were, as you did with him.

A random thought popped up in your head that you wanted to run by him that instant. It gnawed at your chest, waiting to escape. “Leon?”

“Mm?” You could feel him nuzzling your neck and wondered if he had gone past being tipsy.

“What do you think about writing a softer song? Like something more emotive,” you explained.

He still didn’t let you go. “I think that sounds great,” he murmured into your ear. “We’ll write it together.”

“Just you and me, us against the world,” he added wistfully.

You wondered what had gotten into him, but the idea of working on this creative project together felt right to you. Like a link in the thread of fate that was meant to happen.

“Us against the world,” you repeated, sealing your fate, as you felt his smile against your skin.

━━━━━━━━━━━

On a hot, sunny afternoon, you were grabbing milkshakes with Claire, before heading over to the skatepark, where another friend of hers, Steve, was trying out a couple of new tricks. He had a slender build and spiky red hair, with a punk aesthetic. In other words, the perfect skater boy. You were pretty sure he had a crush on Claire, but she seemed to be either oblivious or ignored it outright. Whenever he landed a cool trick, he’d look over at Claire for approval, only for her to give him a friendly thumbs up. 

While you sat by the benches, Claire turned towards you, wiggling her eyebrows as she commented, “You and Leon have been hanging out a lot together lately.”

“Uh huh.” You tried to appear nonchalant about it, as you sipped on your milkshake guardedly.

Truth be told, the increasing amount of time spent with Leon was causing certain inconvenient feelings to grow within you. You lied to yourself, claiming you saw him as nothing more than a friend. Falling for a lovable asshole was out of the question, especially one who might break your heart. Yet, the day where both of you drank in the park, accepting each other in ways you never thought possible, constantly replayed in your mind. Then there was the song you were working on together, the late-night calls, and the pick-me-ups for days when either of you needed support. He would drop everything to help you, and you were there when he sought comfort.

Each time you saw him flirting with one of the female fans or exchanging coy looks with Ada, you died a little inside. He was just a horny 23-year-old guy chasing after anyone with legs - at least, that's what you tried to convince yourself. So, you stayed silent about the whole affair, holding back how you really felt about him, in order to preserve your friendship.

“Anything going on between you two?” Claire asked casually.

What else could you expect from a final-year Communications major? Of course, she would have picked up on how weird you’ve been acting lately.

Still, you continued fighting a losing battle. “We’re just friends,” you asserted, poking absentmindedly at the leftover froth and cream in your drink with the straw.

She wasn’t having it though. “The question is, do you want it to stay that way?” Checkmate. You could almost see her gloating at you as you froze.

You shook your head, sighing defeatedly. “It doesn’t matter, he’s into other girls anyway.”

“Have you told him?” Crap, she got you there again.

You just gave her a noncommittal shrug.

“Look, I’m gonna level with you.” She set her drink down with an air of determination, as if she meant business. “In all my sad years of knowing that loser, he’s never behaved this way with a girl like you. Maybe he just needs a little push to see that.” Folding her arms, she cocked her head to the side. “You should tell him.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” You sucked up the rest of your drink until there was nothing more than the bubbly, gurgling sound of air and drops of fluid. With a mischievous twist of your mouth, you added, “By the way, you should probably tell Steve you’re not interested.”

━━━━━━━━━━━

When you had finally plucked up the courage to try and tell Leon about your true feelings, things didn’t go exactly as planned. For starters, he had been rather distracted about the upcoming music festival that your band would be participating in and specifically, a promo event that was tied to it. It was all he wanted to talk about, so you couldn’t get a word in.

“It’ll be the perfect opportunity to get noticed,” he pleaded. “You have to go!”

“I’m not- I don’t do very well in these types of social situations,” you argued. “You know that.”

“Excuses,” he huffed dismissively. “It’s gonna be fun, come on.”

“Chris and Claire will be there with you,” you countered again.

Placing his hands on your shoulders, he declared, “No, I want you.”

Although you knew he didn’t mean it any other way, your cheeks flushed as you turned your head away, heart throbbing at the innocuous statement he had just uttered.

“I’ll be there beside you, the whole time,” he promised. “Please, just come along?”

Biting your lip, you weighed your options, even though your emotions had already gotten the better of you, and you had made your decision regardless of what he might say. “You swear?”

“Cross my heart.”

Unfortunately, you wish you had never agreed to him in the first place, because 24 hours later, you were singing an entirely different tune.

Leon had picked you up and headed over to the event with you as arranged. It was held at a swanky members-only club with a lot of pomp, ass-kissing and too much champagne. You felt completely out of place there, but tagged along like a lost puppy behind Leon, who was reveling in the publicity and getting to know who’s who. A number of the other festival bands were there, but you weren’t particularly close to them beyond a courteous ‘Hello’. You fiddled with the cocktail that Leon had got you, praying that the Redfield siblings would show up sometime soon.

At some point, Leon caught your attention, every so often looking over his shoulder for something, or someone. “I, uh, I need to head to the restroom.”

You nodded in puzzlement, wondering why he seemed so shifty all of a sudden.

“Cool, um, I’ll make it quick.” He gave you a sheepish smile and a wink before heading off hurriedly.

He looked even apologetic? You shrugged off that thought, nursing the lone drink in your hands as you thumbed the fabric of your silvery playsuit. After a while, you checked the time on your phone. A good ten minutes had passed, but he hadn’t returned. Weird, did something happen to him?

As you continued waiting, it started to dawn on you how oppressive and suffocating the atmosphere was. It reminded you of the times when you were surrounded by the rest of the community you’d grown up with in church, scrutinizing your every move. Cold sweat formed on your palms as your breathing grew rapid and shallow. A sense of dread developed within you as your vision narrowed.

Oh god, oh god, not here, no… You latched onto the wall for support, trying to apply the tactics you usually used to calm yourself down.

“Hey there!” Claire’s upbeat voice pierced through the downward spiral you had nearly been consumed by. “Where’s Leon?”

“Um, he went to the rest-”

“What the fuck.” Claire’s jaw dropped wide open and when you followed her line of sight, you understood why.

From afar, you spotted Leon and Ada in tow, sneakily heading out of the restrooms. Bold red lipstick was smudged across Leon’s face as he wiped away at it furiously, and his pants remained unzipped, like an afterthought. Ada combed through her ruffled hair with her fingers, adjusting the bottom of her figure-hugging dress. There were no guesses as to what had occurred there. Your mouth ran dry.

“That fucking-” Claire growled. “Ugh, I’m gonna wring his neck!”

“Claire, it’s okay.” You tried to placate her, but your voice was quivering.

She turned towards you, eyeing you sympathetically as she rubbed your back. “I’m sorry,” she offered. “Well, Chris is getting some drinks. Let’s go join him?”

You accepted, making your way towards the refreshments table, still mulling over what you had just seen. As you picked up a glass of sparkling wine, Claire relayed the entire scenario over to Chris, who just shook his head disapprovingly.

A few moments later, Leon had stumbled upon your group. “Where’ve you been? I was looking all over for you!” He barked, visibly frustrated at your disappearance.

Claire scoffed, and without another word, bumped against his shoulder as she brushed past him. Chris followed suit, without the bumping, though he made a face at Leon as he chugged down his beer. They expected you to come along, but you hung back, giving Leon one more chance to redeem himself.

“What’s up with those two?” he muttered in annoyance.

You held his gaze impassively. “What took you so long?”

“Is this a trick question or what?” He couldn’t look you in the eyes as he tried to evade your quizzing.

But you didn’t let up, not budging from your place until you had an answer.

He threw his hands up in exasperation. “There was a queue, okay?”

A rush of disappointment and heartache surged through you. The least he could’ve done was to be honest with you, but he hadn’t even managed that. He was lying directly to your face, which currently felt as if it had been given a tight slap in humiliation. With whatever dignity you had left, you excused yourself from the table, heading over to the Redfield siblings, as Leon looked on in incredulity and disbelief.

You spent the rest of the evening with Chris and Claire, who were mostly interested in the free food and drink, and knew a couple of the chiller, more down-to-earth musicians on a personal level. In an unexpected turnaround of events, you were actually having fun chatting with people who appeared to be on the same wavelength as you and making wisecracks about corporate functions like these.

In fact, it served as a fairly effective distraction from the boy you were pretending didn’t exist. He lurked around like a shadow, leaning against the walls in the corridors and the sides of the rooms. You saw him everywhere, hovering just within reach. Scowling moodily at you and your newfound friends, he tossed back a never ending supply of alcoholic drinks. You suspected he was on the verge of getting sloshed by now, and although a part of you was concerned about his well-being, you didn’t want to play the role of a babysitter, at least not for tonight.

Towards the end of the night, Chris and Claire had decided to take their leave and you would too, after getting some fresh air by the pool. However, this proved to be a mistake, as the minute you were left alone, you heard heavy footsteps shuffling up next to you. You felt a pit in your stomach, knowing well who it was before even facing the culprit.

“What did I do wrong?” Leon was slurring his words, and his eyes were glassy and bloodshot. The stench of alcohol on him was overwhelming.

Wrinkling your nose, you backed away, stating plainly, “You’re drunk, just take a cab home.”

“Don’t-” He grabbed your arm, attempting to steady himself. “Don’t walk away from me.”

“Leon,” you warned.

“What happened to us against the world, huh?” he retorted.

“Did you think about that when you ditched me to fuck around?” The accusation tumbled out of your mouth before you had a chance to rein it in.

His grip on you loosened, as guilt flashed across his eyes. “That- I, it wasn’t-”

“You’ve always been a bit of an asshole,” you interjected. “But a loveable one, who was also sweet and kind.” Tears started to collect at the corners of your eyes. “Now, you’re just completely horrible,” you spat, with a look of disgust plastered across your face.

Leon’s face contorted in anguish as he tightened his hold on your arm again. “Don’t say that.”

“I don’t like you like this,” you admitted, trying to break free from his grasp, as tears started to roll down your cheeks.

He tried to reach out with his other hand and caress your face, but you pushed it away. “Let go,” you demanded.

However, it seemed as if he couldn’t comprehend why you wanted to be as far away from him as possible. “I’m sorry,” he blurted out. “Can’t we just sort this-”

Then, something in you snapped. All the times when you had finally had enough and set your boundaries in the past, burning bridges along the way, came to a head. “No!” you yelled, shoving him off you, as he fell backwards and landed into the pool with a loud splash.

Some of the spectators laughed and jeered, as he floundered around mostly in shock, while you stormed off the site.

━━━━━━━━━━━

The next band practice session was awkward to say the least. You were running a few minutes late and when you’d reached, you could hear the shouting from outside the door to the studio.

“... sleeping with the enemy!”

“How is Ada an enemy?”

“You’re always messing things up for us!”

“Okay, break it up you two.”

Expelling a hefty sigh, you swung the door open, and the room fell so silent you could hear a pin drop. You could feel their gaze on you as you placed your bag in the corner before getting to your usual position behind the mic, making sure to avoid any eye contact with Leon. The festival was coming up in the next month, and on top of that, you still had a smaller gig to play in between then. The last thing you wanted was for personal issues to get in the way of professionalism, so you buried your emotions deep within the abyss.

“Hey, um, you, uh-” Leon croaked out, trying to get your attention, but you ignored him, turning instead towards Claire.

“Sorry I’m late, shall we get started?”

Despite regarding you with a look of concern, she obliged and Chris counted off before all of you jammed to the opening song.

It continued on like this, where you gave Leon the cold shoulder. You had stopped hanging out with him and only communicated when necessary. He didn’t realize how much he would miss your company until it was gone. Things felt duller and emptier without you. Whenever he wanted to share his joys, sorrows and just the mundane things that were happening in his life, he’d try to call you, only for it to go unanswered. He left you countless voice messages, each more desperate than the last one, ranging from a mixture of hurt, blame and grief. It had only been a little over two weeks, but he was starved and alone, without the person he could truly count on. The song you had been working on together remained unfinished.

During the smaller gig you were playing at, you rocked out with Chris and Claire near the back, instead of vibing with Leon at the front. Maybe you were being petty with the way you were treating Leon, but he hadn’t given you a proper apology since the incident. The chemistry and connection between the two of you on stage was lost. Nonetheless, you gave the performance your all, and the fans went wild, so much so that when you crowd surfed, you ended up with shredded leggings and a bloody mouth. A random fan tried to grope you, but security intervened and you were dragged back up on stage by Leon, whose eyes were clouded with worry and apprehension. However, the adrenaline numbed the pain and you finished the gig on a high note, leaving the crowd buzzing with exhilaration and the sound of thunderous applause. It was a confidence booster and a great way to warm up for the festival gig.

Backstage, Claire helped you with cleaning the cut on your lip, as you reassured her that you were fine and such injuries were inevitable when you threw yourself headfirst into the crowd. She made you promise not to pull that stunt again, at least for the foreseeable future, before leaving you to finish up.

Just as you were heading out to regroup, an older, bearded man with neatly styled, graying hair and donning a snazzy waistcoat approached you.

“Brian Irons.” 

He held out a sleek, matte finish card with a crisp white background, his name in bold, black font in the center. Below, in smaller, elegant sans-serif type, were the record label he managed and his contact details. A thin, silver border surrounded the edges of the card adding a touch of sophistication. You took it from him, rapt by the design.

“Shall we speak somewhere in private?” he offered, beckoning towards one of the empty dressing rooms towards the end of the hallway.

In your elation and unwillingness to turn down such a timely opportunity, you jumped the gun, accepting his request immediately without waiting for your bandmates. Instead, you messaged them the details and informed them you would join them soon after.

“Amazing show,” he complimented. “You really are quite stunning.”

“Thanks, um, Mr. Irons.” You shifted your weight between both feet nervously, unsure of how to respond. Something in the way he looked at you made you seem like a prey caught in a bear’s trap and his words felt loaded.

“For you, it’s Brian, honey.” His lecherous tone sent shivers down your spine.

“Brian,” you echoed, slowly backing away to put some distance between you and the man.

“So, you kids wanna get signed, huh? Stars Rebellion, wasn’t it?” He advanced towards you with deliberate, measured steps, as if he were playing with his food at the dinner table.

“Y-yeah,” you stammered, regretting the decision you had made earlier and the direction this conversation seemed to be steering in.

“Well, I can certainly help with that…” 

Your back was flat against the wall now, as he sidled up to you, eliminating any space between you as he caged you in with his body. His breath felt hot and heavy against your cheek, and reeked of coffee and cigarettes. As his hand rode up your thigh, you closed your eyes, holding your breath as a nauseating wave crashed over you and you tried not to puke.

“The fuck’s going on here?” A sharp, biting voice sliced through the air like a knife.

Brian pulled away and you saw Leon by the doorway of the dressing room seething with fury and a dangerous glint in his eye.

“Hey, easy there, kid. Just getting acquainted, that’s all.” Brian tried to laugh it off as a joke, but Leon wasn’t having any of it.

“Get away from her,” he ordered, his steely demeanor unrelenting. “Now.”

Brian backed off, but came up to Leon threateningly. “Talking back to me like that?” he sneered. “I’ll make sure you’re ruined, punk.”

Leon took a step closer, issuing an unspoken challenge. “Yeah? Go ahead, sue me.”

At this, Brian cocked his fist back before taking a swing at Leon. Leon ducked to avoid the blow, shoving him aside as he unleashed a quick jab which connected with Brian’s nose. Brian fell to the ground, whimpering in pain while covering his face with both hands. Blood trickled down, staining his shirt as he cowered before Leon.

“Touch her again and I swear to god I’ll kill you,” Leon hollered. “You hear me?”

Brian nodded furiously as Leon walked briskly across the room, wrapping his arm around your shoulder before leading you out with him. Once you were at a safe distance, he cupped your face in his palms, examining you for any further signs of injuries.

“You okay? Did he hurt you?”

You didn’t respond, instead you clung to him in a tight embrace as your body trembled uncontrollably. He held you against his chest, resting his chin on your head as he stroked your hair soothingly. Both of you stayed there for a while, locked in each other's arms, until he suggested, “Let’s get you home.”

━━━━━━━━━━━

When Leon had informed Chris and Claire about the events that had transpired, they vowed to keep a closer watch on you and each other. There was now an agreement that if the whole band could not be present at a meeting, then at least two people at the minimum should be there.

Your band had upped the intensity of the practice sessions, as the date of the festival loomed nearer. However, when Jill spontaneously announced that she was organizing a house party at her place, all of you jumped at the invitation, seeing it as a way to let off some steam.

At the moment, you and Leon were in this weird, intermediary state of being not quite friends, yet not quite on opposing ends either. It seemed as if it was eating away at him inside, since the minute he saw you at Jill’s place, he weaved through the throng of familiar faces and approached you, asking if you were ready to talk about the elephant in the room. It wasn’t possible to keep ignoring him forever and you were tired of all the arguments and drama that had occurred lately. So, you decided to let him into your life again, or maybe just a foot in the door for now.

In one of the quieter rooms of the house, you sat beside Leon as he initiated an apology for the first time for his prior actions. “I know it’s not enough, but I’m sorry, I really am.” He swallowed a lump in his throat. “I was a complete dick-”

“Yeah, you were,” you replied testily. “I panicked, when you, um, took your time.”

“What? Shit.” He looked down at his hands in shame, balling them into fists. “I’m so sorry. I really didn’t want that to happen to you.” 

Clenching his jaw, you saw him drown in a sense of self-loathing. “God, I keep fucking things up. Please-” He took your hands in his, squeezing them as if he were proposing. “I’ll make it up to you, just give me another chance to prove it.”

“I missed you,” he whispered. “A lot.” It was as if a dam had broken, and he couldn't stop himself from pouring out all his admissions. “You weren’t talking to me, you weren’t returning my calls…”

“Whenever something stupid came up, all I could think about was how much I wanted to tell you about it.” His eyes glazed over, as if he were recalling a distant memory. “Guess I kinda took you for granted.”

Pressing your lips into a thin line, you made yet another decision against your better judgment. Although you had no guarantee that he would not repeat the same mistake, you placed your trust in him again, hoping that this time he would treat you as you deserved. 

“Okay.” You nodded, offering a weak smile. “We’ll try again.”

You yelped as he suddenly gathered you into a snug embrace, grinning widely from ear to ear. “I got you back,” he murmured into your ear.

“Don’t make me regret it,” you teased half-jokingly.

“Guys, get your free shit! Oh-” 

You and Leon quickly disentangled yourselves from each other as you saw Jill staring with her mouth hanging open. “Did I interrupt something?”

“No!” Both of you exclaimed in unison.

Jill rolled her eyes, her face etched with doubt, though she didn’t probe further. “Anyway, downstairs! First come, first served.” She jerked her thumb in the direction behind her, before trudging off to the next room.

“You wanna?” Leon gave you a knowing smile.

“Hell, sure, why not?” You shrugged, once again erupting in laughter with the boy you wanted to cuddle with and strangle at the same time.

So, that was how both of you ended up lying next to each other, strung out on a mattress facing the window. You knew the drill. Jill’s housemates were creative types whose generosity knew no bounds. House parties with them involved usually meant a certain supply of free drugs, which people could choose to engage in recreationally. You figured you were being very rock’n’roll by doing it, but sometimes you enjoyed how open they made you feel, like you could loosen up and forget about the things bothering you.

As usual, you and Leon had taken the same pills as before, both of you agreeing to take care of each other throughout the duration of the high. He held your hand, interlacing his fingers with yours, as you giggled over a topic you had been discussing.

“Ready to watch the curtain breathing contest?” he chuckled.

“There.” You pointed in front of you, indicating that the shades were now moving on their own, like ripples in the tide.

“Atta girl.”

It felt nice like this, laying beside him. You could talk to him about anything in the world and he’d listen intently to you. That’s when you thought it was a good idea to make your confession. 

“I’ve liked you for a while now,” you gulped, your heart constricting though the urge to reveal your secret was stronger. “As in, more than a friend.”

He angled his head towards you, gazing at your expression with an affectionate smile. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“Leon Scott Kennedy, asking me why-?” you snorted, clamping your free hand over your mouth as you struggled to hold in your cackles. As if he wasn’t aware he had a reputation for sleeping around with no strings attached. “I didn’t want to be just another notch on your bedpost.”

He tutted and sighed. “You wouldn’t have been. It’s different… with you.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re one of the few people who’d tell me exactly as it is, you care to listen,” he explained. “It just feels right, being with you, and… I trust you.”

You were reluctant to take what he had said at face value, after all both of you were tripping. As if sensing your hesitance, he professed, “I like you too, a lot.”

Still, a part of you denied it. “You’re just saying that.”

He groaned in vexation. “Am not.”

“Are too.”

Narrowing his eyes at you, he huffed in defeat, “Look, ask me again tomorrow when we’re sober, okay? Pretty sure I’ll say the exact same thing.”

“Fine,” you conceded. “You better not try anything right now though, ’cause I bite.” Baring your teeth, you snarled at him playfully.

“Uh huh.” He burst out laughing. “You’re kinda high off your face, aren’t you?”

“Just a little.” You winked.

“Alright, let’s try to get some sleep,” he grunted, shifting to his side as he extended his arms towards you like an invitation. “No funny business,” he promised.

You relented, nestling yourself into his arms with your back against his chest. He dipped his nose into your hair, breathing in the peace of the moment. Closing your eyes, you drifted off to sleep, your bodies spooned together in perfect symmetry.

━━━━━━━━━━━

The first rays of the morning light filtered in through the curtains, as you awoke to the collective chirps of the dawn chorus. You squinted, pressing a palm over your eyes to shield yourself from the sun, as you stretched yourself out against Leon’s sleeping body and yawned groggily. He stirred a bit from your movement, but easily fell back into slumber, snoring deeply. You remembered everything you had disclosed to him the night before and it scared you. What if he didn’t feel the same way when he woke up? What if it had all been a mistake? How would you be able to look him in the eye now? You felt anxiety rising in your chest.

Stealthily, you lifted his arm off you, creeping out of the bed and making your escape before you had to face the consequences of your actions. Grabbing your stuff, you snuck out of the room, tiptoeing so no one noticed you exiting the front door of the house.

It was about an hour later when Leon woke up, confused to find you missing from the mattress with him. Though in your rush, you had accidentally left behind your notebook, which you carried around with you everywhere to jot down inspiration for song lyrics. Picking up the chestnut brown, leatherbound journal, curiosity got the better of him as he flipped it open to the page you had bookmarked.

As he skimmed across the words you had scribbled down in your off-beat, cursive handwriting, he gradually realized that they were the draft lyrics to the song you had been previously working on together with him, before the temporary break in your friendship. He re-read the text again to catch the meaning between the lines. It was then that it struck him, you had essentially composed a love letter from within, expressing the depth of your feelings and yearning for him. It made his heart ache that you had been keeping this from him the whole time and he had been blind to it all.

Tapping your name on his mobile screen, he called you right away, but it went straight to voicemail. Fuck. What were you afraid of? He thought he had been clear in how he felt about you last night, but it seemed like you had gone into hiding again. 

Showing up at your place directly after this may cause you to retreat even further, but he was determined to win you over somehow. A plan began to hatch in his mind, as he drove home with your book in the passenger seat. Despite his exhaustion from the party, he set out to work on the music for the lyrics you had written, spending the rest of the day and even pulling an all-nighter to finish it.

After about a dozen energy drinks and cups of coffee, he marched up unannounced to the door of your dormitory, where you shared a room with another final-year student from your class, rapping on it several times for good measure. Your roommate opened the door, but her expression gave everything away before she had the chance to concoct any sort of tall tale. She could never really keep a poker face.

Placing his arm against the door to prevent it from closing on him, he called out your name. You appeared in his view then timidly, mumbling to your roommate that you would handle it. She packed up a few things and left, giving you and Leon some privacy.

“Your book.” He passed it over to you, before setting his guitar case down by your bed. “Open it.”

You glanced briefly at him in mild bewilderment, but did as he asked. It flopped open to a page with a deep crease in the center, naturally showing how frequently that section had been revisited. You gasped when you saw a bunch of chord notes written below the lyrics you had penned down from earlier. Your complexion turned a light shade of scarlet upon realizing that Leon had discovered your innermost thoughts, but there was no awkwardness in his behavior towards you, he was calm and collected.

Unzipping the case, he took out his acoustic guitar and perched himself on the edge of your bed. Resting the instrument on his thigh, he grasped its neck, tilting it slightly as he strummed a couple of opening chords.

“I pieced together the melody for this. Maybe you can join in when you’re comfortable,” he suggested.

It seemed he had memorized the entire song by heart, as he didn’t need your notebook for guidance. His mellow, honeyed voice cascaded through the room as he serenaded you with the song both of you had crafted, albeit separately. Now, you were coming together to bring it to life.

Seating yourself next to him, you harmonized with his vocals, pouring the entirety of your emotions and every moment of longing you had built up within you into the music, until the final note trailed off. Throughout it all, Leon had observed you closely, captivated by the raw, unfiltered quality of your voice and the vulnerability you displayed in your delivery of the lyrics.

His gaze lowered from your eyes to your mouth, as he leaned in, brushing his lips gently against yours, kissing you tenderly. Bringing his hand to your cheek, he caressed it, coaxing soft sighs and moans which he returned as you reciprocated the kiss. Panting as he came up for air, he traced your bottom lip with his thumb, feeling every dip and groove, as if mesmerized by its outline and shape. He didn’t need to utter a single word for you to understand that his feelings for you mirrored those you had confessed in the song.

Closing the distance, he pressed into your lips again, this time more fervently, as the kisses grew in intensity. His nose nudged against yours and you felt his warm breath tickling your skin, as he grasped the back of your neck, taking you deeper, breathing every essence of you in. Clutching his shoulders, you parted your lips slightly as he licked along the entrance, allowing his tongue to meet yours, twirling around it as saliva coated your lips, forming a glistening string between the two of you when you pulled away.

Grazing his knuckles delicately across your cheek, he asked, “Do you believe me now?”

You smiled, claiming his lips with your own in response.

━━━━━━━━━━━

The next time you performed the song live was at the festival, where thousands had gathered to watch the impressive lineup of bands. Chris and Claire had fallen in love with it when you and Leon had showed it to them, and were keen to expand the band’s range into something that delved into the territory of rock ballads.

All four of you wondered how it would be received by the audience, as it was rather different from the punk rock style your band was known for. Even so, you were psyched to finally showcase it to the public.

It was the song you ended with on your setlist, and the one which created such a poignant, special atmosphere, that it became a memory you would treasure forever. The hall fell into hushed anticipation as Leon plucked his guitar strings under the soft glow of the stage lights. Each note resonated deeply, minimalistic and stripped back, which added to the earnesty of the music.

Your voice opened the duet, intimate and haunting, as the melody unfolded like a story being told, rich with longing and a melancholic beauty that ached. The audience stood there entranced, as a soulful rhythm built up with the entry of the bass guitar and drums, adding another layer to the sound.

Leon moved towards you, sharing your mic as he sang his part, cementing a bond between you. Locking eyes with you, he pressed his forehead against yours, mingling sweat and tears as you both continued singing into the same mic, your heartfelt lyrics heavy with emotion. Some of the older people in the crowd sparked their lighters, while the younger ones whipped out their mobile phones, swaying them in time to the music, until everything was awash in a sea of flickering lights.

Your lips and Leon’s were barely touching as the last notes lingered in the air. His faint breath fanned across your mouth, as he swept his fingertips along your jawline, resting them under your chin. The space was thick with palpable tension, and your stomach fluttered just as it had the first time he had kissed you. Like a magnetic pull which he could not resist, he placed his lips over yours, kissing you again and again. It was as if the world had paused, just for the two of you. 

Singing this way no longer reminded you of punishment and shame, but rather of the connection you and Leon had. Wrapping his arm around your waist, he led you off-stage, past the phenomenal reaction of the crowd and the fist bumps shared between Chris and Claire.

Ada came around not only to congratulate him, but also to test the waters and seize the opportunity to flirt. Despite that, he held onto you tightly, maintaining a suitable distance from the woman he had previously been infatuated with, yet feeling nothing deeper compared to what he felt for you. It took him more than half a year, an explosive fallout and a few weeks of your absence to realize that. She smirked and shook her head, walking away as Wesker continued to ignore you.

Some things never change, yet some things had.

“How about some time alone?” he proposed. “Just us.”

Us. It was always meant to be about us.

You nuzzled your nose gently with his. “Yeah, just us.”

[wileys-russo]

the striker and her wingman II a.russo x reader

nervous lovestruck lessi >>

the striker and her wingman II a.russo x reader

ella sighed deeply, tapping her foot impatiently as she folded her arms over her chest and shook her head, checking the time on her phone confirming that once again her best friend was late.

finally she saw the strikers white mercedes pull up outside the coffee shop, watching in amusement as the older girl struggled to parallel park despite the multiple angles of reverse cameras ella knew she had at her disposal, something she would be sure to take the piss out of alessia for later.

busying herself scrolling through instagram ella glanced up and spotted the familiar blonde mop of hair eventually parked and legging it across the road, tripping over her own feet and being honked at by a passing car her face paled and she held a hand up apologetically.

"tooney!" alessia scowled as ella doubled over, laughing loudly at the girls consistent streak of clumsy bad luck. "bout time you got here less, not like we left training at the same time!" ella calmed herself and rolled her eyes, nudging her shoulder into the taller girl who mumbled something under her breath and followed her best friend inside.

"aw jills not working." ella frowned as the bell chimed to signal their entrance, the coffee shop owned by their former team mate not empty but hardly full at three in the afternoon. but it had become a winter post training tradition for both alessia and ella to meet up here and have a hot chocolate, the two so dedicated to the routine they'd created a new superstition that if it didn't happen twice a week they would become genuinely fearful that they'd lose on the weekend.

"oh that means you actually have to pay, what a shame!" alessia teased as the two wandered over to the counter. "oh I uh I suddenly actually need to use the toilet, be right back!" ella darted off in the opposite direction as alessia rolled her eyes, grabbing her phone out to pay for their drinks, more than used to her best friends antics.

alessias eyes hungrily wandered the baked goods on display as she waited patiently at the counter, tossing up which one she was craving more until a voice snapped her out of it. "sorry for the wait! what can i get for you?" as the blonde looked up with a smile her stomach flipped and her mouth ran dry at the unfamiliar girl standing in front of her.

"you alright?" the girls eyebrows creased a little in concern at the lack of answer from the striker, alessia fighting to get her words out genuinely stunned into silence by the beauty gazing at her oddly. "did you order already? ooo can i get a brownie??" suddenly ella was back beside her, her friends loud voice in her ear snapping alessia back into reality as she felt her cheeks and ears flush bright red with embarassment.

"did you want anything else with that, drinks maybe?" the stranger hinted with an amused smile, angling the question towards alessia who nodded. "and that would be?" the girl asked when alessia didn't actually provide an answer, biting down on her lip to hold back a grin as ella glanced at alessia with a confused frown, the normally confident blonde acting very out of character.

"well well well if it isn't tooney and lessi russo!" jill sang out, suddenly appearing beside the mystery beauty as alessia let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding in. "i see you've both met y/n, me blossoming new protege!" jill beamed, slinging an arm around the shorter girls shoulder who rolled her eyes playfully. 

"aren't proteges supposed to actually learn things? i don't think you've taught me anything except how to chat a customers ear off jilly." the girl grinned teasingly as jill pulled her into a headlock, ruffling her hair and letting her go. 

"these two are some of my best manchester regulars, they'll have two large hot chocolates and they're on the house. euro winners special!" jill winked as ella beamed and alessia smiled appreciatively. 

"maybe a brownie for the backheel queen and the match changer then?" ella asked cheekily, alessia ramming an elbow into the girls side with a glare, ella shoving her away as jill simply laughed and agreed, grabbing them out herself. "i'll bring these over to you." the girl assured as she ducked behind the coffee machine, ella thanking her and tugging alessia off toward their usual table by the window.

"less what is wrong with you man? are you a mute now or something?" ella asked with a bewildered look toward her best friend as they sat down, cutting the brownie in half and sliding alessia's bit over to her. "nothing, just tired after training." alessia shrugged it off, though as ella studied her, noticing the frequented glances toward their new barista, cogs began to turn.

"here we go! for the superstars, or so jill tells me." you announced playfully and ella didn't miss the way alessia's body tensed up nervously as you brought their drinks over, shooting the blonde a dazzling smile as ella once more thanked you for the both of them. 

"so you from around here?" the brunette asked with a friendly smile, wanting to continue to watch alessia squirm as she slowly put the pieces together.

"don't give my life story to anyone i don't know, stranger danger you know!" you teased, ella opening her mouth to retort a cheeky comment back but both girls heads snapped towards alessia as there was a loud smash and a squeal, the striker knocking her hot chocolate all down herself, the ceramic mug it was once in falling to the floor and shattering into pieces gaining the attention of everyone else around them.

"still clumsy as ever then i see less!" jill was at the table in a flash, sweeping up the pieces as you excused yourself to go and make alessia a new drink, the blonde apologizing profusely to jill and burying her face in her hands, wishing the ground would swallow her up as jill dismissed her with a wave, assuring it was a only a cheap mug anyway.

"okay less, spill it!" ella ordered firmly once it was just the two of them again, staring alessia down as the girl looked to her with a frown. "what was that?" ella accused taking a bite out of her brownie and almost moaning in pleasure. "what was what?" alessia continued, perfectly plucked eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"that! you're normally clumsy but you could barely get a word out." ella continued, alessia dismissing her with a wave of her hand.

"oh my god less, you like the new girl." ella grinned in realization, the blonde scoffing and assuring her she was wrong before gratefully accepting the second mug of hot chocolate from jill, admittedly a little disappointed it wasn't you who brought it over again, though at the same time appreciative that it avoided another opportunity for her to embarrass herself again.

"you like her less!" ella beamed louder, alessia hissing for her to shut up as her eyes darted nervously toward the girl in question, sighing a little in relief that she hadn't appeared to have heard her best friends cheers.

"shut up tooney!" alessia scowled unappreciatively, sipping much more carefully at her hot chocolate as ella wiggled excitedly across from her. "less this is so exciting you never have crushes, go get her number!" ella encouraged enthusiastically, practically bouncing in her seat as she spoke.

"no! don't be stupid." alessia grimaced, taking a bite of the brownie and glaring at her best friend. "the only stupid thing is that we're probably gonna be seeing a whole lot more of her and if you keep getting tongue tied every time shes near you you'll scare her off!" ella teased as alessia rolled her eyes again.

"hi! sorry to interrupt. but thought you might want a dry shirt?" alessia choked on her mouthful as you appeared, offering her a box to box employee top with a soft smile. feeling ella kick at her under the table and widen her eyes with a subtle nod, alessia shot her a dirty look and cleared her throat.

"yeah that would be great, thank you." alessia managed to get out, not missing the way your face lit up at the verbal response, happily handing her the shirt and excusing yourself back to the counter as a few customers walked in. 

"well go and change then you big dope!" ella rolled her eyes, making a shooing motion with her hands as alessia hurried off to the bathroom, tips of her ears still burning bright red.

finishing her hot chocolate and now left alone to her own devices ella glanced over and noticed you stood by yourself at the front, drumming your nails against the counter, unoccupied. grabbing her empty mug she took it over to the bench, placing it down as you smiled at her appreciatively and ducked out the back to place it in the sink.

"ella was it?" you checked as you returned, the midfielder leaning her hip against the counter and nodding in confirmation. "so you're one of those big fancy footballers then? have to admit I’ve not actually heard of you before, sorry for the knock to your ego.” you smiled teasingly as ella feigned shock that you didn’t know who she was. "scuse you i'm quite famous round here, local legend some may even say! was even papped eating a pastie once." ella bragged, puffing out her chest goofily, rewarded with your laughter. 

the two of you busied yourself with some pleasant small talk, alessia returning to the table now changed and frowning when she noticed ella was no longer there. "oh no." the striker mumbled to herself hearing a familiar burst of laughter and realising just where her best friend had dissapeared to.

"so enough about me, you'll have to google the rest sadly, celebrity things you know!" ella cleared her throat with a shrug as you rolled your eyes with a smile. "see the blonde over there i came in with? the clumsy one who doesn't know how to drink a hot chocolate." ella nodded toward her best friend whose attention was turned to the street outside as you hummed.

"a girl of very few words." you smiled as ella forced a sarcastic laugh in response. "one could only wish that was true. she just thinks you're fit, stunned her into silence one could say!" ella announced casually as your eyes widened a little at the confession, cocking an eyebrow toward the brunette in front of you.

"so, you seeing anyone?" ella smiled charmingly, resting her head on her chin as you chuckled. "cutting your friends grass just a little there with that question aren't we?" you smirked, ella scoffing and waving off your words. "you should be so lucky! i am in fact taken very happily with my boyfriend, but alessia is single." ella heavily hinted with a wiggle of her eyebrows making you laugh.

"well then why isn't she over here instead of you?" you asked with an amused look toward the girl in front of you. "well i would hardly be a good wing man if i let her now would i?" ella boasted with a wink as you simply hummed in response, the bell chiming signalling you had customers. 

"this has been lovely ella, but i have to actually do my job now!" you smiled as ella deflated a little at her lack of success but nodded in understanding, leaving you to it and returning back to the table. "what was that about then?" alessia asked, worrying over what her loud mouthed lack of filter best friend might have said in her absence.

"just a friendly chat, i'm not stealing your missus less don't worry!" ella grinned as the blonde rolled her eyes, finishing the last mouthful of her hot chocolate as the two fell into their usual conversation, discussing everything and anything until before they knew it the cafe had emptied out and they'd realized it was closing time, also not something new to either of them as this was often the case for the two.

"well looks like i've got a new employee then have i!" jill teased, nodding to the shirt alessia was wearing with a grin, chatting with her two former team mates about their upcoming derby match tomorrow, getting in all the puns and sledges jill could manage towards her friends beloved united, forever a die hard former city player.

excusing herself to balance the register and continue closing the tall girl exchanged hugs with the two and strode away, ella scurrying off to use the toilet before they left. "here, on the house." no sooner had jill leave did you suddenly appear making alessias knees wobble, placing down a brown paper bag in front of the blonde with a soft smile, disapearing as soon as you'd arrived.

curiously alessia opened the top of the bag and grinned seeing four brownies stashed away inside, looking up to try and thank you but you were obviously out the back somewhere and she sighed a little in disappointment as ella returned and the two of them exited the cafe, the bell chiming after them.

"oo what have you got then?" the bag was rudely taken from her grasp as ella nosily shoved her head inside as they walked over to alessias car, the blonde quick to snatch it back as ella whined. "less!" the girls eyes widened and she reached once more for the bag as alessia held it away from her, firmly stating they were hers.

"no you dope! look on the other side." ella grinned and alessias eyebrows creased, flipping the bag around her stomach lurched into her throat seeing a number scribbled across the back. "ha! it did work, ultimate wingman ultimate wingman ultimate wingman!" ella chanted as she danced around like an idiot, pumping her arms in the air like a madwoman.

"what worked tooney?"

~

"so how's things with lovergirl!" ella teased the next morning, sliding into the passenger seat of alessia's car as the blonde picked her up for the match. "less please tell me you messaged her." ellas face dropped at the guilty look from her best friend who picked at her fingers, refusing to meet her gaze.

"alessia! she's gonna think you're not into her you idiot!" ella punched the girl in the arm with a shake of her head as alessia scowled, rubbing at her arm. "i don't know what to say!" the striker defended, slumping back into her seat with a groan, having put your number into her phone and stared blankly at the message icon, continually overthinking what she should say until the clock ticked over into the next day and alessia forced herself to try and sleep.

"oh here's an idea, how about you start with hello?" ella mocked with a shake of her head in disbelief as alessia sighed deeply, starting up the car and glancing over her shoulder before pulling out. 

"you are hopeless less, no wonder you've been single for so long. as your wingman theres only so much i can do for you before you actually have to put in some work!"

"yeah alright tooney, i get it."

~

alessia sighed as she stepped out of the shower, muscles aching from an intense ninety minutes played, united having just come away with a win after a grueling derby. the girl wasted no time changing into her tracksuit and scraping her wet hair into a bun, packing everything into her kit bag which she slung over her shoulder.

having taken her time in the showers the majority of alessia's team mates had already left for the evening, ella grabbing a lift from millie as the girl had absolutely no patience and did not appreciate the time it took alessia to go through her post match routine.

waving a tired goodbye to nikita and ona who were sat chatting alessia made her way out of the locker rooms, the stadium now mostly emptied out as a few lone stragglers hung around chatting or celebrating the home teams win.

"you know when a girl is told that someone thinks shes fit and she then goes out of her way to give them her number and some free brownies, its a little humiliating when you don't receive a message." alessia jumped at the sudden voice, turning to see you sat up on the seats beside her, knees tucked into your chest as alessias heart began to hammer in her own.

"what are you doing here?" was all the blonde could manage to get out, wincing at how unintentionally blunt it had come out as your face dropped even further, pointing up behind you where jill was sat a few rows up, chatting excitedly with a few people sporting city jerseys, clearly soaking up the attention.

"my ride is busy reliving her glory days." you answered softly, alessia nodding in understanding as she awkwardly shifted her kit bag on her shoulder. "sorry if i made you uncomfortable." you continued when she didn't say anything, eyes silently awaiting a response as alessia opened and closed her mouth a few times, heart beat accelerating as she found herself lost in the galaxy of color that were your eyes, her already weak legs wobbling a little.

"good talk." you mumbled with a frown, cheeks flushed red with embarrassment at your obvious misunderstanding of the situation, pushing yourself to sit up and moving to walk up and away toward jill.

alessias eyes widened and she felt her body go rigid with panic. "wait! are you busy right now?" the blonde blurted out, hands fiddling nervously with the strap of her kit bag as you frowned a little. "why?" you asked, folding your arms over your chest with a firm stare.

"are you free to go get dinner? i promise i did mean to message you, but i just...well i didn't know what to say and i didn't want to scare you off but i guess i already did that by not actually replying and well i-" alessia began to ramble as your face softened a little at her obvious nerves.

"sure." you cut her off with a small smile, alessia looking to you in surprise her words falling short. "really?" alessia asked with wide eyes and your smile grew, nodding in confirmation. "unless you're not sure?" you teased as alessia frantically shook her head, promising you she really meant it.

"so do you mean like we go now?" you asked, alessia agreeing before she glanced down and realised she was only clad in joggers and a hoodie, wincing a little. "i'm not one for fancy dinners on first dates." you gently assured seeing her nerves spike up again. "a date?" alessia spoke up, your face paling as you one again began to stress you'd misunderstood.

"a date! yes, a date. just maybe somewhere...casual?" alessia winced again gesturing to her man united getup with a guilty smile, you letting out a small sigh of relief. glancing up behind you and seeing your boss still engaged actively in conversation you made the decision you would just send her a text as alessia offered to drive the two of you. 

"jill might fire me for getting into a car with a united player you know." you grinned teasingly, jogging down the steps to meet her as the two of you walked off into the car park. "don't tell me you support city." alessia shook her head, nerves slowly settling the more she actually forced herself to push through them and speak with you.

"i don't normally watch football at all, but jills doing her best to force me into it." you admitted with a smile, eyebrows raising in surprise as you noticed alessia unlock her very expensive looking car. 

"well if this date is going to work i just might need to change your mind." alessia teased, tossing her kit bag in the back and your stomach flipped as she opened the door for you.

~

fast forward a few months and alessia had indeed stuck true to her word, over the course of your rapidly blossoming relationship forcing you to watch countless football matches including all of last summers euros, talking your ear off about the rules and regulations and tactics.

the blonde which was now your girlfriend, to be exact.

the taller girl was just as awkward asking you that question as she was the first day you met her, the sweet ramblings as she danced around the actual direct question of your official relationship status only making your affections for her grow stronger as you'd tugged her down into a kiss, murmuring a yes against her lips and putting her out of her misery as she grinned, pulling away and wrapping you in a suffocatingly tight hug.

it was how you found yourself now kitted out in a lionesses jersey with her last name spread across the back of your shoulder blades, stood in her flat in her kitchen cooking her dinner as you awaited your girlfriend to return from training.

you didn't have to wait long as you heard her keys jingle in the front door, her timing perfect as you'd just finished dishing up her favourite pasta, knowing all too well that was her go to after a thursday evening of grueling double sessions.

"hello gorgeous." you greeted sweetly with an adoring smile as the exhausted looking striker dumped her kit bag and shoes by the door and padded tiredly into the kitchen. "hi." the taller girl sighed into your shoulder slumping into your awaiting arms, pressing a kiss to her cheek as she gripped onto you tightly.

"dinners ready but do you want a shower first? it can easily be reheated." you murmured softly, rubbing comfortingly at her back as she shook her head, mumbling that she'd already showered at the gym as you walked the two of you over to the lounge, gently pushing her to sit down and refusing her offers of help, demanding she stay put as you grabbed your bowls of dinner and brought them over.

thanking you with a peck on the lips alessia settled back into the lounge, a comfortable silence falling between you as you ate, both engrossed in succession, the show recommended to you by alessia's national team mates during her last camp.

bowls long washed up and the fourth episode of your show in a row now finishing you glanced down to see the blonde sprawled out on top of you had fallen asleep, arms wrapped tightly around your torso as her head rested on your chest, your own hands tucked up the back of her top, nails scratching softly up and down her back.

"baby." you whispered softly, shaking her gently as her piercing blue eyes fluttered open, blinking sleepily she lifted her head a little. "time for bed, come on." you smiled, heart melting as she nodded tiredly, but collapsed back on top of you and burying her face in your neck. 

"lessi baby, come on your neck and back are gonna kill you tomorrow if we sleep on the lounge again." you warned gently, shaking her again as you felt her exhale deeply into your skin, laughing a little at the ticklish sensation as the taller girl tiredly pushed herself up, rolling off of you and forcing herself to her feet with another tired sigh.

shooing her off upstairs you rushed around to flick off all the lights and lock the doors of her flat up, spending more nights here than in your own flat you were well accustomed to everything. by the time you made it to her bedroom your face softened seeing the lamp left on and her body already tucked away beneath the blanket.

rummaging around in her wardrobe you located your her favourite hoodie, slipping the oversized material over your head as you stepped out of your slippers and lifted the edge of the duvet, reaching over the flick off the lamp and shuffle properly into bed you blinked a few times, eyes adjusting as the room was plunged into darkness.

"your legs are freezing." you heard the blonde beside you grumble as you pressed yourself into her, the taller girl flipping onto her side as you tucked yourself as tightly into her as you could. "warm them up then." you wound her up by rubbing your bare legs against hers as she whined tiredly and kicked at you, empty threats of throwing you out of bed dropping from her lips.

"i better wake up to breakfast in bed and a coffee for having to put up with you." alessia sighed as you smacked at her in the dark, a smile curling onto the strikers face as she pressed a tender kiss to your forehead. 

"you'll be waking up to an empty bed, i start at five tomorrow baby." you reminded, feeling her body vibrate with a loud groan, knowing that meant she too would be woken up early from your alarms. "remind me to have a stern word with jill about your roster." the striker huffed in annoyance, tomorrow being her day off she had planned for a sleep in all wrapped up with you, her plans now rudely ruined. 

"sure my love, you do just that."

~

she didn't, of course.

but she did as always pick you up at lunchtime when your shift finished, your mood instantly lifting as you exited the cafe, tired from the early open shift and grateful to avoid the incoming lunch rush, spotting the blonde leant against her white mercedes waiting patiently.

"hello beautiful." the strikers own body perked up as she greeted you with a sweet kiss, opening your door for you before hurrying around to her own side. "picked you up some sushi." alessia gestured to the paper bag by your feet, grinning at the excited squeal that came from you at the surprise.

"thank you love you didn't need to do that." you beamed leaning over to kiss her cheek appreciatively as she stretched an arm over the back of your seat and glanced behind her to reverse out of her spot, your stomach flipping at how attractive you found the simple maneuver. 

"do you know what tooney asked me to do today?" alessia spoke up as you hummed, swallowing your mouthful of food and reaching over to offer her a piece of sushi which she happily accepted. 

"thank her in front of the entire team for and i quote 'being the god of love who got us to get together'." alessia shook her head with a roll of her eyes as you tilted back your head letting out a loud belt of laughter, having grown incredibly close with your girlfriends best friend.

"well, if she hadn't of come over to talk to me that day with the brownies - you wouldn't have my number."

"surely you're not going to take her side? she's already insufferably annoying on a good day, i don't need the two of you ganging up on me!"

"lessi you were an absolute nervous wreck - do i need to bring up the hot chocolate incident?" 

"i was not! i was just..." 

"hopelessly in love with me from day one, it’s okay to admit aloud, it’s healthy!”

"god i'm putting you on a ban from spending time with tooney, she's done no good for this ginormous ego you're developing."

"ego! at least i had the confidence to give you my number, not that you used it."

"i have apologized for that over a hundred times and you agreed to stop bringing it up, especially around our families to make fun of me!"

"no but back to your point, i think you need to give your wingman some credit." you grinned as alessia pulled into her driveway, cutting off the engine and pouting at you with a frown. "maybe just...a tiny bit." alessia used her fingers to create a minuscule gap, causing you to playfully roll your eyes at her.

"wasn't her fault you were just too stunned by my ethereal beauty, you're only human." you teased as the two of you exited the car, alessia hurrying to grab your bag for you as you tossed the rubbish from your lunch into the bin which sat by the curb ready to be picked up tomorrow morning.

"here we go with this ego again, what am i going to do with you?" your body was pressed against the front door the moment you stepped inside, the taller girl glancing down at you with a smirk.

"call your best friend and thank her for me even giving you a chance russo." you breathed out against her lips, ducking under her arm as she leant in for a kiss and striding off into the living room, changing into a run as you heard alessia yell after you, begining to chase you around the house as the sounds of your laughters bounced off the wall.

"got you!" you squealed as the athlete easily cornered you, tackling you onto the lounge and pulling you to lay on top of her, wrapping her arms around the back of your neck and tugging your lips to meet hers, hand on the back of your head meaning she was in full control of when you pulled away.

though as much as she may have verbally disagreed, the striker knew that deep down without her wing man, her life would be significantly less happy or fulfilling without you in it, so maybe she did owe ella a small thank you.

but you would never hear her admit that out loud.

[kisses4kei]

Help me out!! sanji x reader one shot

content: sanji x fem! reader. sick reader. Fluff. Kissing. Making out. Charecters may be slightly ooc!

have fun!!

You have been sick for the past 2 days. Lulling around the ship. Sometimes your freezing cold, others your too hot too even sit. You don't know why but you're just down.

Sanji has been trying too help you. He really just makes you different foods but you haven't been craving any food at all. Only ever picking at the food.

Today though you haven't been able too get out of bed. Your throat is raspy everything aches and it hurts to do anything. You actually hope Sanji stops by today you miss him. You also feel bad because he always leaves right after he gives you food since he doesn't want to bother you.

You hear three nocks at your door. "Its Sanji, can I come in?" Your face lights up with small but warm smile. "Please, come in." With that you hear the door creek open. "Hello sweetheart, I've made you some soup" He gently sets it down on your bedside table and goes toward the exit too leave.

"Wait, where are you going?" he turns around and is faced with a now sitting up you with a pout on your face. He turns on his heels "You want me too stay?" He looks smug and his arms are crossed. You look down in response. "If you don't mind.." You mumble quietly.

He sits on the edge of the bed next too you. You hadn’t planned this far. "How are you feeling? Any better?" He looks at you, not a hint of humor in his voice. You rub your eyes "A little bit..Your food has been helping." You shift closer too him on the bed not sitting next too him.

"Im glad I can help such a pretty face like you" You flush but you swear its the sickness. "Pft..Your always so flirtatious even when i'm sick and can barley get out of bad" said as you giggle and cover your face. "Only when its about you." You sit up straighter and suck in a breath. He sounded so sincere, so careful.

"What are you trying too say Sanji?" You look at him confused with a fluttering sensation inside your chest. He leans in closer "You don't know what i'm trying too say?" He looks at you deep into your eyes. "I like you, thats why I do this. I bring you food, flirt with you. All because I like you. I thought you knew." His voice was nothing but a whisper as he leaned into your ear.

He pulled away but stayed only millimeters away from your face. Your breathing is heavy and you need to ground yourself so you don't wobble. You just sit there stunned for a few seconds. The silence is broken by a scoff and right as you were about to say something you feel a soft pair of lips meet yours.

Your eyes widen but you eventually lean into the kiss.His tongue reaches the inside of your mouth. You two are moving with a rhythm, his hands find a way too your lower back and yours around his neck. You then slowly pull away stopping the kiss short. He looks desperate like he needs more.

"Ill make you sick Sanji..." You flush and look away. "You think I care about that sweetheart?" His lips then crash into yours again a more fiery and fierce kiss. You didn’t even feel sick anymore and after this it seemed your sickness really just disappeared on their own.

Thanks for reading!! This was just a short cute lil thing but yk!

Have a good morning/afternoon/evening/night!!

-jill :3

[fantasylandbitch]

Summary: You and Sam have been friends since elementary school going through the throws of being preteens just enjoying life and trying to figure out what you both wanted to do with your lives. But one night in Sam’s life changes the course of your own in high school leaving a rift in your relationship with Sam and your little sister. (Fic Requested by @spidey2-9 )

Warnings: Some Cussing, Mention of blood, Mention of Drugs,  Suggestive Themes

Part 1 Part 2 (Coming Soon)

Five years ago in Woodboro, California 

You remember the wind in your hair and how your cheeks would hurt from smiling at something Sam said. It was during your drive over to this small little diner you girls would frequent in Woodsboro. You girls would even go as far as to bring Kirby along for the ride but at the time she was hanging out with Jill so it was just you and Sam on a winter afternoon. But without Kirby being there to help distract you from where your mind would wander, your heart kept pounding against your ribcage as you parked your car in front of the diner before heading inside with your best friend. You remember you both would look at each other, you looking at Sam’s onyx brown eyes while she looked at your e/c ones, it felt odd to you, foreign to feel this nervous around your best friend while bundled up in your baggy yellow sweater and orange & black checkered sherpa jacket. You weren’t sure what to make of these feelings because you were just a teenager, you didn’t think about looking up these feelings you harbored for her.

“You have been quiet and staring at me for the past two minutes Freeman..” Sam started. “What are you thinking about?” she asked you from across the table with a slightly tired smile, pulling your attention away from the feeling.

“Um” you started, thinking about what to say to her “Nothing much..I guess I was thinking about what I was planning to do after high school and..” you said with a smile before thinking again as Sam was going to open her mouth. “And what great things you were going to do with your life” you admitted to your best friend because you had high hopes for Sam to do the right thing with her life.

For a moment your words left Sam speechless because even though she's been doing drugs and living a life of crime she is always amazed by how you have faith in her to be greater than she was the day, week, and month before. Sam smiles for a minute at you before scoffing at what you had said. “Speak for yourself Y/n” she replies, causing your smile to drop for a second as a waiter comes by with your food and drinks.

“Thank you,” you said to the waiter before looking back at Sam. “Am I wrong for thinking that Sam?” You asked her as you lowered your head to take a bite out of your chocolate chip pancake. “I think people forget that everyone has a pace they walk at so those few people who say ‘Back in my day while going through my high school career I knew exactly what I wanted to pursue after I got out’ are not always right,” you said in a funny old person voice causing Sam to laugh. 

“Not with that voice,” Sam said laughing at your old person impression as you smiled. “But I appreciate that you have faith in my ability to be better,” Sam said with a smile before digging into the breakfast you picked for her. However, her smile left her face for a moment as she covered her mouth with a napkin, cleaning herself up. She couldn't help but replay what you had said to her. Because Sam knows that for her to do great things in her life such as get cleaned and leave the life of crime. That would require her to leave Woodsboro. It was something Sam's been meaning to do for a while ever since she found out who she was, the realization that Mr. Carpenter wasn’t her real father and the traumatizing experience that followed after. Information she found in the attic where some things were meant to be forgotten. It left her afraid and voiceless, she couldn't tell you nor Kirby about what’s been really going on with her in fear that maybe you both would view her differently. At this point, she knows going home isn’t an option for her. “This food is really good. You picked a good dish for me to order” Sam compliments your taste on the new dish you picked out for her to try.

“Thanks, I’m learning that I’m an adventurous eater,” you say back with a smile as you pick up the straws for you and Sam. You break the casing that once protected the straws before carefully placing them separately in both of your drinks with a smile. Without you noticing, Sam admires your face and how you're smiling so brightly in front of her, it’s contagious. But it also hurts her heart. Because Sam realizes that right now she has to burn you and everything about you into her memory. Your voice. Your laugh. Your Smile. Your eyes. Your personality.

“That’s good. Maybe one day you can hang out at my place and I can make you something” Sam said to you with a bright smile and you smiled just as brightly at her with a nod before you both bought dessert and coffee after.

However, when later came that you had to drive Sam home, you and Sam wouldn’t stop talking the entire drive back. Talking about everything and nothing like you both weren’t sure you would ever see each other ever again. Until you arrived at her house and Sam gave you a quick side hug before getting out of your car. It was unlike her so you put your car in park before turning it off to join Sam on the sidewalk. “You know Sammy, I’m looking forward to eating any meals you make in the future,” you tell your best friend as you stand side by side with Sam while looking at her childhood home together. 

Then you hear Sam take a deep breath “I look forward to seeing the faces you make” she replied before turning to you to give you a proper hug. Her arms wrapped around your torso and pulled you closer into her body as she hid her face in your shoulder. You slowly start to notice that her hug was long which surprised you because you know that Sam is known for only giving hugs like this to her little sister while she gave her friends relatively short lived hugs.

“Oooh Sam” you whispered, you wrapped your arms around Sam as you gave her a controlled bear hug that Sam loves so much while she tightened her arms around you. Her hug left you quiet as you comfortably propped your chin on her shoulder getting a whiff of her perfume on her jacket as you felt Sam move her head. The skin of her cheek touched the skin of your neck like she was nuzzling you while you suddenly felt emotional. Your chest started to feel heavy while your eyes began to water causing you to hug your best friend tightly while also trying to keep it together so when Sam pulled away you started wiping your face. 

“Y/n” Sam whispers your name. “Why are you crying?” she asked you with concern, you shook your head not knowing why before wiping the tears off your face as you took a step back in shame but Sam wouldn’t have that as she stepped forward trying not to cry herself as she brought you in for another hug. “Sssh you’ll see me again soon,” she said lying to you while your body shook in her embrace. You nodded into her shoulder and it prompted Sam to kiss your cheek because the last thing she wanted to do was make you cry before she left Woodsboro in secret. 

But that was five years ago. Five long years that left you wondering if you could have changed her mind had you known she was going to leave Tara and you behind. Over time you slowly started to blame yourself for her leaving because you felt like maybe you had pushed her too far to change. Because deep down you knew that something was going on with your best friend, Sam would never look like she was tired so inside you knew she had to leave whatever toxic environment she was in.  You just didn’t know it was going to be a few days after Tara’s birthday. But knowing that didn’t make the pain go away and it didn’t make the struggles you were going through in Woodsboro any easier. It just made you quieter, angry and closed off. Regardless of how you felt about the matter, in her absence, you took care of Tara like she was your sister, however, nothing could have prepared you for the horrors that befell the Carpenter household years later.

Five years later,

You find yourself sitting on a couch in Tara’s hospital room wearing your pajamas with a duffle bag full of spare clothes for Tara as well as yourself along with your phone charger. You find yourself listening to the environment around you as you plug your phone charger into the wall behind the couch. The sounds you can hear in the empty hospital are Tara’s vitals and her snores from across the room. “Who would do this to you Tara?” you whisper to the little Carpenter knowing she was asleep from the pain while her mom and older sister were doing god knows what. The whole ordeal keeps you up as your eyes scan the room trying to find answers in seemingly nothing, eventually, you get up from the couch to survey the hallway for any threats before your brain leads your eyes to your cell phone. The first thought that comes across your brain is to make a group chat that consists of your friends Mindy, Chad, Wes, and your little sister Amber. You wanted to make sure that they all knew why their best friend was not coming to school this week.

You texted while pacing in the small room that you and Tara occupied before you lowered your phone for a second when a thought crossed your mind. ‘I should let Sam know what happened to her sister’ you thought to yourself as you pulled your phone up to go to your contacts to find Sam’s phone number but when you went to text her your fingers froze. You slowly sat down on the arm of the couch wondering if Sam would even text you back because over the years you've sent her happy birthday messages to celebrate her existence. But at the same time you also wanted to know if she was okay but not once did she ever read your messages making you eventually give up. You turn your head to look over at Tara for comfort as you take a deep breath before looking at your phone hoping on some miracle she would text you back especially if it's an emergency but when you did finally text Sam something came up in your messages.

“Oh go fuck yourself,” you said aloud getting up from the couch before covering your mouth. You remember where you were. You quickly look over at Tara hoping you didn’t wake her up as relief slowly washes over you before making the gesture to throw your phone at the wall without actually doing it. You were mad and insulted that Sam would block you when Tara needed her the most. It eventually left you in tears because you felt like you weren't equipped to handle this type of situation, not on your own, with Tara being almost murdered by someone in the middle of the night. You wondered who would want to kill Tara and if they would come back to finish the job. The thought of the killer somehow entering the hospital kept you up as you sat back down on the couch putting your phone down at one end of the couch while you sat at the other end, distancing yourself. Then you began dragging your hands down your face in an attempt to calm down while you kept your eye on the only entrance to the room for a little while.

When the sun eventually rose high in the sky you were still awake just sitting on the couch. Still watching the entrance to the room hoping a nurse or a doctor or a familiar face would come walking in and not the killer because you may have changed physically but as far as you know you're no wrestler, maybe aiming to be a powerlifter sure, or (pick your beautiful body) but nothing unrealistic. However, whenever you would use the bathroom in the room you would make sure to check if there was anyone behind the shower curtain before using the toilet. But you also left the bathroom door open just in case you needed to give the killer e coli poisoning if you really had to fight him. Thankfully, no one entered the room before and after you were done using the bathroom because you didn’t want to resort to an unusual way of taking someone out. However, Tara was still asleep and you were still wearing blood stained clothes from the night before when you had rushed into the Carpenter home to get to Tara. The events from the previous night replaying in your head. You remember barreling through the front door seeing the carnage that was left behind by Tara’s attacker and the blood trail that led to the kitchen where you found her. You remember getting a blanket from the living room to practically wrap her up in, so you can get her into your car because the police in town were taking too fucking long. Regardless of what you had witnessed you weren’t comfortable turning your back for a second to change your clothes so when the time finally struck six, you felt your phone vibrate once, twice, and now three times letting you know that you were receiving a text message from the other side of the couch. You were so tired that you had to drag yourself across the furniture like a dog dragging their ass across the floor to get to your phone before you opened it.

Hours later when the hospital is bustling with life you find yourself trying to fight sleep and the need to eat something because once again you weren’t comfortable leaving Tara’s side when she’s hurt like this. You were practically her support human and guard dog so when Tara woke up she turned her head towards you.

“What are you still doing here?” she asked you with a hoarse voice, wondering why you were still at the hospital with her before her eyes gravitated down to your pajamas.

“What? A girl can’t stay by your side for the night?” you replied to Tara with a tired look trying not to slur your words and keep your eyes focused on her.

“Is that..blood on your pajamas?” Tara asked you with a horrified look on her face and at this point, you could care less about what you look like right now.

“What else would it be Tar-a?” you slurred with a tired smile before you both looked over at the door to the room when it opened causing you to quickly get up despite how tired you were, grabbing the rail at the end of her bed to steady yourself. You both notice Mindy, your little sister Amber, Wes, and Chad walk into the room with different emotions like relief, happiness, concern, and shock. “I am so glad that I don’t have to fight anyone right now…” you say feeling miserable when your sister says something to you.

“You look like shit Y/n,” Amber said seriously to you along with a sour look on her face.

“Why is that the first thing that comes out of your mouth Amber?” Mindy inquired, the concerned expression leaving her face before she replaced it with a serious one as she looked over at Amber because she hated how your little sister was rude to you. 

“Yeah, well, Mindy, I feel like shit” you replied in response to what your little sister and Mindy said. Because you felt like death while watching Wes and Chad enter the room before sitting on the couch again as Mindy took residence next to you while your little sister sat next to Tara on the hospital bed. 

“Oh geez Y/n. You look like you need some sleep” you hear Wes say to you as he walks in quickly looking you over to make sure you aren’t bleeding before looking at Tara.

“Yeah and a shower,” Chad says to you after closing the door behind him. “Maybe you should shower in the bathroom while we hang out with Tara. I’ll go get a few towels for you.” Chad says before heading out of the room just as you were going to open your mouth but instead, it was replaced by a heavy sigh. 

“Chad’s right Y/n,” Mindy says aloud while turning her head to look at you while making herself more comfortable on the couch next to you. “We’re here now so you can go take care of yourself after Chad comes back with a few towels,” she says, leaving you no room to say no to her making Wes, Tara, and Amber look over at you and for a moment you feel vulnerable under the eyes of the kids you used to babysit with Sam.

Mindy could tell that her words had reached you because you had slowly turned your head to look at her. She can also tell that behind your eyes you were thinking of rejecting her brother’s idea of you taking care of yourself while they look after Tara. She knows you’ve been through a lot over the years and she just wants what's best for you. Thankfully Mindy hears you take a deep breath. “Fine,” you said softly just as Chad walked into the room with a few towels to hand to you, Wes watching as you reached for your duffle bag before standing up taking the towels from Chad, and retreating into the bathroom in the room. 

“I’ll go get food from the food court for Y/n I’m sure she hasn’t eaten in a while so I’ll be right back,” Wes says hoping to find some protein for you to eat while letting Chad and Mindy know where he was going before leaving the room. Wes wanted to make sure you had food to eat because growing up he’s seen how you would get irritable in front of him before Sam came to everyone’s rescue by giving you eggs or a sandwich she bought from the store.

“Why is Wes getting Y/n food? My older sister has legs she can get it herself after she takes a shower” Amber says with irritation as she throws daggers at the bathroom door with her eyes causing Chad and Mindy to look at each other. 

“Leave Y/n alone” Tara spoke up tiredly not always agreeing with her complaints about you before hearing her mother’s ringtone. “Amber, can you get my phone off the table?” Tara asked your sister and Amber nodded before getting off the bed to retrieve Tara her phone. 

“Here's your phone,” Amber said in a calm voice handing Tara her phone while she sat back down on the bed next to her.

An hour later.

You open the door to the bathroom with fresh new clothes on and feel a little more awake while you look at the bloodied clothes and towels in one hand while in your other hand the duffle bag you brought into the bathroom with you. “Guys I’ll be right back I just have to put these clothes and towels in a hazard disposal bin somewhere in the hosp-” you announced before looking up to lock eyes with a familiar pair of onyx brown orbs.

“Y/n?” Sam said with surprise as she laid her eyes on you after hugging Wes. She couldn’t believe how much you’d changed in five years like how your face filled in with the rest of your body, how different your hair looked, how your eyes looked kinder than the last day she saw them, and your lips..she had to shake her head. After she watched you take a step back to put down your duffle bag next to the couch in the room and for a second she was hoping you would say something to her before collecting herself, taking a deep breath. “These are the kids I used to babysit and that woman right there is Y/n. My best friend who also helped raise them with me” she says introducing you guys to her boyfriend before looking over at your little sister “And Amber. Hey!” Sam said awkwardly to her knowing Amber didn’t like her before her boyfriend introduced himself.

“Hi, I-I’m Richie.” Richie says to your little sister as he stumbled through his words with a ‘you look familiar’ and a slight ‘Awe’ in his eye which you found weird because you weren’t sure if the look meant that he's seen your sister before or that she just looked like another girl he might have dated.

Whatever it was, you didn't like it so you walked over to stand next to Amber near Tara’s bed. Your sudden presence makes Amber step an inch away as you try to intimidate Richie with your whole being. 

“Where’s mom?” Sam asked Tara with concern, wondering where she was before looking around the room and then out the window to the hallway.

“She’s stuck at a conference in London” Tara replied to Sam with a heavy sigh, which you and Sam noticed before she continued “She called me earlier.”

“Yeah, for all of ten minutes,” Amber said in a slightly aggravated tone making you look over at her before you and Sam looked at each other like you were having a conversation of your own.

“Look, I think Tara has had enough excitement for one day guys and she looks tired. Maybe we should give her some space to relax for the time being” you say aloud as you watch everyone slowly file out of the room including Richie. Then you turn around almost tripping over yourself before kneeling near the couch to get your phone charger out of the wall. Afterwards, you were planning to leave the hospital for a few hours to run errands knowing Tara is safe with her older sister not realizing you're being watched.

The Carpenter sisters watch as you slowly get up from retrieving your phone charger. Your steady actions prompted Tara to quietly tap her older sister's hand. “Yes, Tara?” Sam replied as she turned her head to look at her “What's up?” 

“You should talk to her” she replied to Sam knowing you've been struggling with a few things in your life like your mental health and the relationship with your own family. “I think after you left Woodboro she hasn't been the same” It seems to Tara that you've been cagey around her and her childhood friends even though you're allowed to confide in them. Then her eyes shifted from Sam to you watching as you tiredly made your way to the door when Sam grabbed your wrist.

The sudden grab causes you to stop walking just before the door to the room. “Are you planning to stay around after you dispose of your clothes?” Sam asked as she held your wrist with a soft but firm grip, looking up at you.

Her question makes you mad because you've been there for Tara for the past five years, it didn't make sense for her to ask you that question as you turn to reply. “What do you thi-” you started, feeling strong unpleasant emotions come up when Tara cleared her throat, the sound making you and Sam look over at her. Then you focus on Tara’s eyes noticing the steel look in them while Sam turns her head to look at you which gives the little Carpenter leeway to mouth to you to ‘relax’ so you take a deep breath before replying to her older sister. “Not exactly…I have to run some errands, maybe drop some of my kids off before coming back here to visit Tara and sleeping in my truck” you say with a shrug examining the room before your eyes settle on Sam’s face.

“Okay..well try not to stray too far,” Sam said to you as she looked down at her hand on your wrist when she noticed the light and dark scars on your arm as she rubbed her thumb across the pulse point of your wrist. “I…might need you,” she said to you with a look of worry like there might be a possibility you will turn your back on her but all she heard from you was a hum as she slowly lets go of your wrist so you can continue on your way before you remember to ask Tara a question.

“Hey Tara” you call her name causing Tara and Sam to look at you “Do you have your extra inhaler? Or do you need me to stop…by your house to get it?” you asked pausing when it came to her home because you still can’t get the images out of your head.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine” she replied to you with a tight smile which is unusual for you to see but you know she needs alone time with Sam so you nodded in understanding before heading out of the room. As you close the door behind you to give Sam and Tara room to catch up, you turn around to look at them through the glass window on the door observing how Sam and Tara interacted with each other after five years before looking over at your little sister and wondering if she would give you at least the benefit of the doubt of being close again.

“What are you looking at?” your little sister asked, as she watched you walk down the hallway to put your bloody clothes in a disposal bin near the waiting area. 

“Not at you. But I was thinking” you replied as you thought of a few ways to hang out with Amber before slowly smiling at her. “Wanna stop by Woodsboro’s Finest Diner on the way home to get shakes and fries? It’ll be my treat” you say trying to make your little sister take the bait to hang out with you like old times.

“Are you serious?” Amber replied, looking at you with a calm exterior but also in disbelief, crossing her arms. “My friend gets attacked in the middle of the night and your response to that is to smile and ask me about getting food?” she questioned you with irritation, flipping your invitation to hang out into a distraction that meant you had no regard for Tara’s well being. “Are you mentally ill? Oh, that's right you are.”

You look at your little sister silently, your heart aching while you feel yourself grow angry from her response because all you wanted to do was hang out and have that same beautiful sibling bond that Sam and Tara have. A bond that you once had with Amber. You're not sure where her distaste and hate for you came from as you heard Richie to your left trying to stifle a laugh at your situation. “Wait wait, that sounds like a fabulous idea Y/n!” you heard Mindy yell from the waiting area as you turned your head to see her, Chad, and Wes smiling.

“I agree that sounds like a tasteful idea” Chad added before standing up.

“I third that,” Wes says, shaking his head with a smile on his face. The three of them bring a light smile back to your face and a simmered attitude making you appreciate how they get excited by the smallest things like getting shakes and fries with you, causing you to nod.

“Alright then, I’ll go get the car,” you said to them before looking at your little sister. “Walk with me to the car Amber,” you told her, giving Amber no room to get out as she huffed loudly while following you to the entrance of the hospital. Amber watches as you open the door and how you let her walk past you but not before catching you turning your head. Because while she walked past you, you turned your head to lock eyes with Richie narrowing your eyes at him leaving him shivering. 

After you round up the kids you left the hospital parking lot to get shakes and fries while Wes stored the food he got for you from the food court into your small cooler. He wanted to make sure you had something to eat later before following you into Woodsboro’s Finest Diner with his friends. That way they could help you bring their orders to the car without dropping anything on the way back while your little sister waited for you in the truck playing games on her phone before she received a message from someone on Reddit.

Later that afternoon you drop the twins off at their house then you drop Wes at his home before his mom can send a search party and then finally you drive back home with Amber. When you two got home you made sure to prepare dinner as soon as you walked in considering your parents are away on a cruise which means you can cook hearty homemade meals for your little sister. After dinner is made you scoop your portion of dinner into a bowl and then head upstairs so you can relax in your bedroom.“Hey Amber I'm going to take a nap but I’ll be down in an hour” you say to your little sister and Amber nods her head.

“Yeah sure” she replied, turning her head to watch you go up the stairs before turning to her phone. Then Amber's eyes gravitated to a water bottle you own and your cooler and she smiled as she got up from her chair. She heads over to the counter to retrieve your water bottle and fill it with water before reaching into a drawer. For a moment Amber stopped her hand and stared at the drawer like she was trying to remember what she was getting before turning her palm upward having her forefinger and middle finger reach up into the ceiling of the drawer with a bigger smile. Because when Amber slowly pulled her fingers out from the kitchen drawer she pulled out a tiny bag with drugs in it. Her smile grew wider as she poured the contents from the tiny bag into your water bottle before hearing your alarm go off so she quickly stuffed your water bottle into your cooler before sitting back down and stuffing the tiny bag in her pocket.

You quickly walked out of your bedroom with your belongings and then ran down the stairs to the kitchen to put your bowl in the sink. Afterward, you opened the cabinet to get Tupperware to store the food that you made earlier for Sam and placed it into your cooler where you noticed that your water bottle was missing from the drying rack. Looking around the drying rack you ask your little sister “Hey Amber?” 

You called her name. “What is it Y/n?” She answered, her eyes never leaving her phone.

“Have you seen my water bottle?” You asked as you kept looking around before opening the cabinet full of cups your parents gathered over time. “I swear it was next to the drying rack when we got home,” you said after taking a deep breath before looking at your watch for the time.

Amber sighed before looking up at you “Check your cooler” she said to you next as she looked up to watch you go into your cooler to find your water bottle and you realize that it’s full causing you to smile at Amber. “Don’t say anything because you're just going to make things weird” she voiced as you put your bottle back into the cooler.

“I’m happy you still have a heart Amber thanks for looking out for me,” you say to your little sister showing her gratitude as you walk to the entrance to the house to get your keys.

“And there it is. That's the weirdness I was just talking about. What a loser” Amber says under breath as she follows behind you and you turn around to ask her a question at the door.

“Did you say something?” you asked Amber hoping you didn’t miss a ‘You’re welcome’ from her and all she did was shake her head as she slowly pushed you out the front door. “Okay see you later!” you yell as your sister closes the door on your face causing you to take a deep breath before walking to your car to drive back to the hospital. But while walking to your car you hear a bit of rustling to your left in the front yard causing you to stop walking for a moment as you wait and listen before looking around not feeling up to greeting whatever it may be like in those horror movies you would watch with Tara. However, when you decided to move from your spot you jumped “Holy shit!” you yelled at the sound of a black cat running out of the bush and onto your path making you sigh with relief as you slowly calmed down. “What the fuck are you doing out here Buddy,” you asked the cat, causing the neighborhood black cat named Buddy to look at you for a moment before he went on his way as you started walking to your truck and opening it to put your cooler down on the passenger seat. Then you hop into the driver's side and close the door before putting your seat belt on while checking around your car making sure no person or animal gets hurt as you put your key into the ignition and turn it on before driving away. 

While driving back to the hospital you slowly unzip the cooler that you have with you and at a red light you pick up the water bottle your little sister filled up and drank from it. At first, you didn’t feel anything while driving, you just felt normal as you tapped the steering wheel while listening to the radio and stopping at red lights and stop signs like you were supposed to, however, closer to the hospital you started feeling sleepy. You shrug it off, thinking maybe you didn’t get enough sleep because you lost sleep the night before and when you went home you only slept for an hour but thankfully you pulled into the parking lot of Woodsboro’s Community Hospital. Slowly but surely you pulled your truck into a parking spot closer to the street that was clear of cars before turning it off. Then you reach for the cooler in the passenger seat before stepping out of your car but in the process of getting out you end up missing the running board and fall to the floor almost hitting your face on the way down had you not braced yourself for impact. Although you kept your face intact you groaned from pain in your body watching as some of your belongings scattered across the asphalt road from the impact before you slowly looked up at the hospital seeing it spin in front of you before you passed out.

Part 1 Part 2 (Coming Soon)

This fic was requested by a fan named @spidey2-9 (Here is their ask). Initially, I was going to make a short story like you asked because I was doing research on how to make one. But the jokes were on me because my brain was like let's make a mini-series so I hope you and everyone who decides to read this enjoy!

Scream 5: When Our Blood is Thicker than the Water of the Womb Playlist

[admirxation]

Broken Locks | Part 1

𓆩♡𓆪┆ links to other parts: part two | part three | part four | part five

𓆩♡𓆪┆ pairing: las plagas! yandere! re4! leon s. kennedy x fem!reader (afab)

𓆩♡𓆪┆ summary: the reader is leon’s neighbour, she’s always had a crush on him, but has disappeared for a few days to leave the reader to wonder where he has gone. leon’s arrival is quiet and unknown to many, but is connected to the anxiety the reader has felt with the recent attempted break-ins to her apartment.

𓆩♡𓆪┆word count: 2.3k

𓆩♡𓆪┆ disclaimer: this is a work of fiction! i do not condone everything i write, my writing doesn’t reflect all my morals. if any of the following warnings trigger or make you feel uncomfortable, scroll away; you are in charge of what content you’re consuming. this is 18+ only, minors are strongly advised not to interact.

𓆩♡𓆪┆ warnings: NSFW 18+ content, mdni. female anatomy and she/her pronouns used for reader. DEAD DOVE DO NOT EAT. stalking, breaking in, masturbation (m receiving), watching someone sleep, pantie sniffing, and kidnapping. (these will be updated along the way)

Chapter one: strange feeling

Dear Y/N,

I am writing to inform you that your apartment is safe to re-enter after continuous checks. New locks have been installed and keys will be given upon arrival. I want to apologise for any inconvenience this has caused you and encourage you to write if anything peculiar, like this, ever happens again. The police are aware of this and will take further action when more information can be found and given.

Kind regards,

Derek.

You looked at the email, sitting in the hotel room that you had retreated to for the past week. You released a sigh of relief when you finally heard word from Derek — your landlord — knowing that your apartment was now safe gave you some peace of mind.

While packing up your things you couldn’t help but think about all the peculiar things you had found near and on your apartment door; it was only a week ago when you found the peephole on your door had been drilled through, as well as markings on the side which made it look like someone tried to break-in with a crowbar. You remembered how you felt that afternoon when you found them, you had come back from work, absolutely exhausted and needing to get into something comfortable until you saw the evidence that made your heart race and feel watched from every angle. Thankfully you had alerted Derek about it all, he took you seriously and gave you the address of somewhere you could safely retreat to, helping with the finances of it all.

For the past week, trepidation was engraved in your mentality from the image of the scratches on the door, your psyche now full of paranoia and fear. You were grateful that things were sorted but still alarmed at not knowing who was behind all of it. You called your best friend Jill — explaining everything you were going through — and she told you if you had stopped messaging for a long time, she would call the police, so you had some security in safety with Derek’s apartment checks.

Why did this happen to me? You couldn’t help but have this question constantly haunt your mind, you knew you shouldn’t blame yourself — it wasn’t your fault — but having the stalking be anonymous made you think about who it was and why they were harassing you, was it someone you knew? When Derek looked at the camera footage, it was broken, just showing glitched lines on the computer screen; this only made you feel even more uneasy since you couldn’t get instant justice. At first, you and Derek theorised that it was probably the kid at the end of the hall wanting to cause trouble — as he did previously to other tenants — but Derek had spoken to their mother and found out he was with his father so he couldn’t have done it.

Derek met you at the front desk, he could tell you were still shaken up about things, and he had a warm smile with the keys in his hand. You smiled back at him, trying to fit the keys to loop around your index finger as you struggled with your suitcase and handbag.

“You okay?” of course, he knew you weren’t okay, but he didn’t know what else to say.

“I’m still a bit… You know… But I should be okay,” you paused for a bit, “Did you find anything in the apartment?” you couldn’t help but ask these questions; you knew he would have checked properly but you also had that little voice in your head that kept taunting you to ask the question.

“Nothing out of the ordinary, don’t worry okay? New locks have been put in, also the police know about this… Nothing should happen,” this put you at ease.

You nodded, giving a farewell as you went into the elevator to your floor; you gripped your suitcase tightly as you saw the buttons light up and signify you were getting closer to your apartment. When you finally reached it, you hesitated until the last minute when the doors were about to close, looking at your door that had been painted over and a new peephole installed; taking a deep breath you entered. Nothing had changed and it was the place you loved, after looking around you finally locked the door behind you and placed your suitcase in your room. You folded your arms, rubbing them to keep warm in an apartment that hadn’t been heated for over a week; you looked around and saw nothing had changed and everything looked the same and was untouched, but you couldn’t help but feel watched with every movement. You tried to ignore the feeling of paranoia, thinking that you were shaken up about things, but you couldn’t keep relieving your fears and needed to get unpacked.

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

Later on — when it was getting darker outside — you had finished your unpacking as well as managing to relax with a bath and skin care, you then went into the kitchen and made some dinner, not being able to stop thinking about Leon.

You had lived opposite his apartment for over a year, and still remembered seeing him move in and looking at that handsome face; you were too scared to ask him on a date so you played it off by knocking on his door and offering “leftovers”. You always made a bigger portion of food to give you an excuse to talk to him and recently it became a routine to eat dinner with him. But this routine had come to an end; Leon had been gone for a while and you had no idea where he was, you asked Derek if he moved out which he denied and told you he was still a tenant.

You theorised about where he could have gone: did he go visit family or friends? Go on holiday? Or was he visiting a girlfriend? You thought for a moment, saddened at the thought that Leon would never go for you and that your crush was just pathetic with an inevitable end but for now all you wanted to do was finally eat some good food. You had gotten fed up with the constant instant ramen at the hotel and takeaways were eating at your bank account, you needed something homemade. Looking through your peephole you looked over at Leon’s door — knowing he wasn’t back — you would always hear him this time of night when walking back from work. You never knew what he did but knew the routine he had made around it.

It was lonely to eat alone, adding to your anxiety as you couldn’t have anybody to talk to; you knew Leon worked out and took care of himself, if he was around you would probably feel safer. But of course, you didn’t know where he had gone.

When you were finally getting sleepy, you pushed a chair in front of the door, placing a glass cup on the door handle so you could hear if someone tried to jiggle it; you took no chances and had stuck a box around the peephole, a cover wouldn’t be enough if it was drilled through, but Derek had told you if you stuck it on the door it would come off when you wanted and wouldn’t be moved if the unspeakable happened again. You kept your warm-toned light on as you slept and had the tv play in the back quietly, enough so you could still hear the glass.; total silence and darkness would make it more difficult to sleep. You tried your best to keep your eyes closed and sleep through any fears you were going through.

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

You slept, hugging your favourite plushie, restless with nightmares but not wanting to stay up all night; you had work in the morning, which couldn’t be ignored. When you finally started to calm down, lost in a trance of slumber…

Leon finally came from under the bed.

He watched you momentarily, your face visible with the warm tones from your lamp; he watched you and stared at how beautiful and vulnerable you were in your sleep, getting harder as the thought of grabbing and making you his was starting to engulf his mind, but he couldn’t do that… yet. He walked over to the bathroom; you had foolishly kept the bedroom door open, making it easy for him to get around the place. He looked at his surroundings — the place you called your own little sanctuary — sliding his fingers on the books you were currently reading, picking up the blanket you slept in on the sofa, starting to smell it and loving how your scent was lingering on the fabric. You were so near, but so far; Leon wanted to do whatever he could while you were asleep.

He had been waiting for your arrival.

Leon had come back from Spain two weeks ago, he had finished his mission successfully but had to sacrifice himself for it; the parasite was slowly taking over him, and the dark veins across his skin started to take over the being he was. Unlike the other victims, he managed to maintain his memories and some of his characteristics, only his humanity and morals were exchanged and surrendered to the virus. He remembered his life before going to Spain: how sweet you were every time you came over to his place, how beautiful you were every time you walked past him, and how delicious you looked in your most vulnerable state.

Derek managed to maintain checks on the apartment, only he was stupid enough to install locks that were easy to pick without any evidence. The original locks were too challenging to get into, making it obvious he was trying to enter, the markings on the door being a last resort of desperation which held him back with you being gone for a week. When the new ones were put in, Derek was lazy and cheap; Leon managed to keep the camera covered and made his return unknown to everyone and every time he pressed himself toward the door to look through the peephole, seeing the hallway was clear, it was easy to get in. Thanks to Derek’s instalment of faulty, broken locks.

Leon knew that Derek would contact you the day the locks were put in, so he stayed in your room, hiding under your bed whenever he heard the sound of the key turning in the door. He remembered when he saw Derek looking around — completing an idle search — and Leon couldn’t help but think how simple-minded he was and what a huge mistake he made in the choices of locks and search methods.

The parasite made Leon think the most profound and darkest of thoughts, he couldn’t help but stare at Derek and think about how easy it would be to just… Kill him; he was out in the open like prey. But he wasn’t what Leon wanted; you were the prize he wanted to steal.

He sat in the bathroom, looking at all the products you used that were left on the side of the sink, but he didn’t care about that; he looked at your laundry basket, not taking a second to waste and rummage through your dirty clothes, looking for something particular.

He found it.

A black lacy thong was sitting at the bottom. Leon loved it when you wore this; you never knew but sometimes when you wore this with a skirt, he would sometimes see it when he accidentally dropped something and you were too kind to pick it up for him, bending over and exposing yourself in front of him. He couldn’t do it too often, but when he could, he would always feel how hard it made him, palming his erection under the table — which you were oblivious to.

He sat on the cold tile, unbuckling the belt on his jeans, allowing his hard cock to be surrounded by the cold air and Leon’s calloused hand, having his free hand press the lacy fabric against his nose. He inhaled your scent, his cock throbbing as he caressed his hard member, precum leaking over his fingertips as he got lost in the scent and thought of you.

He needed you. He needed to make you his, and he didn’t want to wait any longer.

Tonight was the night he was going through with the plan.

The more he thought about his sinful plans, he quickened his movements, trying not to be too loud in his moans: he thought about how you would feel, how it would feel to have those warm walls surround his cock and yearn for his tip to kiss your cervix, how beautiful you would look with his hand around your neck, wanting to know what it would be like to see you cry at his length, and how he would feel when you screamed his name and beg for him to stop.

That was it.

That was the thought that made him release warm ropes, using your panties to clean himself off, throwing it back on top of the basket without a care in the world.

Every time you made a sound, whether it was a whimper or you shuffling in bed, Leon darted his eyes in your direction, making sure you didn’t wake up and ruin his plans — he waited too long for this.

He finally moved to the kitchen, picking up any rag he could find, inching his way closer to the doorframe and covering the rag with the liquid that was a part of his plan. He stood over you, waiting and waiting for you to wake up.

When the sun peaked through, your eyes slowly opened, your vision blurry until you saw a dark figure.

“What the —”

Your eyes widened as the mysterious figure pressed the rag, covering your mouth and nose, making you slowly drift back into another deep slumber; your attempts to fight back failed, and Leon watched as your body became lifeless and easy to take.

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

a/n: i hope you enjoyed this part, please like and reblog (it rlly helps and i appreciate every single one). i just wanted to say that i didn’t do a tag list for this part since i wanted people to know what they were getting themselves into, i will also not be doing separate tag list posts; just comment on the post or message me if you want to be tagged (and maybe mention if you want to be tagged in every part of you want). have a lovely day/evening, ily 🫶

update on the authors note: i won’t be doing tag lists at all for this series it’s hard to keep up with, im sorry 🫶

[joehakuragi]

I never thought I would draw a part 2.

I drew Mr. and Mrs. Omnibell.

Jill Omnibell

"Hi! Good afternoon!"

Appearance

・short hair

・round face

・large canine teeth

・wears a headband

*she has a temper*

Carter Omnibell

"Hello."

Appearence

・long face

・long nose

・has a moustache and goatte

・he is blind

※I am using a translator, so there may be some oddities.

[Bonus]

Jill has a temper and sometimes gets angry when the doorman asks her questions. Therefore, her redhanded is special. The only way to tell her apart from doppelgangers is by her different teeth and her excuses.

"F**k!"

[Fourth Floor list]

F04-01

*F04-02

F04-03

F04-04

[viaoverthemoon]

Can I request some relationship fluff with vendetta Leon. It's just been so long when I have read some good fluff with that man. For some reason people rarely wanna make fluff fanfic for him🥲. So I request you please🙏. It's all upto you what on what scenario you want. Also don't feel pressured to write this. I just really love all your stuff so🥰🥰❤❤❤

Aww this is so cute 💕Thank you for requesting, my love!

Vendetta!Leon Kennedy x GN!Reader

Summary: On a rare lazy rain day, you can't help but think of a few memories ; You and Leon relax on a lazy day and make another memory.

Content: Husband Leon, just a whole lotta fluff on a rainy day!

Enjoy!

Memories

❁´◡`❁❁´◡`❁❁´◡`❁❁´◡`❁❁´◡`❁❁´◡`❁❁´◡`❁

The moment you woke up this morning and the heavy sound of rain from outside the house had flooded your ears, you knew today would be a lazy day.

And turning to see your husband still in bed next to you only made you happier.

You were reluctant to get out of the bed, but your bladder had other plans. You look over your shoulder at Leon, curled around you with his arms around your waist and fast asleep.

You turn in his arms and move his brown bangs from his eyes, caressing his cheeks and admiring his beauty.

This man, who has been through so much life-threatening trauma physically and mentally, somehow manages to look like a child in his sleep. Well, aside from the light stubble along his jaw.

You think back to the first day you'd met.

He'd spotted you in a coffee shop and approached you with a flirtatious smile.

His pickup lines were so bad, and you honestly tried so hard not to laugh. Although those efforts went right out the window when he went to lean on a wall and knocked over a nearby coat rack. He'd scrambled to pick it up and apologized to the shop owner before turning back to you with flushed cheeks.

How could you reject him after that?

Oh, and then there's when he'd proposed!

He asked you to marry him at a park. But before he could pull the small velvet box out, a child appeared out of nowhere and ran over the back of his leg with a bike.

The mother was mortified and apologized profusely. Leon assured her it was alright (even though he limped for the rest of the day) before returning to you.

Only when he reached for the ring again, the box was gone!

The two of you along with Chris, Carlos, Claire, Jill, and Rebecca, spent all afternoon looking for the ring. But it wasn't there.

Leon was devastated. He looked on the verge of tears as he quietly apologized. But you'd told him it was fine, and a ring is only a ring. You don't need one to ask someone to marry you.

So, he pulled himself together, got down on one knee, and proposed to you without a ring.

Of course, you said yes.

Oh, and the box was on his motorcycle the whole time.

These memories are ones you hold closest to your heart. There's good, and there's bad. There're even moments of in-between.

But the moments of the two of you are forever.

So, you always make the most of what you get.

"Why're you staring at me?"

You blink away the memories and stare into his bright blue eyes.

"No reason..." You shrug and kiss his forehead. "I just love you."

His grip on your waist tightens and he smirks. "I love you too, (y/n)."

He goes to nuzzle into your neck, but you laugh and push him away. "Leon- I have to pee!"

"No."

"If I pee in this bed, you're cleaning it up."

This makes him pause before letting you go.

You laugh and slip from the bed to handle your business as he groans and flops around on the mattress.

❁

The smell of hot chocolate and vanilla candles wraps around you delicately, like a blanket.

You both sit, you curled against Leon and his arm around you, as the tv plays old cartoons.

"I like making memories with you."

Your words take him by surprise. "Yeah? Well, I like making memories with you too."

You hum and lay your head on his shoulder, fiddling with the rim of your mug.

"We'll keep making memories together, right?"

Leon kisses the crown of your head before laying his head there. "We'll keep making memories for as long as we live."

❁´◡`❁❁´◡`❁❁´◡`❁❁´◡`❁❁´◡`❁❁´◡`❁❁´◡`❁

This is kinda short, sorry!

I like the idea of Leon just being a silly old man when he's not working. He just needs a break :(

I hope you liked it! Lemme know what y'all think!

-Via 💕

[blueysobssesions]

The lively ambiance of the local café enveloped you as you sat across from Chris Redfield, savoring the warmth of the afternoon sun. Your friends—Leon, Claire, Rebecca, and Jill—surrounded the table, engaged in casual banter that brought smiles to everyone's faces.

In the midst of the conversation, you couldn't help but notice the tender side of Chris, a stark contrast to the imposing figure he cut during missions. His smile, though rare, lit up the space, making him seem more like a gentle giant than the formidable soldier everyone knew.

Inspired by a playful thought, you glanced down at your hands and then at Chris's. His were large, calloused, and undeniably strong. Your own hands, delicate and small, toyed with the edge of your coffee cup.

"Chris," you began with a grin, "ever notice how big your hands are when they're holding mine?"

Chris furrowed his brow, a hint of confusion in his expression. "Not really. What's on your mind?"

In response, you reached across the table, gently placing your hand in his. The contrast in size was undeniable, your fingers easily enveloped by his larger ones. "Look! Yours are like giant bear paws compared to mine," you chuckled. He laughed, his eyes softening as he admired the difference. "I guess I never really paid attention to it before. It's kind of cute, though, isn't it?" he said, giving your hand a gentle squeeze. "Hm, your warm too" you remarked, feeling the warmth radiating from his hand. "It's comforting," you added, smiling at him. He smiled back, his grip on your hand tightening slightly.

Claire swears she can see flowers popping behind Chris' back as he continues to hold your hand. "Aren't you two cute?" her teasing comment made both of you blush, and Chris shifted uncomfortably in his seat, a mixture of embarrassment and amusement playing across his features.

Leon couldn't resist adding to the playful banter. "Chris, I never thought I'd see the day where you're described as 'cute' and 'comforting' in the same sentence. What's your secret?"

Chris shot Leon a mock glare, but his eyes betrayed a hint of genuine amusement. "You guys are enjoying this way too much," he grumbled, his cheeks now tinted with a deeper shade of red.

⤹ - Bluey here! Thank you for reading this completely >.<

➜ ┊: ( masterlist ) ᵎ ✰

[greatcomets]

SO YOU'VE SEEN GONCHAROV, AND YOU WANT MORE...

...homoeroticism? mean streets, mikey and nicky

...clock symbolism? mikey and nicky, after hours

...offputting methods of eating fruit? the godfather

...boat scene? the godfather

...cybill shepherd? taxi driver, the last picture show

...robert de niro uncensored cock? novecento

...harvey keitel holding a bleeding man in his arms? reservoir dogs

...robert de niro in heat? heat

...70s women experiencing hysteria? opening night

...homoerotic throuple-adjacent love triangles? butch cassidy and the sundance kid, rebel without a cause

...al pacino serving cunt? and justice for all, jack and jill (2011), dick tracy, dog day afternoon

[babygirlmurdock]

Unexpected Connection

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Fem!Reader

Summary: Your friend convinces you to go to a singles event only for you to meet Hell’s Kitchen infamous lawyer.

Word Count: 2.9k

Warnings: mild swearing, alcohol

a/n: heyyy lol so this is my First piece of fiction. i’m trying to get better at writing fiction and this actually came to me when something like this was actually brought up to me recently lol so i thought hey why not try to write something about it?

——————————————————————————

You’ve been single for quite some time now. Your last breakup was nasty, left your heart shredded; you weren’t too sure when you’d be truly ready to date again. Your friends have been helpful, pushing you to get out there and meet new people. Get your mind off your ex, y’know?

Swipe after swipe. Messages that are painfully one sided. Or men that just want to hook up or want something casual.

“Ooh, I just got this advertised to me on Instagram,” Jill says to you. Jill is a coworker turned friend. You perk up from your desk to see what she was talking about, “a meet and mingle this Saturday at the Refinary rooftop. We should definitely go!”

“Ugh, I just don’t know Jill. All men have done is just disappoint me and nothing has compared to Jam— ”,

“James. I know. But maybe the guy that is way better than James will be there. Your soulmate could be here and you would never know! C’mon it’ll be fun, I think. Plus meeting people in person is way better than on the apps,” she leans up against your desk. You worked as an editor at the New York Bulletin. It was an internship turned full time position after you graduated college. You dreamed of New York one day, and it still feels surreal that this is your reality.

You are sure your friends were tired of you sulking about James. It’s been well over 6 months and he’s probably already moved on while you’re stuck in this trench of dating.

“Okay. Fine. I hope there’s good drinks because Lord knows I’ll need that liquid confidence.” You scrubbed your face.

Jill squeals, “I’m so excited!! It starts at 7.”

——————————————————————————-

“Matt! It would be so fun, talking to beautiful women all night and who knows, maybe take one home!” Foggy hints to Matt about this meet and mingle.

“I’m really not in the cards to be dating right now, Foggy,” Matt says, shuffling through some papers. The mid-afternoon sun beamed through Matt’s office as Foggy stood in his doorway. Matt was trying to get through the last of this litigation before the end of the week and Foggy was not making this easier.

“This might be the opportunity that you meet someone who is actually normal! Not some psycho chick that almost got your ass expelled back in law school. That’s how long it’s been, Matt! Do you know how long ago law school was?” Matt lets out a small laugh at Foggy.

“Yes, Foggy. I was there, I know how long ago it was.”

He never understood why Foggy was so adamant on him meeting someone. Now that the firm is getting some business and he’s gone out more times than he can count as Daredevil, he just doesn’t have the time to commit.

“I’ll go only for an hour,” Matt sighs and Foggy lets out a cheer.

“You’re not gonna regret this, Murdock!”

————————————————————————

Saturday night rolls around. You and Jill are about to head to the singles event.

“I hope I meet someone rich,” Jill says, applying her lipstick. “I just don’t want to work again, y’know?”

“Tell me about it. I just hope nobody is too much of an asshole. I don’t know if I can take another person mansplaining what investing is and why I should do it,” You shouted from the bathroom, spraying some hairspray in your hair. You came out of the bathroom wearing jeans and a plain black t-shirt.

“Whoa girl, what are you wearing? You can’t wear that!” Jill said from your living room.

You eye yourself in the mirror, “what is so wrong with jeans and a t-shirt?”

Jill says your name sternly, “everything? You might meet the love of your life! Show some more!”

“You’re ridiculous. You’re lucky I’m going to this in the first place! Would it make you happier if I changed my top?” You say, taking off your shirt to dig for something she deems more appropriate.

“Atta girl, show the goodies,” Jill says, shimmying her chest. “Uber is downstairs, let’s get going.”

——————————————————————————

You arrive at the venue and make your way upstairs to the roof. It was decorated with greenery and twinkle lights. The place was lit just enough to make it romantic but not where you couldn’t see anyone. Not even 15 minutes into the event, you lose Jill in the crowd already talking to people. You make your way to the bar to order yourself a drink.

“Dirty martini, gin, please. Thanks,” you stand at the bar while you wait for your drink and hear a smooth voice next to you.

“Whiskey, neat, please. Thank you,” you peer over and your eyes meet a beautiful man wearing red glasses. You take a moment to read him a little bit. Gorgeous side profile. Your eyes make their way down to his hands, and meet with a cane. Blind?

“Dirty martini & a whiskey neat.”

“Thank you,” you both say in unison. “I suppose we should cheers?” The man says to you.

“Oh, uh sure, cheers,” You clink your glass against his and a smile breaks out on his face as the glass meets his lips. God damn, this guy looks like the next coming of Christ. He was so unreal looking. He had the jaw sculpted by God himself, decorated with just the right amount of stubble, and his lips. They were so pink and full. The thoughts of kissing him already danced in your head. The faint smell of his cologne twirled around in your nostrils.

“So let me guess,” you take a sip from your drink, “your friend basically dragged you here too against your will even though you told them you were over dating?”

“Wow,” his eyebrows perked up as he took another sip, “how did you guess?” he says, sarcastically.

“Well, considering you look like that,” your hand vaguely gestured to his body, “and women aren’t at your beck and call, I had to assume.”

“Look like what? Oh God, did I forget to put on my pants? You’d tell me that I’m pant less right?” He says frantically, trying to hide his laughter.

“Ha ha, very funny. But was I right?” You raise an eyebrow at him.

“You’re not too far off. It’s hard to do modern dating when everything is on dating apps and eyesight helps that. Phones can only be so accessible. I’m Matt by the way, Matt Murdock.” He sticks his hand out for you to grab. You give him your name as you shake his hand. You notice some bruising on the knuckles and wonder what that could be about.

“Wait like, the lawyer?”

Matt sheepishly nodded in agreement, “that would be me.”

“Where were you when I told a cop to fuck off because I didn’t like how he was speaking to my friend?” You take a big swig of your martini hoping the alcohol would hit you sooner rather than later.

“My law partner must’ve missed the call from the woman brave enough to tell a cop to fuck off,” Matt smirks at you. Butterflies erupt inside you and your heart beat jumps.

————————————————————————

As the night goes on, and after a couple more drinks, conversation between you and Matt flows effortlessly. You two made your way over to a couch to sit and talk. The crowd ebbed and flowed throughout the night. People left, more people showed up, but it never got too crowded. It honestly felt like you and Matt were alone, like the world stood still.

“So you mean to tell me he took your furniture outside?” You laugh at the thought of his college roommate moving all of Matt’s furniture outside.

“Yeah, it was kind of rude of him to do that to a blind guy. He thought it was hilarious though,” Matt smiles at you.

“You guys seemed wild in law school. I bet campus police weren't too thrilled with your shenanigans,” you rest your chin on your hand as you lean a bit closer to Matt.

“Foggy actually got into some trouble with them because he was breaking the school's disability rules. Nothing too major, he just had to volunteer as a part of campus police to pay his dues.”

You laugh at Matt, and briefly look around and notice you and Matt seemed to be two of the other five couples that are still there.

“So, I have a question for you…” you trail off, debating on asking this question.

“No, I haven’t been blind my whole life,” Matt states.

“How did you know I was going to ask that?” your voice has an edge of surprise to it.

“It came in the pamphlet when I lost my vision. Don’t worry about it though, it doesn’t bother me when people ask,” Matt reassures you. “It’s been 20 years at this point.”

“Oh wow, so you had to adapt and relearn the world without your eyes. That’s insane, it must have been tough for you,” you rest your hand on Matt’s bicep. What business does he have to have this much of a defined arm?

“It took some adjusting but my other senses were…” Matt stops mid sentence before realizing what he was about to say.

“What? Like sensitive? I’m sure your other senses had to compensate now that your eyes were out of commission.”

“Yeah, you can say sensitive in a way,” Matt sighs. Silence falls between you both. You fiddle with your glass for a moment until he speaks up, “what do you say we get out of here?”

“Oh, um,” you look around in hopes of finding your friend because you’re still nervous about potentially going home with somebody new. No matter how gorgeous the man is. “I–“ you stammer.

“I don’t want to give the wrong intentions. What I mean is maybe go to another bar. There’s a place two blocks over that we can go to. If you’re up for it,” Matt gave you a small smile of reassurance.

You think for a moment, staring at his face while your heart feels like it’s going to leap out of your body. What the hell, why not? “Sure, I’d like that,” you smile and get up. You let Matt grab onto your forearm for guidance as you walk to the bar to close out. After he graciously also paid for your tab, you walked with him to the elevator.

“What’s this place called? How do I know you’re not going to murder me? You are still a stranger by the way,” you ramble on. Matt laughs at your nervousness.

“It’s called Josie’s. I’ve been going here since I was in law school. And if I were going to murder you, I would have done it already,” Matt leans into you playfully.

“Ah yeah that makes me feel so much better, thank you, Matt,” you joke.

—————————————————————————

The walk to Josie’s is mostly silent, but not awkward. You feel at ease around Matt. His energy is soothing, it feels like you’ve known him for ages. He asked about your upbringing, what brought you to New York. Your typical “getting to know someone” questions.

As you approach the bar, your nerves dissipate as you recognize this is a dive bar. “You seem less tense,” Matt said to you, his hand lightly placed on the pulse point of your wrist.

“Yeah, I love a good dive bar. It’s charming in a way,” you breathe out, leading the way into the bar. You find a seat at the bar for you and Matt to sit. You look around the bar, and notice the pool table in the back. There were old beer signs all over the walls. The lighting was dim and moody. Classic rock was playing over the speakers. Matt must’ve waved down a bartender while you were distracted because two beers are placed in front of you as you sat down next to him.

“I love how you assumed I liked beer,” you tease, taking a sip from your bottle.

“I can order something else if you’d like me to,” Matt's voice breaks a bit.

“I like beer, don’t worry,” you reassured him, “so what are the odds a blind man knows how to play pool?”

“I’ve played. I can’t promise I’ll be any good.”

Your drinks start to hit you more as you speak, “Do you want to make a bet?”

“Betting against a blind man? Low blow,” Matt sucks his teeth teasing you a bit. You giggle, “Fair point, Matthew. Fair point. C’mon, do you need guidance to the table?”

“No thank you, I know this place like it’s my own home,” Matt smiled at you as you both made your way over to the pool table.

You rack up the balls and Matt grabs some cues. “Do you want to break the triangle?” Matt asks.

“Sure, why not,” You bend over, lining up the cue ball with the tip of the triangle. Your heartbeat quickens as you feel Matt’s gaze upon you. You know, for someone who is blind, you sure can feel like his eyes were all over your body. The loud crack of the ball break snaps you out of your train of thought. “Do you, um, do you need help lining up the cue?”

“Actually yes, that’d be helpful.”

You make your way to Matt’s side, telling him solids were his and what balls were lined up with which ones. To your shock, he nails two solids into the sink holes. “I’ll be damned. Blind man is good at pool.”

Matt’s voice is low and husky when he says, “there’s a lot of secrets about me,” which gives you full body chills.

“Well, okay then, I—” you stammer trying to collect your tipsy self. You take your shot and, “God damn it, missed. You’re not hustling me, are you? You said you weren’t good!” you protest.

“Ehh, lucky shot, I guess,” Matt laughs, taking a swig of his beer.

The round of pool goes at a good pace, flirty innuendos fly off the walls. At this point, Matt’s jacket is off and the sleeves of his dress shirt are rolled up showing his forearms. Every passing hour, you feel more and more attracted to him. And you only hope he feels the same.

“Alright, 8 ball is up. Absolutely no fucking way I’m about to lose a game of pool to a guy who can’t see,” you said competitively.

“Well to be fair, you have been helping me line the cues up, you could’ve hustled me and lined up with your balls.” He suggests with a shrug.

“God damn it, you’re so right. Holy shit why didn’t I think of that?!” You line the cue up to the ball and take your shot...and miss. You let out a gasp as you just lost this game of pool.

“That didn’t sound like a good gasp,” Matt teased.

“You’d be correct. Good game, Matt.”

“Good game,” he said your name back to you.

You looked at your watch and realized it was almost midnight. “It’s getting late, I think we should head out. That sound okay to you?” you say, even though you secretly don’t want this night to end.

“Yeah, do you want me to walk you home?” Matt asks you, with a shy smile secretly hoping you’d say yes.

“That’d be really lovely, thank you. I’m just 5 blocks up actually.”

————————————————————————

“Alright, this is me,” you halt in front of your building’s entrance.

“Are you sure it’s not up one more block?” He flashes you a cheeky smile.

“Unfortunately, it is not. I had a really good time tonight, Matt,” you step closer to him, inches away from his body.

“I had a really nice time tonight, too,” Matt’s voice just above a whisper. God, that register in his voice practically made you fall to your knees.

You and Matt are still standing dangerously close to each other as both of your body’s heats mingled together, practically begging for some physical touch. “I should, uh, get upstairs. Goodnight, Matt.” As you are about to turn away, Matt pulls you in closer as your chests nearly touch. Lips hovering over one another as your breath intertwines with his. Your brain is barely forming coherent thoughts, until you whisper, “I think this is the part where you kiss me.”

“I was waiting for the words,” Matt’s hand snakes up to gently rest on your jawbone as he tilts your head up. His lips meet yours with the tenderness and sweetness that you crave so desperately. He pulls away and you both sigh. “That was—”

“Really nice. You’re an excellent kisser by the way,” you let your inside thoughts exist on the outside now. “That was meant to stay inside my brain, oh my god….” You buried your face in your hands as you pulled away from his embrace.

Matt laughs, “I appreciate the compliment, thank you.”

“Let’s do this again, next week? You owe me a rematch in pool.”

“Next week sounds fantastic. If the pool game went anything like it did tonight, it won’t be much of a rematch,” Matt banters with you. You gasp at his remark which makes him laugh. “I’ll call you sometime this week to set something up, okay?”

“Do you mind if I put my number in your phone? I figure that’d be easiest maybe,” You suggest.

“Oh yeah, that’d be great,” Matt said pulling out his phone. You grabbed it and put your name and number in there and handed it back to him.

“Okay,” you smile at him, “I’ll be anticipating your call.”

“Goodnight,” Matt whispers your name, dripping from his lips like honey. You kiss his cheek and head upstairs. As you close the door, you squeal in excitement.

Matt stood outside your building for a moment, listening to it shut to ensure you made it in okay. As he was about to step away, he heard you squeal to yourself in excitement, which made him laugh to himself.

[goodpointsandbadpoints]

Chreon Week 2024: Day 2

friends to lovers/confession (on ao3)

-

Nevermind that they’re in Claire’s backyard, with evening starting to wrap in around them so that the string lights on the porch are the brightest thing. Nevermind that he’s surrounded by people he knows—sipping his beer slowly and not feeling any eyes on him for once. 

Happy things are happening. Piers has his head thrown back in unapologetic laughter at Jill’s story, her hand on his shoulder as she smiles through the end of it—“I swear to god, he actually did…” And Claire joins in with her side of it. 

Nevermind that Chris is sitting in the lawn chair beside his, and something is different in the way their knees touch.

Fireflies are awake and popping in and out of the growing darkness. He watches them, letting his eyes fall into the distance, layers and layers of dancing lights and fence and neighbors yards. 

Nevermind all of that, because there’s about to be an ending. 

He leaves the yard for the dark house. The lights are off, left alone for hours while they spent the afternoon under the sky rather than the roof. 

He finds the fridge, opens it in a rattle of bottles and jars, and finds a soft drink, since it feels wrong to have another beer before he drives back to the hotel.

The door opens and shuts. There are footsteps behind him, and a curious question, “You heading out soon?” 

“I think so.” 

“When’s your flight tomorrow?” 

Chris is in the kitchen, leaning his hip into the counter.

Bad ideas come to him—how Chris glows in the summer, how the hushed shadow of his eyes in the dark feels like a secret. Gentle, like they’ve always been. 

“Early,” he says, because before the sunrise sounds awful. 

When Chris steps closer, Leon watches him over the rim of his drink. Then he’s setting it down, and they’re face to face. 

The laughter outside filters in through the silence of the house.  

This isn’t the closest they’ve stood, and it isn’t even the most alone they’ve been, but there’s something different this week. The charge of minutes counting down—keys in his pocket, mind skipping head to the next item on the docket. 

Yes, he’s heading out soon. So he’ll ask, practically palm-up for the answer.

“We…” Leon feels his hopes stir for the millionth time. “I’m not reading into something I shouldn’t be, am I?” 

He waits for the first sign of where this is going to go.

At first, nothing changes—and this could be a no in a disappointing drop, an embarrassed recognition that Chris was projecting something he didn’t mean, God, why did he even ask?—

Then Chris steps closer. Toe to toe, and he smells like outside. 

He works into a hesitant smile, “I don’t know how to answer that,” he admits. “Ask it a different way, maybe.” 

“Are we doing something?” 

A hopelessly plain and juvenile question. Sprawling it in the summer night with no cushion, except the vague and wriggling something that he doesn’t want to keep still just yet. 

“I want to,” Chris says, and then with the same breath, “if you want to.” 

Chris leans closer. He’s summer warmth in his own right—big as the sky and surrounding as a humid night. And there are even fireflies as his eyes flick over him, brightening and dancing. 

When Leon closes his eyes, Chris’ mouth is soft.