#listen I- The fic had some really interesting plot ideas and I wanna use some of them

[aurora-ze-aquarius]

That's it-

I'm making some Cars: Next Gen Highschool AU headcanons cause this one has been in my head for the past few days--

Note: this idea came from a ffic I read on ao3, link here (X).

Jackson Storm

Nobody really knew much about Jackson Storm. All they really knew was that he was a top, straight A student, who didn't exactly have that many friends. It wasn't because he was shy, but he seemed to actively avoid people. He was also cold and sarcastic, often brushing people aside.

Many things were expected of him. Future CEO of his fathers's company, a soon to be engineer with a bachelors degree, the 'perfect son' to his 'perfect family'. Though, his parents would often nag him for not having any friends.

Why would he have friends?

They rejected the kids they deemed weren't good enough, and Jackson did not like the kids of their 'friends' (more like shady business partners though).

He hated living like this. It felt suffocating, and he was sick of it. Though, he'd never in his life admit to it, he was lonely. Very lonely.

Although, how he managed to get himself a position in the school's Astronomy Club Council as the President, he'll never know.

Only child of a rocky marriage

Hates his father, but also yearns for his approval

Spoiled, though he's never satisfied with anything

Epic Gamer

Enjoys Astronomy, and especially likes studying about the stars. Though, he never intended to become President. He was elected by some random kid, and won by a landslide because he was the only one to ace their Astronomy exam.

Became rivals with Tim Treadless after Jackson lost to him in a video game event by just 1 point, and Jackson threw a fit.

Has a beautiful voice, and can play the piano, but would rather die than sing in front of people

Uncomfortable when around people for too long

Also uncomfortable with physical affection

Enjoys watching NASCAR, though he does it in secret as his parents tell him not to bother with a sport like that

Has mastered the art of faking a smile

—

Tim Treadless

What's not to love about Tim? President of the Drama Club, and yet loved by all. He's fearless- never tolerating any kind of bullying to anyone, by anyone. Restless- day in and day out, always working to strive for the best. And selfless- always putting others before himself, making sure that everyone knows they can count on him whenever in need.

Which is why it's not surprising (or it is surprising to others) why Jackson and Tim really don't get along well.

With all this pressure upon his shoulders, it should be of no surprise that Tim can be prone to emotions. Easy to make him laugh, easy to irritate, easy to startle him.

Not wanting to burden anyone with his own problems, he turned to the stage. From there, he felt free. Free to express himself in the most poetic of ways. Free to cry and sob his heart out, then blame it on how he wants his acting to look 'realistic' or full of life.

Despite the many times he would feel burnt out, Tim couldn't bring himself to ask for help.

After all, he was supposed to help others. He doesn't have time to help himself.

Grew up in the middle class. He's seen all the times when his mother would struggle to provide, and he's determined to help and give her a better life

Only child, though he does have a good relationship with his mother

Theater Kid. Started off reading Shakespeare for the lols, ended up falling in love with stageplay and poetry

Enjoys gaming

Is prone to emotional outbursts, but he wouldn't immediately blow up at you

The gifted child who may or may not be burnt out

Also in some way lonely, but it's more like struggling to open up and be honest to others about how he's really feeling (the irony)

People expected the rivalry between Jackson and Tim to be juicy, only to be disappointed when the two just proceeded to ignore each other most of the time (with the occasional glare, but that's kinda it).

The school won a trophy for a playwriting and acting event. Tim made sure everything went as smoothly as possible.

—

More to be added soon

Part 1 /

[jgracie]

HOW YOU GET THE CURL

masterlist | rules

❝ idk if you’d do percy but with curly blonde hair (like pjo series ver perce) but if you do, i’d love a fic where he teaches y/n how to maintain curly hair (she doesn’t have curly hair) cause he loves the idea of her taking care of him ❞ — anon

in which percy teaches you how to take care of curly hair

pairing percy jackson x fem!reader

warnings none

on the radio . . . romeo & juliet (peter mcpoland), san fransisco (be sure to wear some flowers in your hair) (scott mckenzie), sunflower, vol 6 (harry styles), slow dancing (aly & aj), our house (crosby, stills, nash & young)

an can someone pls tell me the titles sooo smart and funny 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

“Honey, I’m home!” As soon as you heard Percy yell those words from your front door, you left the comfort of the couch and ran into his arms. He immediately put his bags down and picked you up, twirling you around before peppering kisses all over your face.

Life in New Rome couldn’t be any better. After the two of you got into the same university, your parents bought you an apartment to share so you wouldn’t have to be separated in university dorms, knowing all too well how you were attached at the hip. You had cried at the gesture, and Percy held you in his arms as he, too, held back tears.

A wide grin on his face, he asked, “how’s my favourite girl?” As he unpacked everything he’d bought that day, you gave him a rundown of your day. It was pretty mundane - some reading, some studying - but he listened as if you were describing the plot to a sci-fi movie. Your eyes quickly took in everything laid out on the counter, mostly groceries, and landed on one bottle.

You picked it up and read the label while Percy explained what it was, happy you were amused, “that’s a new curl cream. The one I’ve been using’s a little too heavy for my hair, always weighing my curls down. I think I’m gonna try it today, do you wanna do the honours?” 

“Honours of what?” You asked, confused. You didn’t have curly hair, so you didn’t know much about the effort that went into taking care of it, just that it required a lot of different products and was incredibly laborious, according to Percy. His curls were really cute though, so in your opinion, the labour was worth it.

Making his way over to you and wrapping his arms around you, Percy batted his eyelashes, “of trying it on me. I’ve been thinking, babe, you need to know how to do curly hair for when we have kids! Curly hair genes run strong in my family, so I wouldn’t be surprised if our kids inherit them.” 

You felt your face heat up as you thought about having kids with Percy, then smiled fondly when you realised what he was doing. Percy’s always been incredibly shy about wanting to be cared for. No matter how many times you’d tell him you didn’t mind giving him a massage or going over his maths homework, he’d always try to conceal his true intentions with some other lame excuse, like now.

“Okay! Let’s go do it now,” you said, dragging him over to your bathroom. You grabbed a stool for him to sit on and stood between him and the bath, hand-held shower head in hand (I hope this setup makes sense LOL). Making sure the water was the perfect temperature, you began rinsing his hair, careful to make sure no water dripped down his body. While you did so, Percy told you about his day. You always loved his knack for storytelling, your boyfriend never failed to find a way to make anything sound interesting.

Next, you squirted some of his shampoo on your hand and began lathering it in his hair. You felt Percy relax and smiled, glad he was content, “it’s okay to want to be taken care of, Perce. I’ll do it gladly,” you mumbled absentmindedly, to which he simply hummed. As you conditioned his hair, he began to doze off, which made you reconsider using the cream. You didn’t trust yourself to use it without his guidance, but didn’t want to wake him up.

In the end, you decided on disrupting his sleep, since you knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep that night if he slept now, “how do I do this?”

Percy took your hand and squirted some of the cream into your open palm, “rub it into both hands, then scrunch it into my hair.” You did as you were told, your hands light as too little was better than too much, in case you did something wrong.

When Percy looked into the mirror, he turned to you and smiled, “hey, you’re a natural! You should do this all the time” He asked, his eyes bleary. You would do this a million times if it made him this happy every single one of them.

After the cream came the gel, which was a lot easier since it was the same scrunching motion as before. You were a little apprehensive when Percy told you to put it in, since you didn’t think crunchy curls were the outcome. However, it all made sense during the final stage: the hair oil.

“This, my love, is what stops them from being all crunchy. Just lightly pass it over my hair,” Percy explained, pouring the tiniest amount of oil into your palm. You recognised the scent - it smelled like home, like him. 

You finished and admired your work. Percy was right, you were pretty good at taking care of curly hair. After running his fingers through his hair a couple times to loosen the curls up the way he liked, Percy gave you a hug, kissing your head thousands of times and saying a muffled, “thank you,” into your hair.

Nothing was more blissful than this. Well, until you smelt something burning.

Pulling away from you, Percy asked, “did you make something?” You wracked your brain for an answer then gasped, remembering what it was. Running to the kitchen with Percy behind you, you quickly pulled the cookies you were baking - once blue, now black - out of the oven.

“I wanted to surprise you with these!” You said, disappointed. 

Fighting the urge to cough, Percy picked one up and bit into it, grimacing for a second before smiling and holding a thumbs up, “it’s really unique, I’ve never tasted anything like these. You definitely did surprise me!” He said, sarcasm dripping from his voice Rolling your eyes, you discarded the cookies and replied, “oh, shut up, Perce”

[bi-bard]

Rambling - Adam Raki Imagine [Adam (2009)]

Title: Rambling

Pairing: Adam Raki X Reader

Word Count: 476 words

Warning(s): mentions of people being dicks (to the reader)

Summary: A budding relationship between (Y/n) and Adam leads to new discoveries and rambling conversations.

Author's Note: Hey, look, Kyli wrote another self-comfort fic.

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

It was early in Adam and I's relationship.

We were in what I've affectionately called the learning phase.

We hadn't adjusted to every small habit of the other person. We were finding out each other's favorites. Our pasts were slowly getting revealed. Good and bad date ideas were being sorted, pet names getting tested, affection getting figured out. Trial and error.

It was the first time that I had gone over to Adam's place for more than a few moments.

We were on the couch, just talking about anything that was coming to mind.

It was nice. It felt natural. I had never fallen so perfectly into a continuous conversation with someone. Adam just made me feel safe there.

I had gotten stuck on this rambling about an idea I had gotten for a book. I was already constructing characters and settings and plot points. No one else around me had shown any interest when I told them, but Adam seemed open to listening, so I just kept talking.

More and more details started tumbling out of my mouth. I was surprised that I wasn't stumbling over my words. I was so excited about every part of it that I had to fight to keep myself from talking too fast.

I don't know what really made me pause.

Maybe it was the look on Adam's face. Maybe it was the clock on the end table reminding me how much time had passed. Maybe it was my own brain playing tricks on me. Maybe it was all of the above.

No matter the cause, I found my rambling slowing down.

"Sorry," I muttered after a while. "I... I don't get to talk about this stuff much and I know I get a bit carried away. I didn't mean to bore you-"

"You aren't boring me."

I paused for a moment. "I'm not?"

Adam shook his head.

"Oh," I looked down at my lap, fiddling with my fingers for a moment. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Most people usually would cut me off by now," I shrugged. Honestly, I was scared that if I didn't shrug it off, I was going to start sobbing. "By ignoring me or interrupting me or insulting me... I don't know... they usually find something."

"That's rude of them," he replied.

I nodded. "Yeah, it is."

I shifted a bit so my head could rest on his shoulder. I tensed slightly, waiting for some indication that I needed to move. There weren't any though. He just seemed to relax a bit. That caused me to relax against him.

"I wanna hear more about it," Adam said after a few moments of silence.

"Really," I asked.

"Yeah."

I grinned to myself. "Okay."

Being listened to like this was going to take some getting used to. But it was an adjustment I was happy to make.

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

Navigation Guide

What I Write For

Some Original Characters

[numbknee]

i seek your advice numbknee. i really wanna write my own kyman fics and i have so many ideas for them but i’ve never written a fic before and i’m frightened to dip my toes into it. i’m not a writer, i’ve never written before. like how do you just sit down ans qrite something??? jfkgk i’m so confused, what’s your process or do you have any writing tips? i ask you cuz i love your writing and i look forward to your posts a lot.

That's so awesome, good for you dude!! Writing can be a really fun creative hobby but I totally get where you're coming from. The first fic I ever wrote was for the adventure time fandom 10 years ago (yikes I'm old lol) and I was really scared to post it. I don't remember how exactly I got the courage to finally put it out there but it def feels like diving into the deep end. Just know that everyone has to start somewhere!

The good thing about fanfiction is that it's as "low stakes" as you can probably get when it comes to creative writing. It's not for a job, it's not for any academic assignment, it's just something you do for fun. And I think the culture around fanfiction understands that a lot of writers are amateurs and are generally supportive regardless of your starting level in terms of skill. Personally, I would rather read from an inexperienced writer who's clearly trying their best and has some interesting ideas over a more polished/experienced writer taking themselves too seriously or treating fanfic writing like a competition.

There's no single "correct" way to write, because ultimately you have to do what best suits your own style and preferences. But for me, I generally start out with an idea for a single scene that inspires me and come up with a story around that scene so it fits into a cohesive fic. For example, for my first kyman fic I initially had the idea in my head of Kyle being mesmerized by Cartman dressed in drag and impulsively making a first move on him. I worked backwards from there, so I had to come up with 1) why he was doing drag in the first place, 2) why Kyle would be there watching him, and 3) how they end up alone together so Kyle can make the first move. The last one was the trickiest for me to figure out for some reason, but eventually I came up with the idea of Cartman tripping in his giant heels and injuring himself so Kyle would have to help him inside the house. It was funny but also helped move the plot along.

Planning out the scenes ahead of time like this can help a lot, but also don't be afraid to change things up as you write it out if you think something else works better. Since you have a bunch of your own ideas, start out with the one scene/scenario that inspires you the most and plan it out from there. I'd suggest first writing a shorter one-shot since that's easier to plan for than a longer, multi-chaptered fic. There's a ton of resources online you can find to help with story structure if you're not sure where to start or how to build on your idea. (Like this video about the 6 essential questions of storytelling).

Other logistical things: Make sure you save your work frequently. Spell-check is your friend. If you're not comfortable asking someone to beta-read your fic, use text-to-speech or read it aloud yourself to help catch any mistakes and listen to how sentences flow. I highly recommend using AO3 to publish your work since it has a great tagging system and helps you get visibility because of that, but also ensures your work will stay safe from the whims of corporations destroying/erasing fanworks since it's independently run and funded.

One last thing to keep in mind: it's nice to get positive interaction from the fandom, but ultimately you should write for yourself and your own enjoyment. If you only write seeking the approval of others, you're never going to be happy because you're solely basing your writing's worth on strangers' opinions. There have definitely been fics I've written that didn't get as much interaction as I would have liked, but in the end I was happy I wrote it because it was something I could be proud of having made for myself as my own audience.

Hope this helps! Good luck 👍

[monsterenergysimp]

Sitting Pretty: permanance pt. 2

corpse husband x fem! reader 

summary: you’re talking to corpse and the conversation becomes more than just friendly

request: Hi I love your writing so much and I was wondering if you could do a pt2 of permanence if it’s not to much to ask plz🥺

warnings: cursing, mentions of tattooing

word count: 619

notes: This is proof read but I could have missed some stuff. Tag list was getting long so I moved it to the end. Message me or send me an ask off anon if you want to be added. If you want a part two to any of my fics just send a request (especially if you have a specific plot in mind). I really hope this lived up to your expectations nonnie and I hope everyone enjoys :) 

main blog: @itsmysleepover 

read part 1 here! 

“Your stream went well yesterday,” you said after turning the vacuum cleaner off. You were talking to Corpse over the phone as you cleaned your room. You moved to your desk and started clearing off the trash, then dusting it.“Thanks, I wish you could have joined us, though,” he said. “I wanted to play too but I was at work; I wasn’t even supposed to listen to your stream while tattooing but I couldn’t miss it.”

“That’s nice of you,” he said, “but don’t put your job at risk to listen to me lie to our friends,”  he finished, mumbling the rest. You stopped dusting your desk and looked at your phone. This is the closest you could get to scolding Corpse without actually scolding him.

“I’d risk anything to hear you have fun, plus my client was cool with it. She kept gushing about you while I was working.”

This seemed to pique his interest. “Really?”

“Yup. She kept talking about how smart and sweet you are. And how talented you are. She also said she knows you’re handsome.”

“Huh,” he said sounding amused.

You smirked at this simple response. Curious about what he meant. “Don’t tell me I inflated your ego.” He snickered as you finished dusting off your desk and the shelf next to it. You put all the little knick-knacks back in place. You grabbed your phone and made your way to the living room where you planned to just relax as you spoke to Corpse. “Are you lying to me and telling me all the stuff you said,” He teased. You laughed blissfully and he laughed along with you. “You got me there.”

Your relationship was confusing right now. You guys talked most days but the conversation would always end up more than just friendly. The obvious flirting had mostly stopped and was replaced by this very confusing playful banter. You weren’t sure what to make of it.

“What are you doing right now?” You asked.

“Just waiting on my door dash delivery from Sizzler’s.”

“Wish I could be waiting there with you.”

“I wish you were here too.”

You looked over at your phone and smiled. A comfortable silence fell over you both. You felt the gentle sun come in from the window. You genuinely did want to be there with him. “You’re great you know that,” You spoke, not giving a second thought to what you said. He was silent for longer than he usually was after a compliment.

“I’m not that great?” He rebutted. You scoffed.

“Are you fucking kidding me Corpse? You’re incredible!” You threw yourself back onto the couch. “That girl was right, you are sweet and smart and talented. I’m sure you’re handsome too!”

He stayed quiet again. For longer this time. You heard some shuffling on his end but that was all. You stayed on the call unsure what to do. There was a bit more shuffling before Corpse spoke again. “Do you wanna facetime?” He blurted out. You sat up and stared at your phone. “We’re already talking, and I look like shit anyway.”

“You’re always beautiful and I wanna see you-- if you’re cool with.”

“Okay.” You quickly hung up the call. Before you had time to fully process what he had said your phone started ringing. You answered it. He could fully see your face but because he was in a dark room all you saw was a silhouette of his face. “Hey,” was all you could muster.

“My door dash got here, wanna pretend we’re sitting here together?”

A smile crept its way onto your face at the idea of sitting there with Corpse. “I guess we’re playing pretend in the meantime.”

tag list: @watermelon-mess​ @oldblackandwhitetown​ @susceptible-but-siriusexual​ @gday5sos​ @ashanti-granville @03ohj​ @djxrin​ @grapewish​ @crapimahuman​ @saturn2000​ @whatawonderfulusername​ @johnjacobjingleheimerschmidt​ @lauramacch​ @socialdesires​ @teaspill8​ @whathasateezdonetome​ @seutarose​ @whiteblacknothingpanda​ @save-the-sky​ @chrysanthykios​ 

[black-rose-writings]

Reading Siege and Storm because I hate myself

To begin, I’d like to state that this is my first read-through and I only have vague idea of the plot I’ve gathered from fanfics and tumblr posts.

Long post ahead

Chapter 1

So... at first I was like - huh, this isn’t as bad as I thought, but the moment Alina gets introspective, it all goes to hell.

Like, she’s being physically made sick by not using her powers, which is making her feel useless - like, she says, pretty much verbatim: “The only thing I was ever good at was being a Sun Summoner and I’m not that anymore.”

I’m gonna beat those paragraphs over the head of anyone, who says Alina got a good ending.

I’ve also noticed just how often the like “I pushed that thought away” is used and more often than not, it’s used on thoughts that should probably not be pushed away.

Ah, yes, here he comes, my boy Darkles, being the dramatic bitch he always is. We get it, you’re the hot villain, tempting the good and pure heroine away from being good and pure.

And I’m just now realizing how many times in this chapter has Alina lamented their lack of privacy. We have to ensure the reader doesn’t hink she’s *gasp* sleeping with Mal.

Chapter 2

What?

Alina is tripping balls while being put under by a Heartrender, got it.

Darkling is being the voice of reason, but I’m getting the distinct feeling it won’t last.

Ivan gets one point, because Alina is in fact a traitor, but he’s also being a cunt, so it doesn’t really count.

Alina at Sturmhond: Do you even care about Ravka?

Me at Alina: Do you?

Chapter 3

“Mermaids are not real”. I’m pretty sure they are in the Grishaverse.

My boy Darkles is still making sense, but Alina is dedicated to being against him just for the hell of it, it seems.

Did this bitch just throw a tantrum, because he told her, what we can assume is the truth? Okay. Like, I get that she’s at best 18, but still. Not exactly the type of protagonist whose head I like being in.

And in that moment, dozens of smut fics were born.

Chapter 4

Wow, that was quick.

Aaand. What had just happened?

Chapter 5

Sturmhond is a funny bitch, I’ll give him that.

And this entire conversation, it seems like Mal’s entire purpose is to stand behind Alina threateningly and repeat what she said, lol.

I’d like to remind Alina (and LB) that a king in an absolutist monarchy (which is what Ravka appears to be) is very much a tyrant. Don’t make it sound like Ravka didn’t have a tyrant before. And at the very least, my boy Darkles seems pretty competent.

A man calling himself a Storm Dog likes dogs. No shit.

Chapter 6

I hate Mal. Dude, this is your girlfriend, maybe like... listen to her? Don’t bludgeon her with the one other guy she was kinda-sorta with, when you are a well known manwhore?

I don’t know man, I don’t like him.

Everyone: You can’t have more than one amplifier, it’s dangerous.

Alina: Haha, sparkles go brrrr

Chapter 7

In other news, pirates are funny.

Holy shit, they have a plane.

That was... a lot. And we’re crossing the Fold again, yay.

Chapter 8

You feel bad for the Volcra but not for the people you’ve left for dead in the Fold last time? Okay.

Baby Volcra. Am I supposed to say “ew” or “aww”? If I tried doing both at the same time, it would probably sound like one.

Jesus fucking Christ this book is a ride.

Did Alina really just have an “oh no, he’s hot?” moment? *sighs*

Puppy boy has a title longer than Daenerys, jesus.

Alina, my dear, you could have waited for a bit before doing that. There’s like thirty soldier with guns around you and you’ve just punched a prince.

Then again, you’ve never been smart, have you?

Chapter 9

For once, I completely agree with him. I know you two have lost your one shared braincell on that first crossing of the Fold but still, that was very dumb of you, Alina.

I’m starting to get why people were calling Nikolai “Darkling light”. Definitelly seems appropriate.

Mal, calm the fuck down, that was the least romantic proposal I’ve ever heard and you know it.

You two didn’t even let Alina get a word in for the last page. What right do you have to her, Mal, huh? Nikolai is making sense and you’re being an idiot.

What’s your deal Mal? What the fuck do you want?

And why in the hell are you the endgame love interest?

That’s an awful lot of guilt-tripping you’re doing there, Mal. No need to be pissy about it.

Chapter 10

The bones thing is definitelly yikes.

Saints, Mal, are you on your period or something? Alina doesn’t belong to you. Alina can make her own choices. Get a grip.

“You think I’m like the Darkling?” Yes. The Darkling isn’t all bad. You’re at war. No need to get your panties in a twist over a few fingers.

Oh, look, Alina has a cult now, nice.

Chapter 11

Your “dad” is a rapist, Nikolai. Quite possibly a pedo. He got exactly what he deserved.

I’d go for the second option. Especially after that stunt. Jesus, you could have asked her beforehand.

At least Darkles had the decency to make out with her in private.

Also like... why is every single person in this series so far an asshole?

Chapter 12

We meet the King again, unfortunately.

Alina gets Darkles’s old job.

This should be a total disaster, but let’s see where it goes anyway.

Chapter 13

Alina’s nuts, yay.

(I know they have a Force-bond-thingy. I also know they did it before Reylo did.)

Chapter 14

Oh boy, Alina’s not doing as bad as I thought.

For the 100th time in this book, I wish I had Nikolai’s confidence. Though it is getting a bit too much.

Puppy boy is dropping some truth bombs. Nice.

But he doesn’t realize that my boy Darkles has very good reasons to not align with Fjerdans - a) they think he’s a demon and b) they want Grisha dead.

I’m not gonna say she was, but like... the monarchy is very much corrupt.

Oh, boy, Baghra. This one’s gonna go well.

Yep, Baghra’s as pleasant as ever.

So... Baghra’s plan in book 1 really had been to just have Alina run away and hope for the best? Jesus Christ, lady. I’m not saying she deserved to have her eyes taken away, but she is definitelly a trash person and I’m not surprised her son turned out the way he did.

Also, I’m fairly certain that Baghra is literally slowly killing herself - that the reason she looks so old and frail is because she’s started to supress her power and it’s literally killing her, because, you know, she’s bonkers old.

Chapter 15

Nerd Alina > Self-pitying Alina

Also, I’m just saying, Alina comments on Zoya being attractive a whole lot - I get that she’s meant to be insecure, but I’m interpreting it as her being gay, because I need some happiness in my life, okay?

Just kill the sleazy old Rasputin-wanna-be. There’s plenty of them to go around in this series.

Chapter 16

Vasily takes after his father in creep factor.

Why not the Darkling being courted by a horny prince? Be a bit creative.

Chapter 17

Nikolai has big ADHD energy and I love him for it. Fits right in with the heavily autism-coded Fabricators.

*sighs at heteronormativity again*

*sighs at improper gendering of titles*

Date night with Mal. This is gonna be a disaster, isn’t it?

Chapter 18

Fun night of cultural appropriation, yay.

I hate cultists.

LET. ALINA. GO. FERAL. Please.

You two are going to give me a headache, I swear.

Darkles cockblocking Alina. And Malice threw a tantrum. Nice.

Chapter 19

You’re way too harsh on Genya, Alina.

Horny Alina rights.

They have a laser, now. Cool. Or, well, enormously hot.

Mal is being a drunk a-hole. Great. When does he become likable? Does he ever?

Banter between Mal and Alina? Kinda weird, always somehow comes back to either of them being insecure.

Banter between Alina and Nikolai? I’m all for it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still a Darklina trash, but like... Nikolai is fun. I could see him and Alina having an arranged political marriage and ending up falling in love years into it, that’s all I’m saying.

Chapter 20

Just let this one go, Alina, please. You two are not working out. Please, end it with him. You’ll both probably be happier. (I’m saying this with the full knowledge that Malina is endgame).

Jesus Alina, get your shit together. You have every right to be mad, because you two didn’t actually break up, you didn’t kiss Nikolai and also, I don’t like Mal.

Sooo... when is Alina going to realize her manchild of a boyfriend is an amplifier?

Chapter 21

Alina has the horny sickness, lol.

Jesus Christ, girl, I don’t want to read your vaguely suicidal thoughts.

Mal, you fucking idiot.

Alina, stop defending Mal.

Chapter 22

Alina has a logical thought? Impossible.

Finally, some action.

Chapter 23

Oh, boi, this is going great.

Oh, boi, Alina’s having another martyr moment.

And, we’re done.

Finally.

That was a ride. Nothing really happens for like ten chapters and then everything happens in one and a half.

[anxious2dsimp]

oooooh heLLO i really enjoyed your denki fic, very cute, 10000/10. since requests are open, could i get kirishima and kaminari with an s/o that Really Likes anime? headcanons or a drabbe, or whatever else you feel comfortable with :DDD

😭 Omg hi! Thank you so much, I appreciate it a ton :) You’re my first ever request & I go really excited about the idea, hope you like it! I decided to do it in Headcanon format bc there’s so much I wanna add omg I hope it isn’t too long...

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾｡･:*:･���★｡*✧･ﾟ:˚۰˚☽˚｡･:

Kirishima and Kaminari with an S/O that loves anime

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾｡･:*:･ﾟ★｡*✧･ﾟ:˚۰˚☽˚｡･:

Pairings: Kirishima x Reader, Kaminari x Reader

Reader: Gender Neutral!

Format: Headcanons​

Warnings: None! Some light cursing courtesy of Bakugou :)

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾｡･:*:･ﾟ★｡*✧･ﾟ:˚۰˚☽˚｡･:

Kirishima Eijirou:

I don’t think Kirishima watches anime regularly, or if he would even know any shows at all.

Let’s face it, he probably just watches workout YouTubers and regular action-packed movies.

HOWEVER, he loves knowing more about you, so he’ll be interested when you bring it up to him!

You probably first talked about it during a random conversation where he asked what you were currently watching.

So you just told him the plot of whichever anime you were watching atm, and he liked it so he asked for the name.

You told him it was an anime, and he was like: “so a cartoon?” sigh

*cut to you explaining how anime is more than just cartoons & how it’s a whole thing with genres and everything*

Tbh, Kiri probably wasn’t that sold on the idea...

but seeing how you lit up talking about it he wants to know more just to see you all excited and hyped

I love him sm😭

He’d probably not watch any shows by himself but watch whichever you decide to watch together to spend time with you and see your reactions <3

He’s probably paying more attention to you than the show, but he does get invested in the story since all the characters are so “manly”

Sometimes you’ll just be cuddling and you’ll rant to him about what happened in the latest episode of whatever show you’re watching on your own since he knows he won’t watch it.

And so you’ll just tell him all about the plot and the characters, and the unexpected twist and your theories...

He’ll just be attentively listening to your shenanigans thinking; “god I love them so much”

If he ever sees you crying over a show, you best believe he’ll bring you tissues and a snack, he doesn’t judge!

One time you were just sobbing on the dorm’s common room couch, still getting over your favorite character’s death in the episode you had watched the night before.

Bakugou was just like ?? and since Kirishima was getting a drink from the fridge apparently not even remotely concerned he asked:

“Shitty hair, shouldn’t you like check on your s/o or something so they shut up?”

“They’re fine, just getting over a character dying in their show. I snuggled them up in the blanket, so I’m getting them something to drink & they’ll be fine in a few hours.”

Bakugou rolls his eyes SO HARD, but Kirishima doesn’t even notice bc he’s on his way to cuddle you.

If you ever want to do something anime-related like go to a convention or go buy manga or merch he’d gladly come along.

Expect him to get you the coolest little anime-related gifts for your birthday or Christmas (along with whatever he had already planned to get you) since he knows how obsessed you are.

Overall, just a really supportive bf <3

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾｡･:*:･ﾟ★｡*✧･ﾟ:˚۰˚☽˚｡･:

Kaminari Denki:

Unlike Kiri, Kaminari LOVES anime! Idk why, but he gives off massive weeb vibes to me (in the best sense)

The thing is, you had NO IDEA of this because at first he hid it from everyone.

He initially had merch in his room but Bakugou & Mina teased him about it so he hid it whenever the bakusquad would hang in his dorm :’(

He did it too when you two started dating, bc he wanted to seem cool in your eyes & not like a dork...

Oh boy how wrong he was

You didn’t hide your anime obsession but never brought the topic up bc you didn’t think anyone else in the class liked it

So you can imagine your surprise when you found out

You two were hanging out in his room, and while he was setting up a movie on his laptop you got up to grab snacks where you saw him usually take food out of.

The second you open the drawer and Denki’s brain registers it he just screams “NOOO!” at the top of his lungs.

You literally jumped so high, it really caught you off-guard lmao

So now you’re just standing there, confused asf, because all there was in there was a figurine from one of your favorite animes and snacks.

As you take it out and examine it, turning around to face your bf he’s just panicking

He’s just staring at you like a deer caught in headlights and thinking:

Omg they’re onto me, will they even know what that is? what do I say when they ask? Will they believe me if I say it's someone else’s? They’ll think I play with toys or something please let the earth swallow me, someone help!

“This figurine is sick, where’d you get it? I’ve wanted one from that show for so long!”

Kaminari just blinks at you.

Did he hear that correctly? By the look on your face, it looked that way. He thought there was no way you could possibly become even more perfect in his eyes, but you just did.

Needless to say, you two ditched the movie and spent the afternoon talking about anime.

Since then you started going to conventions together, even cosplaying for fun a couple of times (just imagine him cosplaying Zenitsu from Demon slayer & you Nezuko or Tanjiro 🥺)

You’d watch SO MANY SHOWS TOGETHER OMG, and once anime season starts you’d get together once a week to binge all the new episodes.

Also gets you cute gifts and you do the same for him (considering he doesn’t hide his anime stuff anymore).

Honestly, he doesn’t even care who teases him bc you think it’s cool and that’s all he needs to know :’)

Loves making anime references or jokes just to get you to laugh while everyone else just looks at you two like tf???

Speaking of, brace yourself because he will absolutely use anime-related pickup lines on you lol

You get to exchange mangas and wear his merch hoodies from shows you also love.

Overall just couple goals, I ship it so much

[teenage-mutant-ninja-freak]

Show me yours and I’ll show you mine

Mob! Leo x fem reader

Summery: You’re a sex worker working at the infamous Red Room (R&R) brothel in New York city when you run into Leo who’s there not on business. He, somehow, takes a liking to you and your adventure ensues.

Warnings: NSFW, sex work mentions, fist fight/violence, alcohol mentions, violence mentions.

((A/N: This doesn’t have much of a plot, just a fun idea I had and I haven’t written a mob fic in so long so here ya’ go!!))

It wasn’t a slow day at Red Room, Clients had been in and out all day and it was nearing 7pm. The smell of perfume and cologne hung heavy in the air and the place was starting to get messy. During the day the brothel is mainly used for men to drink and be kept company but when the night hits, it comes alive.

Women roaming around in lingerie of every kind, singers and dancers to entertain those who are just here to escape their wives or boys trying to become men chasing down pretty women who only show interest after they flash their cash. Security is pretty tight, too. Can’t have minors getting in, as much as they try, or anyone throwing off the atmosphere with drunken brawling.

It’s a beautiful September night, the air is still warm the remnants of summer and sun beans are streaming in through the ornate glass windows. Classic, beautiful furniture covers the main room where men get to know their chosen girl before she takes them back to her room and the bar is crowded with the usuals who are just here to watch and have a good time.

You walk through the vast room, smiling and making chit chat with as many of the men as you can before picking up your drink and retiring to one of the chairs. For a busy day it was still slow for you. You adjust your thigh highs as you sit and take off your heels. A small rest wouldn’t kill you. There were all sorts in tonight including, or so you’d heard, one of the mob boys. You hadn’t laid eyes on him yet but there was a certain tension surrounding the place that only the turtle boys could create so even if you hadn’t seen him, you could feel him. They weren’t strangers to R&R, sometimes they’d bring business associates here to butter them up, buy them a girl for the night and talk business where she kissed their neck or they’d come for their own pleasure. 

You take another look around the room, most of the men were focused on Starla who was singing a blues version of “how to be a heart breaker”, her voice slightly deeper than usual and full of sensual promise and her bright red, lacy bra and panties are particularly stunning. Praying that no one will approach you for at least another 10 minutes you take a sip of your whiskey and sit back to enjoy the show- when you hear it.

From a more distant corner of the room there are raised voices and harsh words being thrown about, something that is not accepted in the Red Room. Putting down your drink, you pick up your heels in your other hand and go over to see what all the fuss is about.

“I want what I fucking paid for!” comes a voice from a heavily intoxicated man who is standing on the last step to the stairs. Cherry stand in front of him, clearly distressed and looking slightly dishevelled. You can only assume that something went wrong in the bedroom and she had to run. Bastard you thought to yourself.

“Not if you won’t wear a condom! There are fucking rules!” she bites back. She was right, R&R had very strict guidelines to keep their girls and patrons safe and condoms must be worn for any and all sexual activity as well as regular STD checks.

That’s when he finally loses his cool completely, grabbing Cherry by the hair and trying to pull her back up the stairs. You don’t know exactly what came over you but before you know what you’re doing you drop your heels and rush over, prising his hand from her hair and socking him in the jaw. His head flies back from the impact and hits the wall, ricocheting off it before he falls down cold on the stairs which is met by a round of applause from the crowd that has gathered around you both. You turn to a now crying Cherry.

“you ok? What did he do? You alright?” you ask in quick succession. 

“I-I’m-” she sobs and holds on to you, you wrap your arms around her bare waist and move her slightly to the side as the ever late security deals with the unconscious guy. You decide it’s better to get her away and instead take her outside where some of the other girls have crowded round and offer her drinks and cigarettes as well as their sympathies. They stroke her hair and comfort her so you venture back inside, leaving her in their very capable hands. 

Once back in the main room, the madame for the night walks briskly over to you with a hard expression on her face.

“And just what was that?” She half whispers

“I know right, that jerk was trying to make her go bare back even though we’re super specific that we don’t do that here” you reply

“Not that!” She snaps “That little brawl you had with him. What do you think you were doing?”

“...Defending my colleague?” you’re confused, this isn’t the first time one of the girls here has had to step up for another, it probably won’t be the last either. 

“We have to crack down on you- you girls getting into fights! It’s dangerous and irresponsible and I think you should go home for the rest of-”

You both stop when you sense a presence to your right. Looking over you come face to face with a towering figure: Leonardo.

The madame clears her throat and smiles

“Ah, Mr Leonardo! How- how may we help you?” she beams at him. You’re not sure if it’s out of respect or fear, probably a mixture of both.

“How much for this one?” He says point blank.

“Excuse me?” The madame’s jaw almost hits the floor

“How much for this one for a few hours?”

You smile and give him big doe eyes as he talks price with her and she still attempts to send you home. Eventually it’s settled and allows you to take him back to your room.

He’s silent on the walk up there even as you chat idly about how handsome he is as you usually do with clients and making sure to sway your hips extra heavily to give him a good view as you walk up ahead of him.

Once tucked inside your room, you kneel on the bed and face him.

“So, how do you want me, big guy?” you say in a low, seductive voice.

He sits in a chair by the door in the corner and lights up a cigarette which isn’t technically allowed but acceptations are always made to accommodate the mob boys so you let it slide. 

“You can cut that shit out now” he says bluntly.

“what shit?” you’re confused again

“The ‘big guy’ and ‘you’re so handsome’ practically drooling over me shit. It’s overdone and, honestly, you’re not very convincing.”

“I’ll have you know that my acting skills are top notch but if you want realness lets go. How do you wanna fuck me and how long do I have to put up with you for?”

He smiles at that

“Atta’ girl”

You both sit in silence for a few minutes as he looks over you, drinking in your form. His eyes always linger on your hips and the garter belt around your waist so you can safely assume these are your best features in his opinion. 

“What possessed you to take on that drunk guy?” he breaks the silence

“My friend was in trouble, besides, I’ve got a solid right hook and wanted an excuse to use it” you reply. He smiles again. Not to be cocky, but I think I’m winning him over you think to yourself.

He’s rented out your room for two hours and all he seems to want to do is talk. He doesn’t even get up from his chair apart from once and only then it was to look out the window as he asked you about how you ended up here. You assumed it was some kind of saviour complex, the whole “how did a nice girl like you end up in a dump like this” routine but the truth is you like the Red Room. You love the attention and praise it gets you, your family knows what you do for a living and are proud of you and you’ve made some good friends here. 

“...Besides” you continue “it’s the only place around here where it’s not impossible to make 5 grand in a night if you try hard enough. Most other places can’t say the same.”

He was decent conversation although he was reluctant to tell you anything about himself, but he listened and appeared genuinely interested in what you had to say. You even made him laugh a few times. You didn’t know the turtle boys even had a sense of humour. 

Your 2 hours with him were coming to an end and, after pouring him a final drink, you said your goodbyes, It wasn’t completely unusual for a client to simply want to talk for their time with you, but from what you’d heard the turtle boys have an insatiable appetite for women so it doesn’t quite sit right with you that he didn’t want your body. Oh well.

_________________

The next morning was your day off. You woke up before your alarm and took a few minutes to hug your pillow closer to you and breathe in the fresh morning air from the window by your head. Your apartment was modest but not dingy in the slightest, the Red Room paid well and your home reflected that to some extent although you never wanted to be flashy about it. Last night was still on your mind, the way Leo (as he had asked you to call him) looked at you was still burned into your memory. His scent and the way he raised each drink to his lips. Everything he did commanded authority and was done with such grace and composure. Your thoughts were rudely interrupted by your alarm, only, it wasn’t your alarm. 

Confused, you look at your phone and see the madame is calling. What does this old bitch want? you think before answering the call.

“Hello?” you talk into the phone, trying to hide your distaste at being bothered on one of your precious days off.

“Hi, y/n, I really hate to do this but I need to get straight to the point. You have an outcall today.” the voice replies

“Oh, I’m sorry, you must be mistaken, This is my day off and I don’t do outcalls anymore. That’s been cleared with you guys for months.” the annoyance was beginning to shine through your voice. 

“Yes, I’m aware, but special allowances have to be made when certain clientele....Desire your company...”

“Who the fuck do you think is special enough to get me out of bed right now?” you hiss into the phone

“Leonardo...”

You didn’t hear the rest of her sentence as you take a second to let that sink in. Half of you was pissed as hell that these rich boys get whatever they want and whoever they want just because they practically run the town through fear, but another small part of you was...Flattered. 

“What time and where?” you ask

The madame gives you all the information and you hurry out of bed to get showered and ready. You only had an hour and a half to make yourself look presentable and actually get half way across town to his mansion. 

Five minutes before you need to be out of the door, you take a second to admire yourself in the mirror. You had done a good job with your cat eye makeup and you were pretty sure your have him eating out of your hand with the little baby pink slip dress you were wearing. Underneath was another garter belt, thigh highs and a small heel. You could have gone bigger considering you were only average height and Leo must have been about 6′7 at least but you decided a small heel worked better with the aesthetic you were cultivating. 

____________________

The uber pulled up the the enormous house that towered in front of you, driving carefully between the ornate and ancient statues that seemed the guard the entrance to the driveway. Opening the door and stepping out, the almost overwhelming aroma of roses filled your nose from the thickets by the front door. Everything was beautiful and clearly meticulously designed and placed. You felt your heart drop. What the fuck do I have to offer this guy who has everything? You swallow the lump in your throat and go to ring the door bell. 

A small, round man dressed in a white shirt and black waistcoat answers the door and smiles at you as if you ask why you’re here. Running a hand through your hair in an attempt to compose yourself (you’re a professional after all) you use your most confident voice to say:

“I’m y/n, and I’m here for Leonardo. He should be expecting me”

Realisation washes over the man’s face as he asks you to “please come in” and you take a seat in the foyer. You take a second to look around. The entrance hall is magnificent, a huge chandelier hangs above you with crystals or even diamonds (you weren’t sure but they were rich enough to afford such luxuries) casting glorious rainbows around the room as the light from the windows shines through it. The furniture had to be custom made, you’d never seen anything like it before and in the centre of the foyer is a round table with the most beautiful vase you’d ever seen and a carefully constructed bouquet of flowers sitting in it. You’d started to realise that maybe you were in too deep, but there was no getting out now.

It’s not long before you here footsteps coming down the stairs behind you. Leo and his older, and somehow taller, brother were walking down and seemed to be deep in conversation. They were still a little too far away to hear and they spoke in hushed voices but you could make out the purple suited one say

“She’s not talking” in a feverish voice to which Leo replied

“That’s not my problem right now, deal with her before I deal with you!”

it sounded serious.

Once at the bottom of the staircase and spotting you, he posture relaxes a little and he puts on that charming smile which reminds you that you need to do the same. That’s what he’s paying for, but he has such beautiful deep blue eyes that it;s difficult to not get distracted by them. He wore a black suit with very thing white lines going down it and a baby blue handkerchief in the breast pocket, his signature colour. He looked to die for.

He approaches and greets you with a warm hug and kiss on the cheek while telling you how beautiful you look. What a silver tongue he has. 

He takes you on a tour of the house and garden, it’s clear that he’s only doing this as a formality, to get you comfortable around him and it isn’t to brag. He almost seems indifferent about his extreme wealth. There were a few rooms with heavy locks on the doors and he didn’t show you into those or one entire wing of the house; telling you that was under construction. You saw Donatello go through to that area, though but, you didn’t want to rock the boat by asking questions.

Eventually he took you out to the patio, it was stunning. More roses and other potted flower stood all around and the table was set with silver cutlery and beautiful wine glasses. He pulled a chair out for you to sit, like a true gentleman.

As waiters came and went, bringing you both lavish meals and more wine, you talked for hours. Well...You talked. He mainly listened and asked questions. You couldn’t help but feel entirely comfortable around him, something about his presence was so non-judgemental and sincere that you felt you could answer everything honestly and not put up a front like you usually would on other “dates”. The only trouble around when you spoke next.

“So I’m been rattling on for ages. Tell me about you. What do you like to do in your spare time? Do you like living with your brothers? Where did you grow up?”

That last question seemed to hit a nerve as he looked as if he winced slightly  at it. He didn’t answer.

You put your hand on his

“Did you hear me?”

He pulled his hand away and looked you in the eyes

“I didn’t pay you to interrogate me. You’re here to sit and look pretty, not open your fucking mouth”

You were stunned. This sudden turn seemed to come from nowhere and that’s when you felt the anger rise up in you. You’d never been one to hold your tongue and you weren’t going to start now- consequences be damned.

“Well excuse the fuck me!” you began “Why is it that every guy feels so entitled to my life but so unwilling to tell me anything about their own? Oh yeah! Maybe it’s because they’re so boring an insignificant in this world that they have to pay a woman to come talk to their sorry ass because no one would do it for free. I thought you were different but it’s all for show, isn’t it? The house, the cars, the money... Nothing behind that, just another pitiful, sad little man who has to pay for a quick fuck. I’m outta here”

You throw your napkin down on the plate and walk away. You almost make it to the front door when a hand grips your wrist, turning you to face them.

Leo looks sorry for himself. It’s clear he knows the magnitude to which he’s messed up but he doesn’t say anything right away.

“Well?” you say impatiently? “Look, you wanted me here. I just go where the money takes me but for a second I thought there might actually be some kind of connection. You want a real date, then you have to tell me about yourself at least a little. That’s what real people do. But if you’re just going to be a giant douche with no respect, I’m leaving.”

“It’s not a happy story” he finally says through gritted teeth, hand still firmly around your wrist. “But if you want to hear about it, follow me”

He takes you upstairs a through a few more hallways until you reach what must be his room. It’s just as beautifully designed as the rest of the house but with a few more personal touches. As opposed to the slightly Italian looking architecture and design of the rest of the house, his room has katanas hung up on the wall and a small nook in the corner of the room where a tea maker sits. It’s more homely than the rest of the place. More his own.

He sits you down on the bed and slowly begins to explain.

He doesn’t go into too much detail, you imagine that would be too painful for him.He tells you how he was found in a sewer with his brothers and then made to wear chains and perform for sick crowds of smiling a grimacing humans and how he hated them. He mentioned the beatings and the torture, the hunger he felt everyday. He spoke on the anger his father harboured and how they would dream of a revenge so bloody and raw that he hoped god would look away while they did it. He told you about their escape and how it was the first time he’d know the touch of a human that hadn’t left a scar. It was all horrific and you couldn’t believe he survived that.

“...We still don’t know what Mikey saw that night but whatever it was, he didn’t talk for three weeks and now he’s...Well, now he’s the new Mikey. I don’t talk about it because who would want to know? And I don’t want pity, I don’t want your sympathy just because ‘boo hoo, he had a tough childhood’ ”

You place your hand on his cheek and turn his face towards you, he didn’t look at you the entire time he spoke.

“I don’t pity you” You began “I admire you. Going through all that and still being a functional person? That takes a strength I couldn’t muster”

You lean in to kiss him on the cheek, he turns his head and kisses you on the lips slowly, as if to savour every second of it. You hands go to his face and he lightly grips the back of your neck as the kiss intensifies. You lie back and he takes his place on top of you, between your legs and he trails one hand up your thigh to your hip, going just underneath your now bunched up dress.

He begins to kiss down your jaw line and towards your neck and your breath hitches in your throat at the pressure of his lips on your skin. His attention turns to your cleavage, he looks up at you as if you ask for permission and you nod before his head delves between your breasts, kissing and lapping at your tender flesh. You roll your head back and begin to pant slightly. The way he’s so attentive and gentle yet composed and in control is a nice contrast that few men can do successfully. 

Cupping one of your breasts as he kisses it, you put your hand under his chin to return his mouth to yours and your tongues swirl together in ecstasy as you moan into his mouth.You can feel him hardening through his tailored trousers. Pulling back, you begin to unbutton his shirt as he takes off his blazer before reaching down between the two of you and cupping his bulge through his clothes. He almost growls at that and takes the top of your dress in his hands, ripping it down the middle. You look up at him wide eyed and he simply smiles and whispers

“I’ll buy you ten new ones”

You can’t see too well in the room as the sun is beginning to set but you can still make out how toned and muscular his chest is even in the half light. You run your fingers over his abs as he pushes up your dress and pulls down your underwear. Leo begins to kiss down your inner thighs, nipping gently as he gets closer to your sex

“No” you say suddenly. He stops immediately and looks at you “I want you. I just wanna feel you”

Pushing himself up onto his knees, still between your open legs, he undoes his belt, unzips him pants and pulls them down. His hard, thick cock bouncing free from its previous restraints. He takes a quick second to reach into his bedside draw and pull out a condom that he puts on with ease. He leans down and puts one hand firmly on the bed next to your head and with the other lines himself up at your already soaked entrance. You ready yourself for whats about to come, he’s bigger than your usual clients. He slowly pushes himself inside you and you gasp at the pleasurable agony of how torturous it is. Eventually he bottoms out and kisses you on the lips before looking into your eyes.

“are you ready?” He asks, you nod in return

His hips start at a slow but hard pace, obviously warming you up for whats to come. He nibbles at your ear and his hand becomes entangled in your hair, pulling it lightly as if to test the waters of how you feel about that. The more you moan the faster and harder he goes while whispering how much of a good girl you are in your ear and telling you how you take him so well.

All you can do is breathlessly moan and beg him not to stop, he looks into your eyes with a devilish mischief and says

“Stop? We’re only just starting”

He pulls out and flips you onto your front, pulling your hips up to meet his and enters you again from behind. He grabs one of your arms and pulls it behind your back, gripping it there to stay and place and with the other he gathers up the lengths of your hair and pulls so that you’re facing forwards. His pace is punishing and your eyes begin to tear up from just how mind blowing he is. Occasionally he would let go of your arm to give you a quick, sharp slap on the ass or to caress your hips a little but eventually he would always grip your wrist again, keeping it in place.

His pace begins to slow and he looks down at himself sliding in and out of you.

“Baby, you’re being so good. Look how well you’re taking me. Such an angel” he coos 

“I- I can’t take much more” you whisper but he hears and chuckles to himself. Letting go of your arm his hand slides between your thighs and begins to play with your clit, each circle he rubs is in time with his thrusts and it’s driving you crazy.

“Leo, Leo! I-” you can’t take anymore as a full body orgasm rolls through you and you almost collapse if it weren’t for his arms holding you up. One more smack on your ass and a few more thrusts and you can tell he’s almost at his own release.

“Fuck baby” He purrs and he explodes inside of you before leaning down the kiss the centre of your back. He gentle places you down on the bed so that you don’t just falls that way and quickly goes to dispose of the condom.

You get under the sheets of the bed, still panting slightly and a thin mist of sweat is lining your forehead. Leo gets into bed beside you in the now dark room and you push yourself closer to him as he wraps an arm around you. You lean in and close your eyes against his chest. Sex always made you sleepy, well, good sex did. He looks down at you, kisses your hair and whispers

“You’re gonna need that sleep. I just know I’ll need to have you again in the morning”

You smile against his skin as he rubs small circles on your back as you drift off. The last thing you remember is him whispering, and you’re not sure if it was to you or himself

“It felt good to finally tell someone all that shit. I’m glad you’re here”

Feeling appreciated and satisfied you let sleep take you, only left to dream about what pleasures the morning had waiting for you.

The end

[averykedavra]

if only to say you’re mine

Hi I’m knee-deep in like five WIPs right now, it’s raining and I’m tired and I would like to become a mossy log in the forest, here’s some short Logince I wrote at eleven pm last night. Had to edit the numerous typos but I think it’s still coherent. Take care of yourself, everyone!

(Title from Sofia by Clairo. You can find this fic on Ao3 here.)

Words: 2333

Pairings: romantic Logince

Warnings: self-deprecation and a bit of anxiety.

When Logan woke to the sound of his phone playing Roman's ringtone--at three in the morning, no less, the apartment so quiet he could hear the rustle of leaves outside--he feared the worst. He scrambled to a sitting position, pulled on his glasses out of habit, and quickly answered the phone.

"What's your favorite Disney movie?"

"What?" Logan blinked and mentally made sure he'd heard what he thought he had. "Roman, it's three in the morning."

"Yeah, yeah," Roman said dismissively. "But what's your answer? This is important, Specs."

Logan let out a long sigh. His brain was still fumbling its way awake and he knew this would put a metaphorical cramp in his schedule. "Roman--”

"Uh-uh-uh, no buts." Roman's voice was firm. "I know that voice, that's the 'I have better things to do than call my boyfriend' voice, even though we agreed communication was important if we wanted to make it work long-distance--"

"That doesn't apply to three in the morning!” Logan rubbed his eyes. "What do you want?"

"I told you what I want! Favorite Disney movie, stat."

"You know my favorite Disney movie," Logan said slowly. "Is this some sort of courting ritual--Roman, if you sneak into the building again, the landlord will kick me out--"

"No, no, nothing like that," Roman assured him. "I'm far, far away from you."

Unless Logan was mishearing things due to exhaustion, Roman's last few words had a tinge of wistfulness.

"Disney movie?" Logan asked, softening despite himself.

"Yes!" Roman seemed to perk up instantly. "I know you've said before, but have you changed your mind?"

"I don't simply change my mind willy-nilly," Logan said. "Big Hero Six, as always."

"Boo." Roman blew a raspberry. "Boring.”

"You asked!"

"And I expected a real movie! A classic!" Roman sighed. "Sleeping Beauty! Snow White! Cinderella! I don't see how you can shun those masterpieces in favor of--babbling science talk and a cute robot."

"It's an intellectually stimulating movie," Logan argued, his mouth twitching in a smile at the familiar debate. "Even if the science isn't completely realistic, it's still a well-crafted movie. Besides, I see no reason to ascribe particular value to movies about sleeping princesses."

"Excuse me, Cinderella wasn't asleep!" Roman scoffed. "You just don't understand quality. They're classics!"

"Be that as it may, I think the plots are ridiculous."

"How is it ridiculous?"

"True love's kiss?" Logan snorted. "It's completely unrealistic."

"Fairytales aren't meant to be realistic!" Roman declared. "Open up your eyes! True love's kiss is a beautiful way of showing devoted, never-ending love that transcends circumstance and outward appearance--"

"--and consent?"

"--and is also a little dated, I'll admit, but you don't watch those movies for the plot!" Roman sighed wistfully. "It's about the drama."

"I wish I understood," Logan said.

"You never will understand." Logan could hear the tease in Roman's voice. "You'll never understand the loveliness of Disney. But it's alright, I've resigned myself to knowing that my boyfriend besmirches the good name regularly.”

"Show a Disney movie that is more than solidly neutral, and perhaps I'll listen to you." Logan leaned back against his bed-frame and watched the trees scrape the sky. "Not now, of course. It's late."

"It isn't that late, we could have a screen-sharing party--"

"It's three in the morning."

"That's not late!"

"Roman," Logan said. "It's late. Go to sleep."

Roman pouted audibly. "But I like talking with you!"

"I will still be here in the morning." Logan ran his hands over his blanket. "Sleep is important for maintaining general health and well-being."

"Health, shmealth." Roman's voice was approaching a whine. "Sleeping is boring. I wanna argue with you."

"You can argue with me later." Logan smirked and played the ace up his sleeve. "If you go to sleep now, I'll watch any Disney movie with you tomorrow."

"What? Really?" Roman's voice was strangely--surprised. As if Logan had managed to shock him, despite saying this same thing every time. "Any Disney movie?"

"Yes, any Disney movie." Logan huffed. "If it gets you to bed, I'll suffer through it."

Roman was silent for a moment. "You--um, you're busy tomorrow, though."

"I am?" Logan blinked and tried to sort through his schedule. It was difficult. Three am was not the best time for keeping track of commitments. "I'm afraid I don't recall.”

"You've got class from twelve to three and a lab at five," Roman recited, "and you'll have homework after that, and you mentioned you're running low on groceries so you'll probably do an errand run and eat dinner out tomorrow. Couple that with homework, and you won't be home until dark."

Logan swallowed the figurative butterflies at the knowledge that Roman had memorized his schedule. "That still leaves the morning."

"You were going to do your taxes. You said so yesterday."

"Oh." Logan did vaguely remember that. "Well, plans aren't set in stone. I can do my taxes in the future."

Something off was creeping into Roman's tone. Logan was too sleepy and too confused to fully register it, but Roman was sounding less like he was teasing his boyfriend about Disney and more and more like something was wrong.

"Your taxes are important," Roman said

"Yes, they are, which is why I can do them before I go to bed." Logan tapped at his leg. "If I reshuffle homework to be right after breakfast, and maybe wait on the groceries--"

"Specs." Roman's voice was quiet. "You can just...say no. A movie marathon isn't as important as all that other stuff."

Logan immediately opened his mouth to protest, which surprised him. Objectively, Roman was correct. Social time was a luxury.

But--

"Roman," he said slowly, "why exactly did you call me this morning?"

"To ask you about Disney movies," Roman said. "And it's not morning."

"Technically it is, and I have a feeling that's not the real answer." Logan's voice softened. "Please, Roman. What do you want to talk about?"

"Nothing!" Roman's laugh was brittle. "What are you talking about? Look, I'm sorry for bothering you in the middle of the night, I'll let you get some sleep--"

"Don't you dare hang up on me--"

"You said sleep was important!"

Logan almost yelled in frustration. "Well, so are you!"

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone. A cricket chirped outside. Logan's alarm clock blinked--he'd need to get up in three hours, which meant he should be asleep.

"You're more important right now," Logan said. "Please talk to me. What's bothering you?"

He heard Roman swallow.

"I--" Roman's voice was so quiet and small that Logan's heart ached. "I just...I just miss you. A lot."

Oh.

"Roman--”

"And I know we talk all the time, and it's great, it's really great--" Roman was rambling now, the words tumbling out. "But I also kinda want to talk to you more than we do, which is really selfish because you're busy, and I don't judge you for that, but it feels like I'm just a second thought sometimes or maybe that's just what my brain's been telling me and--"

"Roman." Logan kept his voice calm. "Breathe in and out."

Roman took a deep breath.

"Good." Logan tried to keep the worry out of his voice, but it was hard. "So...you called me because--"

"Because I missed you," Roman finished, his voice snapping in the middle. "Ha, isn't that pathetic? It was three in the morning and I missed you and I thought it'd be a good idea to just call you, like you have time for me--"

"I always have time for you," Logan said. "Granted, this was an--interesting moment to choose, but I don't regret talking to you."

"You will when you're tired the next morning." Roman laughed a bit. It sounded a bit more like a sob than a laugh. "I get it, Lo. I really do. I'm sorry I--just get way too much sometimes."

Logan pressed his mouth tight.

"I'll let you sleep," Roman said, and his voice had no right to be this caring. "You've got a busy day tomorrow, and--and call me whenever you feel like it. It doesn't have to be soon. Just...I'll try to dial it down."

"Roman." Logan's voice came out as a plead. "Roman, listen to me."

Roman snorted. "All ears."

All ears, a stupid in-joke. Nobody could be all ears, because such a creature couldn't survive, so Roman made a point of using that phrase as much as possible. It was infuriating. Roman was infuriating.

Roman was Logan's boyfriend, and he loved him.

"I don't mind talking to you," Logan said. "I--in fact, it's quite the opposite. You always encourage me to get my work done, you make me smile--you're the best part of my day."

Roman was quiet for a second. "Yeah, but--"

"And you're not too much," Logan continued. "You're definitely a lot, but that's--that's such a good thing. I'm glad you're open with me, I'm glad you told me how you felt, and you know what? I'm glad you called me at three in the morning to talk about Disney.”

“You sure?” Roman snarked.

“Yes!” Logan’s vehemence almost startled him. “Roman, I signed up for this. I agreed to be your boyfriend, I agreed to try long-distance, and I kept my phone turned on all night. I made the choice to let you into my life--and Roman, how could you possibly think I'd ever regret that when it means hearing you? Talking to you? Getting to experience every little moment with you there?"

Logan shook his head. "You're so much, and I love every bit of it, and I promise if you call me at three in the morning I am always going to pick up."

The branches waved outside Logan's window. It was a deep blue night. Somewhere, in a lit room across the country, Roman was sitting in the same night, cloaked in the same shadows, under the same sky.

The phone was cold in Logan's hand and his heart was so, so warm.

"Huh," Roman choked out, and Logan realized he'd started crying. "Um--okay, so turns out I really needed to hear that--thank you? So much? That was so poetic, Specs, you've been holding out on me."

"It's the three am lack of filter," Logan said. "Did--did it help?"

"Yeah." Roman took a deep, shuddering breath. "Yeah, it did."

"Good." Logan smiled into the darkness. "I love you so much, and I will gladly watch a Disney movie with you tomorrow, and you are always worth my time. You know that."

"I know that," Roman echoed, and he sounded almost confident. "I do, I just--I just forget it once in a while.'

"I'm here to remind you," Logan said softly. "I don't judge you for needing a reminder once in a while."

"You mean like weekly, at three in the morning?"

"If that's what you need." Logan smiled even wider, although Roman couldn't see him, because he knew Roman would be able to feel it. Just as Logan could feel that Roman, right now, was smiling, too. "If that's what you need, I will give you daily reminders, because I find it's very easy to compliment you.”

"Hey, stop, I'm blushing," Roman complained, laughing. Logan let himself laugh along. "You're such a sap."

"Only when it's late."

"Yeah, it really is late, huh?" Roman laughed again. "I promise I'll talk to you soon, but you really should grab a few more hours of sleep, Specs."

"Of course. You too."

"Yep." Roman paused. "Um--you know I love you too, right? Like, so much? I appreciate you, and I love talking to you, and your voice is so pretty over the phone, and--do you know all that?"

A few years ago, Logan would have said no. A few years ago, Logan would have asked why Roman thought that was a funny joke.

A year ago, Logan would have said maybe. Logan would have said Roman was exaggerating, perhaps poked fun at his dramatics.

Now, Logan let himself smile.

"I know," he assured Roman. "I'm starting to know."

"Do you want reminders anyway?" Roman suggested, and Logan could listen to that soft tone forever. "Just because I want to."

"Well, if you want to, I suppose I can make room on the schedule." Logan looked up at the ceiling. "But...yes. Yes, I wouldn't be opposed."

"Fantastic." Roman sighed happily. "Logan, here's your daily reminder that I'm in love with you."

"It's not day yet."

"Technically! You said it's technically!"

Logan huffed. "Here's your daily reminder that you're a dork."

"Takes one to know one," Roman said fondly. "Get some sleep, okay? I'll be here in the morning."

Logan took off his glasses and slipped back into bed. "You're sure?"

"I'm sure," Roman said. "Well, not here, exactly, I'm still a few hundred miles away--"

"Eh, close enough," Logan said. "You're here, and so am I."

"You're here," Roman repeated. "And I'm so thankful for it."

"So you can tease me for my Disney preferences?"

"Exactly."

Logan laughed and set his phone on the nightstand. "Good night, love."

"Good night, dearest." In the darkness, Logan could almost picture Roman right next to him, smiling with his crooked smile and beautiful eyes. "I love you all the way there and all the way back here."

Dramatic. Ridiculous. Cliche. All the hallmarks of a Disney movie, or perhaps an overly sugary poem.

Logan didn't mind.

"I love you," Logan said back, because simple words made things clearest for him.

And he knew Roman didn't mind.

It all came down to the same thing--that they'd be here, night after night, and they'd help each other remember that this wasn't going away.

That they'd see each other soon.

That they were strong enough to make it through.

And that Logan, in the end, didn't mind if he slept in or postponed groceries. Roman made him smile. Roman loved him, and Logan loved him back, and sometimes, Logan had to make room for the reminder.

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[dreamsmp-au-ideas]

Teddy Bear Anon has purposed yet another interesting addition to the Immune AU which gives me plot ideas! In particular, a scene that would really help give past Dream a strong push into his character arc. 

I like to image that immune!Dream’s character arc starts with the death of immune!Puffy. Sure, maybe he’s not sad yet, but he feels something for the woman who declared herself his pseudo mother. It’s what helps to crack the shell enough for the rest of the immune gang to start weedling their way into his heart. Immune!Dream after spending enough time watching the group he, starts to realize that yeah, connections to other people isn’t a weakness. It really is a strength. It’s something that takes time for him to come to terms with because Techno seems like a testament to the fact connections are a weakness. He was unbeatable until his horse got kidnapped. His only connection, his only weakness. But then there’s Tommy who seems to represent the complete opposite. 

Where Dream represents strength from caring too little, Tommy represents strength from caring far too much. Now I’m a sucker for bamf Tommy, and I like to personally imagine that maybe the Immunes hold out for a year or two before they cave and try to make the portal. So Tommy has what really boils down to a two year training arc on top of already being a child veteran (I like to canonize SMP Earth as well because personal preference and it gives me even more room to make Tommy suffer. SMP Earth being canon? God, so much fucking trauma considering how the others treated him, a 15 year old child, like an adult.) Anyway Dream slowly realizes connections with one another are what kept the remaining Immunes alive, and he tries to force his younger self to understand that. Tries, but doesn’t really get far. Up until what everyone else calls The Fight.

Tommy’s always just kind of screwed around in fights as long as there’s only a threat to him. We know he has a tendency to throw if MCC is any indicator. But then they time travel and maybe they spend some time in the past trying to get the situation sorted and the past’s Dream maybe just kinda does something to Tubbo. Doesn’t even have to be big, it just needs to clock as a threat to Immune!Tommy who’s already lost his Tubbo and refuses to let his younger self go through that. So Tommy goes completely ape shit on the younger Dream. Sure, it’s only been two years for this Tommy. He’s probably, like, 18 or 19 at most. Still a child as far as a lot of people are concerned. He shouldn’t be stronger than Dream or Technoblade, and in the few cross group sparing sessions they’ve had he isn’t. He’s stronger than his younger self but no where near these two demi gods of combat. But then Dream suddenly registers as a threat to Tubbo in Immune!Tommy’s eyes and he makes the mistake of mocking Tommy while he’s at it. He knows that immune!Tommy lost his Tubbo and maybe the past Dream is lashing out slightly or trying to get some kind of foothold in Tommy’s psyche. He isn’t doing anything near what immune!Dream has done, but it’s enough to piss Tommy off. So immune!Tommy challenges Dream to a fight and Dream immediately realizes the mistake he’s made when Tommy starts to destroy him. 

Say even Techno’s there for some reason or another and he realizes what’s going down so he tries to calm Tommy down, joining the fight just as Dream is loosing it. The situation quickly turns into the first time Techno’s ever gotten his ass thoroughly kicked by Tommy, leaving everyone spectating baffled (Tommy’s younger self partly included). They’re certain this kid is going on some rampage and none of them can stop him but the moment Dream and Techno are both taken care of (wounded, not killed, the older Tommy is always careful about that. He even throws a splash healing on them with some indifferent kind of disgust that hides the fact he does still care to some extent even hurting as he is.) Tommy immediately just switches focus to outright doting on Tubbo, ignoring any muttered Clingyinnits in favor of ensuring Tubbo is fine. Tubbo is completely find and just as confused, but the point stands and neither Tommy ends up leaving Tubbo’s side for the rest of the day. The younger Tommy, after all, is the only one the older Tommy’s told the full story to regarding the future (even when he couldn’t trust his own family he was always able to trust himself with the secrets that mattered, so he prepares his younger self in case the worst comes to pass.)

The older Dream, immune!Dream, he doesn’t get involved. He sit on the side lines and just kinda laughs, the sound drowned out by Sapnap’s loud encouragements and Sam’s half hearted attempts to get Tommy to stop (he could have stopped Tommy immediately if he’d stepped in. Sam is after all the only person on earth Tommy listens to without hesitation, but Sam lets it happen and pretends he tried.) 

Immune!Dream just kinda smirks at his younger self later that night and mentions something about attachments really making you weak. After all, it’s not like the only time Tommy takes a battle seriously is when someone he cares about is in danger. It’s not like Tommy would turn the world into a seared ball for Tubbo, and Tubbo would do the same in return. It’s not like they’ve watched the people they care about temporarily rebuke the Crimson just to give the Immunes those precious extra seconds needed to survive in a fight. Attachments, they’re just a weakness.

The younger Dream doesn’t know how to respond to that. It’s the first time he thinks about his older self maybe being right.

Before I go I wanna leave you with two more ideas for the Immune AU

First up, Wilbur is eight years older than Tommy give or take. Wilbur had Fundy when he was around 16 and Tommy was around 8. Tommy was the best damn uncle he could be and for a while Tommy and Fundy were really stupidly close. They were both apart of the raised by Wilbur club and Wilbur was trying his damn best. Fundy aged/matured (physically and mentally) faster than a regular person for a while. They believed it was because he was a fox hybrid and Wilbur was ready to lose Fundy too soon. When Fundy was equivalent to 18 in human years though his aging process suddenly slowed to a crawl and his tail split into two, at which point the group realized he was actually a kitsune and it was just those first 8 years that passed by quickly (and Wilbur had a lot of questions for the now missing Sally who he’d thought was a salmon hybrid, genuinely, but became exceedingly less sure.) His family knows he’s a kitsune, but Fundy hid it from most of the rest of the server. A good thing considering later events. 

Fundy was part of the Immune group for a while and I like to imagine that he and Tommy had a falling out during the Pogtopia era but after the egg started to take over they started bonding again and acting like, well, family. Unfortunately when it came time for them to activate the portal, Fundy ended up getting separated from the group and getting caught. The eggpire didn’t actually know Fundy was fully immune or a kitsune so he just kinda pretended to get infected, using his illusions to make his fur look crimson. I personally like the idea that Fundy at some point managed to get back to the time machine and being a little code wizard manages to get the thing working and yeets himself in. He shows up a little late but after fixing his appearance manages to catch up with the rest of the group.

Fundy is underrated. Tommy being a good uncle is underrated. Sam would absolutely adopt the traumatized fox baby in Eret’s honor. What’s not to love?

The last concept I wanna bring up that I really like is hybrid Tommy. Tanuki would be good since it’s another reason for the Sam Nook bit. Maybe Sam specifically picked Sam Nook since Tom Nook was Tommy’s favorite character on the grounds he was the only representation Tommy had ever gotten and it made the kiddo happy. However, I also personally really like phoenix Tommy and it would make an interesting plot point. Tommy accidentally losing his third life at some point and realizing he’s an immortal creature of fire would have led to him taking a protector role for his new family. He can’t die, but he can burn anything around him, why not send him out to get supplies when the worst the eggpire could do would be capture him. Even then he just literally cannot hear the egg. Which could lead to both some interesting comedic moments and some really good angst if Sam agonizes over his desire to protect Tommy and let him be a child suddenly being at odds with the fact Tommy is literally the best person for the job so to speak. Not to mention Sapnap, who I headcanon as a Blaze hybrid, would be even more attached the moment he found a new fire proof friend to burn forests with him. Regardless of which hybrid type he is, I could see him hiding it from everyone except for Fundy when he was a child and only ever admitting it later to the other Immunes once they become a found family.

Personally I like the idea of Tommy being part tanuki hybrid and part phoenix hybrid, but is that too mary sue? Is it just a little bit too cheesy to have him be both? I will never not try to incorporate phoenix Tommy into my fics but also tanuki Tommy would be such a mood for this au.

Like image Tommy just builds a den that’s in reality a vault/panic room a la Techno and he hides it under Church Prime since that is The Safe Spot in Tommy’s mind.

~Snapdragon & Firefly

[dehydratedpool]

hello again!! it’s the beginning of a new month, meaning a new fic rec post!! here are some fics that i read this month that are just... exquisite and deserve all the love and attention <3 

there aren’t as many as last time unfortunately, since i was quite busy this past month, but i promise next month won’t fall short! ((fics that i’ve reread this month are indicated with a **))

Foolishly Laying Our Hearts On The Table [11k] by runaway_train @runaway-train-works 

“You think Harry wants that?”

“Dunno. Maybe. Wanna make him happy.” Harry takes advantage of the red light he’s pulled up to turn and look properly at Louis’ face. He’s not even looking in Harry’s direction though, focused instead on something out of his side window, head drooped, mindlessly playing with the string of his hoodie between his fingers, lost in his own world somewhere. For some reason, it makes Harry’s spine straighten.

“Because he’s your best mate?” Harry questions carefully.

“He’s my boyfriend.”

He couldn’t have heard him right. “What?”

Louis releases a deep breath, still not turning around. Harry wonders who he thinks he’s talking to right now. “He’s so pretty. Want to kiss him all day long. And buy him a big house and give him presents and marry him.”

Or; The one where Harry is in love with his best friend Louis but doesn't think he stands a chance until some wisdom teeth and a rather unusual confession might just change his mind.

--> this is a new comfort fic for me tbh. i got rec’d this after louis tweeted about getting his wisdom teeth removed, and i’m so SO glad i decided to give it a read. it’s so precious and lovely and personally, i found it to be a quick read. it’s the kind of fic that makes me both warm and fuzzy inside but also highly upset that i’m single and will surely be alone forever

Just Let Me [14k] by HelloAmHere 

The party was going well. So well, Niall had already sworn undying love to one multi-tiered chocolate cake, two friendly corgi-poodle mixes, Zayn’s hair, and the entire population of Los Angeles. So well, Zayn had only laughed and ruffled Niall’s hair and not even twitched towards a cigarette. So well, nearly everyone had spilled far past the boundaries of the night’s original plans, extracting bottles of vodka from the cabinets and losing a lot of clothes. Harry had proclaimed that he was finally going to throw a small and very grownup dinner party and of course here they were three hours later, fifty people half-naked in the pool. Soon to be full-naked, if Louis had to guess. Everybody in LA loved a heated pool. Everybody loved Harry.

--> ok LISTEN. as some of you know, i just recently got into reading a/b/o fics and this one is definitely at the top of my fave a/b/o fics out there. it’s an interesting take on the trope, almost a bit more realistic in my opinion, and to quote the author’s note, “’what if a/b/o but less biological determinism?’”. i believe i found this one through a masterpost of “touch-deprivation fics”, so if that’s your thing, give this one a chance!

my ugly mouth kept running [4k] by theankletattoo @hadestyles

Another seed, another try except they know what caused the first wilt. They will be careful, they will be kind and together they will nurture it to life.

sometimes second chances are more important than the first.

--> rori, the author, never fails to disappoint when it comes to all of her works. i’ve said it once and i’ll say it again, she’s so incredibly fucking talented it’s unreal. her imagery is so vivid and real it leaves simultaneously everything and nothing to the imagination. as usual, h and l’s dynamic in this is an addicting portion to this fic that has you anticipating how their dynamic will shift and grow up until the end. if you’ve yet to read any of rori’s work, i suggest you add that to your to-do list for the month, and get a head start to her collection with this one!

**As Wicked As Anything Could Be [21k] by whoknows @crazyupsetter

It starts when Louis decides that he wants to lose his cherry and announces that he thinks the best way to do that is by going to a gay club. Naturally, Harry can’t let him go alone, so he tags along and spends the night rating guys with Louis until someone finally catches Louis’s eye.

Harry shoves him out to dance with the guy, and he can already tell that it’s going to be a quick and dirty hook up, so he’s not surprised that Louis and the guy disappear into the bathroom ten minutes later.

It is a surprise when Louis comes out not even two minutes later, pale and clammy, grabs Harry by the hand and drags him right out the door.

Somehow Harry comes to the decision that it would be a good idea for him to be in the room with Louis while Louis gets laid.

It’s a stupid fucking decision.

--> i discovered this fic a while ago on a whim and i have zero regrets. this is absolutely on my top ten fave fics list (that has yet to exist but perhaps i’ll post it one day). whoknows is a well known author within the fandom, so i’m sure i don’t have to say much about their immense talent, but SERIOUSLY, their plot progression, even their use of dialogue is wonderful in every way. as a writer, i envy them lmao. this fic takes me on a rollercoaster every time i read it, it’s yet another comfort fic of mine and never fails to disappoint every time i pick it up again. please, do yourselves a favor this april and read this.

Keeping The Flame Alive [19k] by whoknows @crazyupsetter 

Recording with One Direction never felt like this. There’s a couple reasons for that, Harry thinks. One is that they did most of their recording on the road, rushed and in busses and hotel rooms, never in one place long enough to really get an argument going. The other, larger and more important one, is that back then he had the sweetest, meanest little omega around to distract him from all of that frustration.

The first time around, when he’d been recording his debut solo album, it hit him pretty hard. He likes to think he’s better adjusted to it now, but frustration is warring under his skin nonetheless. He doesn’t want to be told what to do most of the time, and he especially doesn’t want to be told what to do when it comes to his music.

What he does want right now is that sweet, mean little omega right in front of him with his mouth on Harry’s cock. Unfortunately, the best he’s got is his own hand and a shared toilet. So. That’s really not going to work.

--> yes, for the first time in dehydratedpoolfics history of fic recs even tho i’ve only been doing this for a month i am rec’ing the same author twice, but seriously, how could i not??? this fic took me on a literal journey like... wtf. i have no words. seriously, i have none, i’m just that blown away, go read it for yourself .

**a trail of honey through it all [27k] by bruisedhoney @yvesaintlourent 

The boy in front of him, well really, the man in front of him, was like something out of a confusing wet dream. Built, tall, tan and muscular, his skin glistened with sweat after a long day of working outdoors with his hands. He was wearing a cut up old American football shirt, the bottom hem was torn and the sleeves were cut off to the point where the t-shirt was really just a loose tank top. The shorts he had on had clearly been full length jeans at one point, and were now just crudely cut off above the knee. His white socks were pulled up too high on his calves, and the brown work boots he had on were old as fuck, the leather peeling along the edges of the soles. Curly brown hair stuck out from the edges of his backwards snapback, and there was a smudge of grease wiped along his brow bone. The smattering of hair along his jaw proved that he hadn’t shaved in a week or two, the hair growing in thicker across his upper lip and around his chin. His sinfully bowed mouth was pink and plump, and Louis was suddenly hyper-focused on the way that he chewed at the toothpick stuck between his lips. He looked like he needed a shower. Louis wanted to lick him.

Or, the TPH fic we’ve all been waiting for.

--> okay look. i may or may not have a slight obsession with this fic. i reread it constantly, mostly for the iconic line, “are we fuckin’ or fightin’?”, because how can i not scream over that?? ((also patiently waiting for the sequel)) this is a literary masterpiece, one that defines an entire generation of this fandom i stg. but in all seriousness, hayley, the author, does such a wonderful job of giving the reader a vivid look into “nowhere, georgia”, and as a southern gal myself, i absolutely adore the itty bitty pieces of southern culture embedded into this, the tiny quirks that make this fic authentic. i could probably go on forever on why this fic is so iconic, but perhaps you should read it for yourself instead *wink* *wink*

SO. that’s all for this month!! if you read any of these, first of all, be sure to read the tags and author’s note (if any) before starting, AND please don’t forget to leave a quick kudos or comment, it means more than you may ever know <3

[erule]

Sounds of Someday

Title: Sounds of Someday

Pairing: Dean x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 6700ish

Warnings: age gap (the reader is 21, while Dean is 26), mention of self-sabotage, mention of a mother abandoning her child, slight smut, angst, romance, friends to lovers, professor!Dean, plot twists, betrayal from a father figure, breakup, language, happy ending.

Summary: Dean and the reader have always been good friends, even since their fathers made them play together when they were kids. After loving Dean for six years, she thought she had forgotten about him, but when they see each other again at her house, she realizes that she’s still in love with him. But maybe even Dean seems to feel something for her this time. The problem? She’s about to graduate from uni and her father wants her to leave for London. What will she do? Will Dean be willing to let her go now that he has found her again?

A/N: Hello hello! This fic participates to Jen’s Make Me Cry Challenge. Thank you Jen for the opportunity and congrats again for your goal! I chose prompt #7, We were never friends, that you can find marked in bold inside the story. I had so much fun writing it! This story means so much to me, I really put my heart into it, so I hope you like it.  

I suggest you to listen to Sounds of Someday by Radio Company (fic’s title comes from there), 21 by Gracie Abrams (the whole idea of the story comes from here) and Empty Spaceby James Arthur while reading, if you want.

If you wanna be tagged in my Dean Winchester fics, just let me know in my ask box! You can also find me on AO3 and Wattpad. Feedback is always appreciated by a writer! Enjoy!

Tags: @akshi8278 @jawritter​  

Story under the cut!

«So, it was all a lie, uh?» she asked, holding back the tears.

Dean clenched his jaw, shaking his head.

«No, of course not. It was all true and we were real, Y/N. It’s just that we can’t do this anymore.»

«You’re breaking up with me after you said you loved me, in a very emotionless way and I should believe that…? Listen Dean, I’m not buying it. Did my Dad forced you to do this?» she asked, coming closer to him. Dean swallowed, without looking at her. She said he wasn’t feeling anything, but she was wrong. He felt something. He felt his whole body burning up just because of her breath near him, but he coudn’t say it. «You can’t even look at me in the eye… You’re gonna regret it, Dean. You’re not coming back from this.»

«Good, because I don’t want to» he replied, with his best poker face. He really seemed cruel. He had to.

She bit her bottom lip.

«I hope you’re satisfied with this ending. I’m certainly not.»

«Endings are never easy. I’m sorry, kiddo.»

«I hate when you call me like that, now» she said, her throat dry as the desert. He used to call her like that when she was younger. It was like he cared about her, but making a distance between them at the same time. Dean looked at his bare feet, feeling so guilty. «You used to call me like that, when we were just friends.»

«But that’s the matter, Y/N: we were never friends» he said, trying to hurt her even more.

«Well, fuck you, Dean!» she yelled, angrily.

«I’m sorry, ba… Y/N.»

«Fuck you, Dean» she repeated, then she surpassed him to get to the door.

***

«Hey Y/N, come downstairs! The Winchesters are here!» said her father.

«I’m coming!»

That was the day of their ruin.

She hadn’t seen Dean in a year and now he looked stunning. He had always been handsome, but now, that guy, who had just turned twenty-six, seemed better than ever. He was breathtaking.

She sighed on the stairs, then she went downstairs to welcome Dean, his brother, Sam and his father, John. Her father, Jay, had always been a good friend of John, so Sam and Dean were always at her house to play when they were kids. Then, Dean was always coming around because he constantly asked her father what he had to do to become a teacher and now he had finally become a professor at her university. She was twenty-one and she was about to graduate. Jay wanted her to go to London to find a job, but she wasn’t sure about that, because her dream was heading to Chicago.

«Y/N, are you okay?» Jay asked her.

«Yes, of course! I was just thinking, sorry. Hi, everybody» she said, politely.

Dean immediately offered her his hand to shake.

«Hey, Y/N. You look really beautiful, tonight» he said. Y/N blushed and her father noticed that.

«Are you hitting on my daughter, Dean?» joked Jay.

«I always am» Dean replied, with a wink.

Everybody laughed at that, but Y/N doubted about his answer for a moment. Dean wasn’t someone who talked like that about any girl, not about her anyway, for sure. But that thought was erased instantly: he wasn’t interested in her. She wasn’t attractive, he said that some years before that day with a very simple sentence: “You’re like a sister to me. The little sister I never wanted”. Yeah, that pretty sure cancelled all of her thoughts.

After the dinner, she went to the garden to breathe some air. She sat down on the little swing they still had from her childhood, a cold beer in her hands and the eyes full of the stars she was looking at.

Later, she surprised Dean on the door, staring at her. He made her heart beat faster than ever, like the last time she saw him. That was bad, very bad. She had healed from her crush on him a long time ago, she hadn’t to fall for him all over again. It was just painful. Too much painful.

«Hi» he said, his voice even lower than she remembered.

«Hey» she said, offering him her beer. «You want some?»

«Why not?»

So, he sat on the other swing. They just seemed two children too grown up for that game.

«How’s uni goin’? I didn’t have the chance to see you after class. It was weird to see you there, even if I was just an assistant of your professor» he said. Y/N chuckled.

«It’s going well. I just need to pass my last exam and then I’ll be free!» she exclaimed, opening her arms as they were a bird’s wings. He laughed. «I think you were very serious, Winchester.»

«Was I?»

«Yes» she answered. Dean was looking at the beer, nodding. «You’re understimating yourself as always, aren’t you?»

«You know me better than anyone else» he said and then drank a sip from his beer.

“And even despite that, I loved you anyway”, she thought.

«You’ve worked so hard for that, Dean. Don’t let anyone take it away from you. You hear me?» she said, pointing a finger at him. Dean smiled.

«Yes’, m’am.»

«Good» she said, chuckling. «I’m your number one fan» she added, then she grabbed the beer from his hands to take another sip because being around him made her nervous, but drinking just made the situation worse. «In fact, I had a pretty bad crush on you when I was younger.»

Dean’s eyes seemed to turn dark, but maybe it was just a wrong impression.

«This is getting interesting» he said, with a grin.

«You didn’t notice it? No? Well, when I was in high school I was head over heels for you. I couldn’t think about anyone else, even if when I dated some other guy. They just… weren’t you.»

«Why didn’t you tell me?» he asked, watching her finishing the beer.

«Because you always took home some very pretty girls and I always thought that I wasn’t enough for you.»

«Who’s understimating herself, now?» Dean said and she laughed.

«Touché.»

Then, Dean took the bottle away from her hands, touching her fingers. He was warm, unlike the weather. She turned to look at Dean, while her arms were now freezing. His gaze was slowly coming down from her eyes to her lips. Her heart was racing in her chest, not letting her breathing properly. He had never looked at her like that. What had changed?

«Here, take my jacket» he said out of the blue, offering her it. «Your nose is red like Rudolph’s.»

She was about to get the jacket with trembling hands, when the voice of her father arrived from the door.

«Y/N! Dean! What are you doing there? Come inside!»

His jacked fell on the grass. Y/N stretched an arm in order to get it, but Dean’s hand was faster. He gave it to her, staring at her figure. She was about to burst into flames.

«Your hands were shaking. Why?» he asked and it was like he was closer to her, because she could feel his scent on herself, the smell of leather and mint.

«You just said that yourself: I’m cold» she lied.

«Or was it because I was too close to you?»

She raised her gaze in order to look at him. His eyes were dark like two black holes.

«Y/N!» Jay called. «Get inside! Now!»

Fortunately, that woke her up. She got up from the swing and came in the house. John and Sam were about to leave, that’s why they were saying goodbye to Jay.

«Is that Dean’s jacket?» Sam asked her, with a grin.

«Y-yes.»

«Hey, whatever you’re doing here, stop it» John said to Dean, when he came inside.

«I’m not doing anything. She was just cold» Dean said, with a shrug. She gave him an eloquent look. He didn’t know that they could play that game together.

Dean winked at her.

«You can keep the jacket, if you want.»

«Nah, I don’t need something to remind me of your cockiness» she said. Sam laughed. Dean nodded, admitting the defeat to himself. «But thanks, though. I was really freezing out there.»

«You’re such a liar, Y/N» Dean murmured at her ear, while she was returning his jacket to him.

«Alright, alright, stop it, kids» Jay said. «Dean, I’ll see you tomorrow at work. John, Sam, we’ll see each other another time. Drive safely.»

«Thank you, Jay» John said.

And then, they were gone. Y/N helped her father to clean up the kitchen, smelling a strange scent nearby her. He was unusually quiet, but she didn’t want to hear something about London or Dean again. She just wanted to go to bed, feeling pretty satisfied about that evening. She didn’t know why, but Jay seemed to understand it and in fact, he didn’t shoot any question.

She got to bed feeling the scent of Dean still on herself.

***

«We can’t study like this» Olivia said, putting the books aside. «What’s bothering you? London again?»

«Oh, believe me, I wish!»

«Is there something more important than London?»

«Well… do you remember that guy I liked back in high school?»

«Who? That idiot that made you feel like you weren’t enough?» Olivia asked and Y/N nodded. «You’re joking, right?»

«I saw him the other night and I think that he was hitting on me.»

«This can’t be real!» she shouted.

«Please, be quiet» Y/N begged her.

«What was his name? Daniel? Dave?»

«Dean.»

«Dean! Yeah, I remember what you told me about him. He was an ass.»

«Nah, he was just stupid. Now he’s not like that anymore» Y/N said, putting her chin on a hand. A part of her was still thinking about his beautiful green eyes and his hands touching hers.

«Hey! You have to pass this exam, remember?» Olivia said.

«Yes, right. Get back to study.»

Olivia agreed with a smile. She was reading the book again, legs crossed on Y/N’s bed, but Y/N couldn’t. Yeah, London was important, but on the other hand, Dean was her first love. She couldn’t think to leave without knowing if he was just playing with her or not. His eyes were insanely dark the other night, when he was looking at her. Was he just glad that another woman had a crush on him or did it mean something to him? And also, why now? She had so many thoughts in her mind. Then, she noticed that Olivia was staring at her. She was wondering was Y/N was thinking and when she got it, her eyes just popped out like she was a puppet.

«Oh, fuck Dean Winchester!»

Someone opened the door. Y/N almost fell from the bed when she saw who had done that. She prayed that he didn’t hear Olivia.

«Was that an insult or an invitation?» Dean asked, his shoulder lying on the door’s jamb. «I’d prefer the second one» he said with a wink in Y/N’s direction.

Of course, he had to hear that, she thought.

«What are you doing here, Dean?» Y/N asked.

«I was working with your Dad. He wanted me to ask you if you girls would like to take a break from studying and come downstairs» he answered. Olivia kept looking at him like he was the Devil, though. «Do we know each other?» Dean asked, but she shaked her head.

«Not really.»

«It’s definitely time to take a break!» Y/N exclaimed.

Olivia went downstairs, but Dean stopped Y/N from doing that. He closed the door behind himself, scaring her. Why would he do that? It was like they were in some cheap rom-com. That was getting worse.

«Look Y/N, I want to apologize about the other night» he said. Oh, she didn’t see it coming. «I’m not that kind of guy anymore and I just want you to know that. It’s just that… this job is everything I have ever wanted and I’m so scared of screwing things up, that it’s like I’m doing that on purpose because I think I don’t really deserve it, so I try in every way possible to screw up my life too to prove it. I don’t want to ruin our friendship. I appreciate what you told me and for that, I promise I won’t use it your weaknesses against you.»

Y/N was overwhelmed by all of that. It seemed like Dean had really became a very mature version of himself and she was really glad he did. Unfortunately, it also made him even more likeable to her.

«Thanks, Dean» she said.

«No problem» he replied with a smile.

And that, that was the moment she knew she fell in love with him all over again. The very start of her downfall.

Two weeks later, she had successfully passed her exam. It was snowing, so she decided to go to a pub near the university with her friends to celebrate. It was Friday night, after all. Olivia came with a gift from her, since she was heading to London and it was a new coat.

«It’s red, but don’t be naive like Little Red Riding Hood» she said, but Y/N didn’t understand what she meant until she didn’t see someone entering from the door. Someone who noticed her and that now was approaching their table.

«Hi! How did your exam go?» Dean asked. Olivia rolled her eyes.

«Well, I just passed it, so I’d say not bad» Y/N answered, happily.

«I knew it! Come here» he said, before he could give her a proper hug. Every inch of her body just burned up.

«Thanks, Dean» she said with a soft smile. She’d have sweared she saw Dean’s eyes shine.

«I’ll leave you to your friends» he said.

She looked at Olivia, who was already shaking her head, but she wanted him to stay really bad, so in the end, after she bit her bottom lip, she called him.

«Dean! Hey, if you’re not busy with your friends, maybe you could… you know… stay.»

Dean smiled and he felt her heart doing a flip.

«Unfortunately I’m here with other professors, but I’ll come around later, is that okay?»

She nodded.

«Yes» she said, lying to him.

Then, the hours passed very quickly. She spent the evening laughing and joking with her friends, but she couldn’t deny that she often glanced at Dean. The thought of being there wih him but far away, killed her from within. It was as if a rib was missing from her body, a limb of her skin that now belonged to him. It belonged to him since she was fifteen, actually.

The pub was about to close. Oliva was very drunk, so she got home with a friend, while the others went away. Maybe it was a dumb idea, but she stayed because of Dean’s promise. Ten minutes later, while she was sitting at the table all alone, someone offered her a beer.

«Hey, I’m here finally» Dean said, taking a seat in front of her.

«Hi» she replied with a tired smile.

Dean wetted his lips before talking.

«I saw your friends leaving and I was wondering… why did you stay here, all alone?» he asked.

Her heart started racing faster and faster in her chest. Did she want him so bad to ruin everything between them? Dean was someone who noticed things so he probably did understand the situation very well. Also, his bad jokes that night at her’s still made her think that maybe he liked her too. Maybe not as much as her, but it was still something. But was it right to settle with someone who didn’t want her completely? Because she wanted Dean in every aspect a human being could be wanted.

«Where’s the catch? Because you said that you didn’t want to use my feelings against me» she said.

Dean clenched his jaw, looking at his hands crossed on the table. He still had the silver ring of his mother. Then, he slowly looked at her, raising his eyelids, so seriously she could swear it was maybe the first time she saw him that way.

«No catch. I just wanna know. You’re free to tell me a lie and I’ll believe it. But please, if you stayed here because you were waiting for me, I’d really love to hear it.»

Her throat was dry.

«Why?»

«Because no one ever did something like this for me. And I know that it probably seem stupid, but it shows me that you care» he answered, with a soft smile on his lips. «So, I’m gonna ask you for the last time, before they kick us out, why did you stay here?»

She swallowed, looking straight into his eyes. They were incredibly green. Constellations of flowers. It was now or never. Her voice was like a winter’s breath, when she spoke.

«For you.»

Then, she couldn’t remember how they arrived to Dean’s apartment, but she remembered very well how his clothes fell on the floor or the way he delicately throw her dress off of her. It was all slowed like in a movie. It almost seemed a dream to her.  

«I’m not doing this, if you don’t want me to» Dean said, his thumb brushing her lips.  

«I want you, Dean. I’ve always wanted you. Always» Y/N said and then, Dean kissed her so hard, they crumbled on the bed.

She felt the coldness of his ring on her back, while his fingertips were caressing it. Their lips found each other and a spark was born, fuse of the Apocalypse. She felt like collapsing, cut into two parts, completely folded as a blooming flower.

He completed them. Every single empty space. He filled them all.

«Could you repeat it, please? Always.»

She smiled on his lips.

«Always» she whispered, between the kisses. «Always.»

And she kept repeating it all night.

***

She looked at him like he wasn’t supposed to be there, but she was glad he was. It was her graduation day. They’ve been together for three months, without their fathers knowing it, but Sam and Olivia were well aware of that. Never in a million years she would have thought to see that day. To actually see Dean there, standing between her father and Sam, clapping at her with a smile so bright on his face, she could swear it could cure every disease. It was so pure, but mostly, happy and it was all for her. She held back the tears, but it was, without a doubt, the most important day of her life. The most beautiful one. Maybe having faith did help at something.

She got back to Jay, who hugged her tight and said something like My baby has graduated now in a very proud tone of voice. She also hugged John and Sam, before she could finally look at Dean.

«You did it» he said.

«I did it» she repeated, blushing, even if she didn’t know why. He had that influence on her.

«I knew you would have made it» he said and then, he did something she wouldn’t thought he would have done. He kissed her.

It was like her whole world fell apart. He cupped her cheeks and gave her a gentle kiss on her lips. She felt her whole chest burning because of that, her skin collapsing between his hands.

When they parted, she saw the light in his eyes and bit her bottom lip. It was an authentic moment of pure joy. The emotion in his gaze was real. He was real. It was like the universe had accepted every desire she wished for, every year for six years. He meant it. And he was there to see her succeed.

Thank you, her lips mimed.

But his answer surprised her once again: I love you.

She didn’t even have the time to elaborate his words, that her father spoke: «What just happened?»

She felt it. That was the moment he was about to tear Dean away from her. The moment she didn’t want to come. The moment everything fell apart like a castle made of sand. She felt the coldness in her bones, like a warning.

«Jay, please…» John tried to say, but Jay stopped him with the sign of his hand.

«You’re not getting away with this, Dean» Jay said and Dean just shrugged, like it was normal to him.

«I don’t understand, Jay. Did I offend you in any way?» he asked, calmly.

«We’ll talk later.»

And then, she understood. He kissed her on purpose becase it was a public place, so Jay couldn’t say anything because of his reputation, but now he knew about them. Clever, very clever.

After the ceremony, Dean took her hand and they just hid behind the stage. He kissed her, his hands everywhere and nowhere along her dress, that ascended her legs, her stomach, her waist.

«You think you’re smart, Winchester?» she asked, while he was sucking the skin of her neck.

«I think I’m utterly smart, as a matter of fact» he said, looking at her with messy hair and dark eyes.

God, he was so beautiful in that moment.

She laughed. A laugh so clear and free that made Dean smile like a child. It was so unreal.

«He’s gonna kill you, you know that?»

«I already spent three months of Heaven with you, who cares?»

«Heaven? Damn, I have to be a wild fire in bed.»

«Oh, trust me baby, you are» he said and she laughed again.

«Come on now, Sam and your friends are waiting for us. We’re gonna get so drunk tonight, you’re not gonna even remember your own name!» he said with an excited voice, kissing her hand.

«But I’ll certainly still remember you» she replied, with two images of Dean in her eyes like two comets. He gave her a delicate kiss on her lips.

«You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me, Y/N.»

The next day, Dean got up in a strange room. He wasn’t in his apartment for sure. It looked very different. He looked at his watch: 11 AM. What did he do last night? And then, when he turned, he saw the answer: the girl of his dreams was sleeping next to him. He caressed her hair, left a kiss on her temple and then put on his clothes.

When he got downstairs, he immediately met her father in the kitchen. He saw Dean while he was drinking a cup of coffee.

«’Morning, Jay» he said.

Jay groaned in his direction. He was surely still angry at him. He wanted to talk to him, but he had a terrible headache due to the hungover, so he wasn’t at his best. He sat down at the table, thinking about his next move, when Jay gave him a cup of coffee and an Aspirine.

«I talk, you take this» he started. «Look Dean, we’ve been knowing for years by now and we’re also colleagues, so I think I can say that I know you pretty well. You’re a very good guy, but you’re also a hard person to love. You’re scared of being left behind and for that, I suggest you to use this fear of yours to break up with my daughter.»

Dean almost spilled his tea on Jay.

«What?»

«You heard me. You’re gonna hurt her sooner or later, I know what you do. You think you can take advantage of her, just because she’s been in love with you since she was fifteen?» he asked. Dean looked confused: how did he find that out? Did Y/N tell him? «I’m a single father of a girl, Dean. I had to learn a lot of things. I noticed the way he looked at you. Hell, she still looks at you like that!» he exclaimed. Dean felt flattered about that, but he was still scared of what Jay just said. «I want you to break up with her. Just what you usually do, I think you’re pretty good at that by now.»

And that hurt. Jay was like a second father to him, a friend in some way, a role model and now he was just destroying their relationship. It was too much to handle.

«Jay, I know you’re just trying to protect her, but we’re adults now and…»

«She’s only twenty-one, Dean! She doesn’t even know what life is. She had to understand that hard work pays, that’s why she has to go to London. Life’s not a fairy tale.»

«I get it, but why London? I mean, she could look for some job here or…» Dean tried to argue, but Jay’s glance explained it all to him. And it was heartbreaking. «London was her best chance to forget me, wasn’t it? Your plan has always been this: sending her as far away as possible from me. You helped me to get the job at your university so you could make sure that I couldn’t leave it to follow her» he said. His back slipped along the chair, his throat dry. «You never admired me. It was all a lie.»

«No Dean, don’t get me wrong: I’ve always put my faith on you, because I knew that you were capable of doing great things, but you’re not the perfect fit for my daughter. It’s just as simple as that.»

«You came up with a fucking plan to take her away from me and now you’re even playing the martyr here?» Dean shouted, getting up from the seat. «You’re a monster, Jay. You don’t love your daughter, if you don’t let her decide what she wants from life. And for the record, I’ve changed. I’m not that fuckboy anymore. But maybe you were too busy thinking about your stupid plan to realize that» Dean said and then he got out from the house.

He was furious with Jay. He had always put nothing but trust in that man, confessing him every fear, every thought, every memory and now he just betrayed him like that. He wanted to punch a wall so bad, in that moment. But the worst thing he couldn’t believe he was thinking was that despite all of that, Jay knew that he would have done that.

And he knew that too.

He had avoided her for two days. Olivia had already told her that he was back to his old habits, but she didn’t believe it. Dean had grown. He was not the same guy of some years ago, he was trustworthy and reliable now. A lot people just kept seeing him as someone who wasn’t serious just because that was they wanted to see.

Then, he called.

«Y/N?»

«Hey, Dean.»

«Can we meet, please? I have to tell you something.»

She swallowed.

«Yes, of course. Where?»

«At mine’s. Twenty minutes.»

«Okay. Dean, are you alright?»

«See you later, Y/N.»

He was definitely not fine.

Anyway, she got there twenty minutes later. He opened the door, never even glanced at her and made her enter. He looked terrible, like he didn’t sleep at all for two days. He had dark circles under his eyes and he looked very pale. He had some grey sweatpants on and a white t-shirt. It was like turning back time and seeing him when he was studying for the last year of high school. He seemed so lost back then and he seemed so lost now too. It was heartbreaking.

«Dean?»

«Y/N, this could be the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do» he began, running a hand through his hair.

«If that’s because I didn’t say it back, you don’t have to…»

«What?» he asked. He seemed so confused. «No, it’s not that.»

«Then what happened, Dean?» she asked, getting closer to him, but he made a step back.

«Please, don’t. Just… don’t» he said. It was like a weight was expanding in his chest. «Y/N, we have to break up» he said, raising his eyelids to look at her in a way that had always made her heart do a flip. But now, it was just tragically painful.

«What? Why?»

«Because you’re going to London now and I don’t do long-distance relationships.»

She made a noise of disbelief.

«You’re joking, right? Please, tell me that you’re joking. This is so stupid.»

«Look, I’ve been abandonded by my Mom when I was a child and you know that. I just don’t want you to leave me too. And London it’s your best chance for a brighter future.»

«You’re what, Freud, now?» she asked, incredulous. It was all ridiculous.

«Just respect my decision, okay? You’ll find someone better than me, I promise» he said, but he could barely look at her while he was doing that. It costed him an enormous amount of strength to say those words.

She sighed, defeated within her bones.

«So, it was all a lie, uh?» she asked, holding back the tears.

Dean clenched his jaw, shaking his head.

«No, of course not. It was all true and we were real, Y/N. It’s just that we can’t do this anymore.»

«You’re breaking up with me after you said you loved me, in a very emotionless way and I should believe that…? Listen Dean, I’m not buying it. Did my Dad forced you to do this?» she asked, coming closer to him. Dean swallowed, without looking at her. She said he wasn’t feeling anything, but she was wrong. He felt something. He felt his whole body burning up just because of her breath near him, but he coudn’t say it. «You can’t even look at me in the eye… You’re gonna regret it, Dean. You’re not coming back from this.»

«Good, because I don’t want to» he replied, with his best poker face. He really seemed cruel. He had to.

She bit her bottom lip.

«I hope you’re satisfied with this ending. I’m certainly not.»

«Endings are never easy. I’m sorry, kiddo.»

«I hate when you call me like that, now» she said, her throat dry as the desert. He used to call her like that when she was younger. It was like he cared about her, but making a distance between them at the same time. Dean looked at his bare feet, feeling so guilty. «You used to call me like that, when we were just friends.»

«But that’s the matter, Y/N: we were never friends» he said, trying to hurt her even more.

«Well, fuck you, Dean!» she yelled, angrily.

«I’m sorry, ba… Y/N.»

«Fuck you, Dean» she repeated, then she surpassed him to get to the door, but she stopped halfway through it. She bit her bottom lip, then she turned to look at him, who was confused. «You know what, Dean? Fuck you, because you think I don’t know. I heard you shouting the other day, I can only imagine what my father said to you» she said. Dean’s eyes grew wide at that realization. It hit him right in the ribs. «You’ve always understimated yourself, but I did too. Now I know that we were wrong. I remember when you brought me home one night, after the school’s dance. I looked at your face, half soaked in light and you know, you had these crystal green eyes that made me think about a lighthouse, because it helps ships come back to the shore and I thought... I thought they could bring me back home. You’ve always been my home» she said, with tears in her eyes.

Dean felt a lump in his throat, that maybe him unable to talk.

«Please, don’t do this» he begged her.

«Look Dean, I’ve been in love with you for six years now. I blamed it on the alcohol, but since we’re two adults, let’s be honest here: I wanted to say it to you. I wanted you to know that. I hid that for a long time, I was capable of keep going with it, but I didn’t. But since I’m an adult, I also know that life’s not a fairy tale, so when it seemed that you liked me too, I just took the chance. It could have lasted a day or a year, I just wanted that. You. Us. I wanted all of it. I fell in love with you every fucking day for the past six years and despite your bad behaviour sometimes, I still loved you. Or maybe I did because of that, I don’t know. So please, respect my heart and tell me right now, right now Dean, if you’ve ever felt something for me, because I think you owe me this, at least. It’s alright even if you didn’t, but tell me the truth. I think that after everything we’ve been trough, I deserve it. I’m asking you for just one thing.»

Dean looked like he was about to fall apart. His eyes were glossy and red at the corners.

«Repeat the question, please.»

It reminded her of the night at the pub. She nodded, swallowing.

«Did you feel something for me?»

And then, Dean answered something she couldn’t see it coming in six years.

«I did» he said. And then, with his eyes full of tears, he added: «I do.»

She let slip a sob out of her throat.

«Then why are you doing this? Don’t listen to my father and stay with me» she said, caressing his cheek. Dean closed his eyes, leaning into her touch.

«Because I think you should go to London anyway. It’s your best chance. I dont deserve you. I never did. It was just a pretty good fantasy I wanted to believe in.»

She took a step back. His cheek suddenly seemed too cold.

«This is not about you Dean, it’s about me! It’s about the fact that I want you and trust me, besides the graduation, I’ve never wanted anything so bad in my entire life like I want you right now» she said. That word had always been a very strong word for her and now Dean did too. «You were the love of my life when I was young. You still are» she whispered, right before her voice cracked up.

Dean sighed, defeated into his bones.

«I’m sorry, Y/N. I don’t know what else to say.»

And then, she walked away. Dean closed his eyes, feeling like he couldn’t breathe. He had to let her go. She had to go to London, to go away from there. She wasn’t supposed to stay. He just had to accept that. Her father was right: she deserved the world and he was just stopping her from having it.

But she was right about one thing: he was gonna regret it. For the rest of his life.

***

«Are you ready for London?» Olivia asked on FaceTime, smiling. She shrugged. «Y/N, please, stop thinking about Dean. He just made you waste plenty of time. You’re gonna forget about him, you’ll see.»

«Just be honest, Olivia: you never liked him» she said, annoyed.

Olivia sighed.

«I liked him, Y/N. » she confessed, surprisingly. «That’s why I wanted you to never have something with him. Because I knew that he would have anchored you here and you don’t belong to Lebanon. You have the skills to do anything you want. Don’t make a man or anybody, stop you.»

«You knew he liked me?»

«I knew he was head over heels for you the moment he leaned an eye on you the first time I’ve met him» Olivia said.

She held back the tears.

«Thanks, Olivia.»

«You’re welcome. Now pack your things. Tomorrow’s almost here!»

But is that a good day without Dean by her side?

She had just left. He saw her going to the airport on a Taxi. The last time he had seen her had been awful, but this one? This was way worse. Because he didn’t get to actually see her. He just knew it was her in that car, slipping away from his fingers.

«Dean?» Jay called, on the threshold of the door.

«I’m here to talk to you» Dean said, firmly.

Jay let him in, wondering what he could possibily wanted now. He seemed so sure of himself, like he had never been. Maybe he really grew up, somehow. And he didn’t even notice.

«What do you want from me, Dean?»

«You know, I never really got the chance to thank you, Jay. I mean, you helped me get into college, become a professor, make me a father when John wasn’t there… I’m really grateful for that. And you know, I broke up with your daughter as you asked me to, even if I hated every second of what I did. But didn’t give me a chance to explain myself or maybe I just wouldn’t take it, because I was too busy thinking that I wasn’t enough. I did it for almost all of my life, you know that and you never told me that it was bullshit. You know who did? Your daughter» Dean said. Jay clenched his jaw. «So, since I’ve figured out I’m better than the fuckboy you get to know, thanks to her too, I just want to say to you that I’m in love with her and I would have done anything to make her happy, anything» Dean said, with a lump in his throat. It took him a lot to actually say those words out loud. But he was glad he finally did. «She’s the only one. She’s the one for me, Jay. I love her and even if I’m terrified about this, I want to be with her. I just want to be around her until I can and until she’ll let me to. Please, don’t take this away from me. Please» he begged him.

Jay put a hand on his shoulder, nodding.

«I appreciate your words son, I really do, but I can’t let you stop her. I’m sorry.»

Dean took a step back, disappointed.

«No, you’re not.» Dean said, with disgust in his voice. «You know what? Screw you, Jay. I’m gonna get her back and I’m gonna follow her to London. I won’t spend another day without her. We already lost too many of them.»

And with that, he was already in his Impala to get to her. He arrived at the airport and began to look for her the second he took a foot inside. But since life’s not a fairy tale, when he found her gate, it was already too late.

She was gone.

He got back at his apartment, sighing. He had lost her forever and the worst part of that was that he had done that to himself. He opened the door and felt empty.

«Dean» someone whispered his name in a soft tone.

He turned to look at Y/N behind him, who was getting up from the stairs.

«Y/N? What are you doing here?»

«I didn’t leave. Can I come in, please?»

He nodded.

«Sure.»

She entered.

«A good friend told me that I was capable of doing anything I wanted and I thought that letting my Dad decide about my future was not what I wanted. That’s why I got back» she explained. «But I don’t want you to stop me either. So I’m just here to tell you that I’ll move to Chicago, so I can use my degree properly» she said. Dean lacked of words. «That’s it? I mean, I didn’t think you could say something like I’ll come with you, sweetheart, but maybe…»

«I was at the airport» he finally said.

«What?» she asked, confused.

«Your father didn’t give me the permission to go after you, but I did it anyway. I was ready to go to London with you» he confessed, clenching his jaw.

«Really?»

«Yes» he said and he was about to fall into pieces for saying that. «Chicago sounds alright too. I don’t really care.»

«But your job… and you hate flying!» she exclaimed.

«I’d hate to spend the rest of my life without you, sweetheart» he said, caressing her shoulders with a smile. «Is it a better answer than the one you expected?»

She nodded, a lump in her throat.

«It’s the best answer you could ever give to me» she said, before he kissed her.

[much-obliged-timothy]

I had so much fun writing Timothy/Axton for my fic that my stupid brain had an idea for another fic about these two chaotic idiots. Anyways, I have absolutely no plot to make this into a full fic, so here’s a little taste of the idea just to get it out of my brain.

It takes place before the events of Borderlands 2, something something Tim escaped Jack just to be forced to work for a bandit gang on Pandora, something something they capture Axton and the two end up forming a reluctant friendship and also idk how to plot for my life so experimental one-shot below the cut!

When Axton fled to the border planets, he found that he was quite good at bounty hunting.

The skills he’d honed in the Dahl military served him well to hunt and capture his bounties, dead or alive. And he found that, for a while at least, he enjoyed it. The pay was good and the challenge kept things interesting.

Whenever it became too easy, he’d move on to the next area and try to find tougher bounties. When that became too easy, he looked elsewhere.

It’s how he’d ended up on Pandora. He’d heard the bandits here were unpredictable, and some were strong. It livened up his bounty hunting again, though he knew he’d move on to the next planet eventually.

Or, at least, that had been the plan until the unpredictability of Pandora’s inhabitants led to his capture.

Currently, he sat bound tightly in a bandit tent, somewhere in their well guarded camp. He was frustrated with himself for ending up here.

But how was he supposed to know the bandit he’d been fighting had a digistruct watch? Hell, he didn’t even know what the watch had spawned, because as soon as it was activated, Axton found himself under a volley of fire, and then he’d been struck in the head. 

And now, here he was, blood drying on the side of his face and a headache disrupting his thoughts of escape. He tested the bindings once again, but they were far too tight for him to slip. They’d disarmed him as well, so even if he did escape, he wouldn’t make it very far.

The opening to the tent was shoved aside. Axton looked up, realizing he’d been out for a while. It’d been daylight when he got in the fight, but now it was starting to get dark out.

In came two men. One was the target he’d been hoping to snag for a nice price, a bandit leader by the name of Deacon who apparently had a bodyguard no one had thought to throw on the wanted poster.

The bodyguard in question stood next to Deacon now. Axton glared at what little of the man he could see.

Really, it was just the man’s right eye. He had a hood pulled down to his eyes, and a gaiter pulled up nearly to his eyes. His left eye was bandaged, the bandages disappearing up into his hood and down into his gaiter. A scar cut dangerously close to his right eye, also disappearing between the hood and gaiter.

“Oh, you got us a nice one this time, Tim,” Deacon said, crouching in front of Axton and eyeing him critically. “Ex-military, I’d guess.”

“And not too out of practice,” the bodyguard, Tim, grumbled, rubbing his ribs where Axton had managed to roughly kick him during their fight. 

“We can have another round,” Axton offered, tugging at his restraints. 

“Nah, one and done for me,” Tim said. His voice was familiar, but Axton couldn’t quite place it. It didn’t help that it was muffled by the gaiter.

“We’ll see if they bring in a nice catch tomorrow to toss him into the fight ring with,” Deacon said, standing up. “Keep an eye on him through the night. Don’t wanna lose this one.”

“What?” Tim’s visible eye widened in despair. “Why me?”

“Because that was an order, and you always follow orders, don’t you, Timmy?” Deacon said, going right up to Tim and tapping his neck. Axton hadn’t noticed the collar fixed around it during their fight, but it seemed glaringly obvious now.

Tim smacked his hand away. “Fine. But I hate the mouthy ones, so I’m gagging him if he annoys me.”

“Do what you want. Just don’t mess him up anymore,” Deacon said, heading for the exit and clapping Tim on the shoulder as he went. “That’s a good boy, Timmy.”

“Oh, man, I wish I died in infancy,” Tim groaned.

“You could die now if you untie me?” Axton offered.

“Tempting, but no.” Tim sat down across from Axton. He held up five fingers. “Five more words. That’s all you get before I gag you, and yes, it’s because I’m still salty you broke my ribs. Health kits fixed me up, but it really freaking hurt dragging you back here with busted ribs.”

Axton was at least pleased he’d injured this asshole. Still, he wasn’t seeing a way out of this right now.

Even if he managed to get free of his restraints, he now had someone guarding him. And this guy was no joke as a fighter. Axton figured he was largely self taught by the way he handled a gun- familiar, but not exactly good form. Still, that made his movements hard to predict.

Axton might have the advantage in this enclosed space. Tim had tried to keep distance between them during the fight, and was pitiful at close combat fighting compared to Axton. It was after Axton had kicked him in the ribs and begun to aim at Tim’s head that he’d activated his watch.

That was the problem, though. Axton could see the outline of the watch under the jacket Tim wore. By the time Axton could lunge at him for an attack, Tim could activate it.

Plus, there was the matter of the other enemies. He didn’t know how large the population of the camp was, only that it had been well guarded when he’d scouted it out earlier. It’s why he’d attempted to follow Deacon when the man left on some errand, only to find himself confronted by Deacon’s...bodyguard? Slave?

“You could kill that dude and slip the collar,” Axton said, wondering if maybe he could turn Tim on his side.

“Nope, Deacon’s not the only one with a controller,” Tim said, getting up and kneeling in front of Axton. “Congratulations, you wasted all the words I’m granting you for the night on a failed attempt to win me over and aid your escape.”

He promptly gagged Axton before sitting back against the wall of the tent. Axton tried to maneuver the gag out of his mouth, but gave up before he could manage to choke himself. He settled for trying to loosen the restraints, and Tim let him have at it since they both knew it was hopeless.

A fight ring, huh? Were they going to use him as a fighter to earn bets until he burned out or was killed? He’d heard that fight rings were pretty popular on Pandora. Shit, this wasn’t how he wanted to have a challenge.

They sat in silence for hours. Tim flicked through an ECHO, looking bored. He occasionally glanced up at Axton, but never bothered trying to stop him from his meager escape attempts.

Finally, though, he sighed loudly and got up, yanking the gag out of Axton’s mouth and sitting back down. Axton took note of the fact that he was still favoring his ribs, despite claiming to be healed.

“I’m bored, but if you piss me off, I’ll gag you again,” he warned. “What’s a Dahl guy doing on Pandora?”

“Ex-military. Your master was right,” Axton said.

It was hard to make out his expressions since most of his face was covered, but Axton could tell his words had irritated Tim. He wondered if he’d be gagged again.

But Tim didn’t bother. “He’s your master now, too, kiddo.” He touched the collar around his throat, whole body stiffening at the feel. “Even if you don’t get to wear the expensive jewelry, you belong to him now. He’ll toss you into the fight ring over and over until you’re no use to him anymore.”

“Is that what he did to you?” Axton asked, nodding towards the scar he could see.

“No. I’m too valuable for that,” Tim said, his voice surprisingly bitter. He fell silent for a moment, collecting himself before speaking again. “Shouldn’t have picked up the bounty, kiddo. That’s how he gets ‘em. I either kill the ones who won’t last in the ring, or bring the worthy ones back.”

“How did he know I was following him?” Axton said. “I was careful.”

“He didn’t know. I did. I saw you scouting the camp, so I sent him on an errand to draw you out into the open. Once I was sure you were alone, I went for it,” he said. He sounded exhausted. “I’d pissed him off. Needed to please him before he got too mad. Just bad luck on your part.”

Slave, then. Definitely not a willing bodyguard.

Tim glanced at the opening to the tent, listening hard. Then he lowered his voice.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, and the waver in his voice shocked Axton. “You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I would’ve let you go any other time, but I needed to...he was going to...Shit. Doesn’t matter. Picked my own safety over you, and that’s that.”

Axton stared at Tim, but Tim didn’t look at him again. Axton weakly tugged at the restraints again, but it was no use. 

He didn’t bother speaking again. He knew a defeated man when he saw one. Tim was in survival mode, and he wasn’t going to risk his life to free Axton, regardless of what he morally wanted to do. 

They sat in silence until the sunlight crept into the tent. The entrance opened and in came Deacon.

He roughly kicked Tim in the ribs, Tim hissing in pain and jerking away. “Hope you weren’t sleeping on the job, Timmy.”

“Obviously not,” Tim snapped, gently rubbing his ribs. “God, you freaking Pandoran scum.”

His eyes widened a little at his own words. Deacon sighed heavily, pulling something from his pocket. Axton had just enough time to realize it was a small controller before Deacon’s finger pressed against it and Tim began screaming.

Tim fell to the ground, prying at the collar in agony, his body jerking in a way that told Axton he was being shocked. Axton could smell burnt flesh the longer Tim screamed.

“You’re gonna fuckin’ kill him!” Axton said angrily. He’d seen devices like that used on prisoners of war the Dahl military had captured before. He’d thought it inhumane even back then, some of them suffering like Tim was for hours before the shocks finally became too much and killed them.

Deacon pressed on the controller again and Tim gasped for breath, body shaking violently. He flinched as Deacon placed a foot on his ribs.

“Someday I’ll teach you to mind that tongue, TJ.” He spoke the name like a slur. Tim flinched again. “You’re lucky you brought me a nice catch, or else I might’ve shocked you right into another seizure. Get up and leash our new pet. I’ll be back for him in a few minutes. You’re on thin fuckin’ ice with me.”

He left the tent. Tim tried to push himself upright, but his limbs wouldn’t cooperate and he fell back to the ground with a weak sob. He tried again, and Axton actually felt bad for the guy as he once again couldn’t get himself up.

Finally, he managed it. He shakily walked over to a box in the tent, digging through it and coming out with a black collar, like something Axton would’ve stuck on a dog. Thankfully, it wasn’t the complex device locked around Tim’s own throat.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Tim choked out as he clasped it around Axton’s throat. “Oh, hell, what the fuck am I? I’m sorry.”

“Guess I should’ve known you were the type to restrain a man and stick a collar on him,” Axton said. “Not really my scene, but I guess I’ve gotta give it a try. What’s my safe word?”

Tim let out a weak, choked laugh. “Shit.”

“Huh, weird choice, but I’ll keep it in mind,” Axton said.

“If you play along for now, you might be able to get out down the line,” Tim said, his voice quiet. “Won’t blame you if you come after me when you escape. But I’ll fight back.”

Axton eyed the collar. Just the barest strip of skin around it was revealed, but Axton could see how badly the shocks had burned him and scarred his throat. 

“Nah, not you,” he said. “Deacon’s got the bounty on him. Be a shame if his controller got broken when I killed him, huh?”

Tim turned away from Axton. “I’ll just get passed along to the next one. I’m...sorry. But I can’t undo what I did. Welcome to the fight ring, Dahl.”

“Axton,” Axton said. “My name is Axton.”

“Not anymore,” Tim said.

When Deacon came back, he found them sitting in silence. Tim did as Deacon ordered him, no hesitation as he helped get Axton up and moving to drag him to the fight ring and seal his fate.

Axton considered trying to flee as they transported him. But he took one look at Tim’s horrifically scarred throat and decided against it.

He’d get free someday. And when he did, he was going to kill Deacon and break that damn controller.

[romeulusroy]

Wildflowers (Shelby!Reader × Bonnie Gold Oneshot)

Character/s: Bonnie, Aberama mention

Word Count: 1,365

Inspired By: Silver by Nim Nim

Tag List: @dontdowhatisayandnobodygetshurt @myriadimagines @lilyswritings @encounterthepast @death-of-a-mermaid @lotsoffandomimagines @woahitslucyylu @obsessedunicorn24 @thedarkqueenofavalon @fangirlsarah16 @theshelbyclan

A/N: Another Bonnie fic! Though he's still not a character I write for, I couldn't stop thinking about this plot. This has been sitting in my writers block folder for weeks!!! I really did love my original idea, but I also think what it turned into is pretty good, too :) I haven't been feeling confident at all in my writing, which is part of the reason why I haven't posted a fic lately. I do love some paragraphs, but others I just wanna throw in the trash. It can't stop me from posting it though because I really do wanna get through this block. I'm thinking of doing a part two? Lmk if you'd want that! Feedback is always appreciated 💜💖💜

FIC MASTERLIST PART ONE. / PART TWO.

WANNA BE ADDED TO THE TAG LIST?

Beneath the clouds, so grey, so sad, sunlight blessed the trees, the leaves dancing in the breeze. Grass, overgrown, free to sway. Birds, bugs, everything seemed so alive, so eager to breathe and shout and let their presence be known. Unapologetically there, in their own skin. Going home, all of them, awaiting the impending storm. Static hung in the air, a heavy curtain, a blanket on your breastbone. Too thick to breath. The wind picking up. Brushing the leaves, the petals and pollen, across the stone pathway, down the dirt road, through the fields of wildflowers. You sat in the heart of it all, the warmth of the bright morning wrapping you in a it's arms, cupping your cheeks, holding all your broken pieces together. The heat in the air tracing your skin, kissing your face, as if it wanted to thaw every bad thing that had ever happened from your bones, stripped of what used to make you so angry. A warm step beneath your feet, your spine arched, in between your palms a mug. Eyelids heavy, wary of the bright outside growing dim, welcoming the day with a soft, cautious hello. Thunder rumbling, warning, threatening, baring it's teeth at the world. Lightning would follow soon, more timid, dancing on its toes, reminding you of the baby of the family, your youngest brother How you missed him. In no time, just as the storm, they would be here, and like the bugs, the babes, the blossom, you would be ready.

Prick and pinch your flesh all you wanted, this was no dream.

A home in the countryside. Tall, lopsided, full of warmth, of love. Standing on its own, reminding you so much of him, of what you were together. Defiant. Stubborn. Strong. Chipped bowls, and baskets of fruit, the sweetest stuffed between sugar and pastry. Patchwork quilts and holes in socks. Timid smiles, light touches, the faint smell of vanilla, lavender, of the bouquet he plucked on his way back. Honeyed kisses, promises of sweet dreams, of perfect mornings. Fireflies like fallen stars, a moon to sweet not to nibble at. A sleepy breeze, urging you to bed. This was your escape. Your hideaway, as far from the city as you could get. A place to yourselves, where time froze. The seasons changed, throwing you into the icy grips of the winter, the sweltering heat of the summer, but you, and him, together the same. Together safe, happy. Free.

It wasn't always like this, though.

Blood splatter. Silver jewelry. Broken bottles. A haze, all of it. The story torn apart and sewed together, limb by limb, coming to you in flashes, in nightmares, waking in a cold sweat. A time of regret, embarassment, of a pain so deep the wound never stopped bleeding. Still hasn't. Covering up a sadness no one cared to see, to acknowledge. A family only in words. Invisible, ignored, wanting to be seen, your screams of help falling on deaf ears. You were an object to them, and the rest of the world. A toy. The city lights bright, blinding, drawing you in on their own dark vices. Blacking out. Drink after drink until you were stumbling, fumbling, forgetting your own name. Falling for strangers. Skin on skin, their hot breath melting your neck, starved kisses up and down your body until you lay beside them, crushed, wanting to scrub yourself clean of this routine. An escape. A search for a home that never belonged to you. Drown out the thoughts, the fears, the misery. Putting your trust into their words. Once a Shelby, always a Shelby. Theirs to carry was also yours. A gun by birthright. A shallow grave you'd fall into too young, but just as guilty. Slip from the covers, one last swig to carry on. They wouldn't see you for days. A bender. Come down slowly, step by step, until you were light enough to face them, face the job, face the body behind the barrel. It was all the same.

This wasn't the life you wanted to live.

You didn't want to live at all if it meant going through the motions.

Calling him. One night, from someone else's phone, their body breathing shallow, steady, wrapped in nothing but grimy sheets. Another handprint on your thigh, another nameless face you'd wonder about. On the edge of the mattress, begging, desperate, scared. A noose like a necklace hanging around your neck. Dainty, delicate, dangerous. You needed someone, anyone. If they answered, it wasn't too late. That's what you told yourself. He wasn't the first number you dialed. Sibling by sibling, your brothers first, then sister. The bar, the shop, even your aunt too busy. You weren't quite sure why he was next, that he was there at all, Aberama giving you it for emergencies. Maybe it was the last number you could remember. Maybe you wanted a second chance, maybe you wanted to live after all. You barely even knew him, or his brown eyed boy. The few times you spoke he was warm, inviting, at times a little akward in a way that made you smile. But he picked up. His voice rusty, raspy, woken too early in the morning. A hint of panic. No call came with happy news at an hour like this. You apologized for waking him, regret pooling in your gut, spilling out into words like the vomit on your chin, but he stopped you, cut you off, not wanting you to hang up. There had to be a reason. So, he listened. A boy with big dreams listened until the sun came up. To the shakes, the sobs, the grief in your voice for the person you lost, the person you wanted so desperately to kill. To finally put an end to.

That was almost a year ago.

The Dark Days. They had a name, a date, a birthday, and a time of death. Those were the months, years, mere seconds, flashes of time you had a hard time remembering, that you wanted so desperately to leave behind. Hazy, drunken, angry. You wanted to hurt yourself more than anyone, and you did. But now, you could move on. He was there when no one else was. At first, as a friend. Then, something more. Someone more. The one to catch you when the floor fell through, when your body lay broken after time and time again hitting rock bottom. You loved Bonnie, and he loved you. It was simple, effortless, the only thing that ever made sense in this big, twisted life. The city too enticing, the bloodline too polluted, there was no way you could have shed your shadow in a place like that. So, you found this place together. Scraped together paychecks, pocket change, selling what you could. Taking solace in the comforts of one another. Making it your own.

Not a drop since.

The thunder clapped, applauding, warning you. Rain pounding on the roof, plopping in deep puddles, watering the wildflowers. A dreary grey tint cast overhead, illuminating the greens of mother nature. Lightning striking, slicing the sky right down the middle. You watched from the kitchen window, Bonnie behind you, his hand grabbing yours. One last second of peace before the storm ripped you apart. Windchimes bawling, crying, begging you to run. Now. The animals quiet, listening, anticipating the threat yet to come. Not the storm, though. But them. A black car drove softly through the mucky waters, mud splashing on the shiny black paint. Closer, closer, stopping short of the lopsided fence either you or Bonnie had yet to finish painting. He always promised he'd get to it one day. Long coats and caps with blades stitched with thread and blood. You hadn't seen any of them since. Leaving without a goodbye, without another word, disappearing in the night with a promise of a home of your own. You weren't sure how they found you, why they came at all. Whatever they said, or did, would never make you change your mind, make you go back.

Not to the Dark Days.

You weren't interested in being a Shelby anymore, you were a Gold now.

[snarkwrites]

02 | upside down; steve harrington

Notes:

I suck so bad. I meant to post these before I left to go on my little trip and life got hella busy. But, I didn't get around to it. BUT BUT.. I am now. They're not really that edited, so yeah. I was happy with what came out, despite this turning out to not be a slow burn type thing at all like I originally wanted. So for all those hoping for a slow burn, oopsies?

OH.. And before I forget, chapters one, two, three and potentially four take place BEFORE the actual series starts. ;P

Summary:

She moves back to Hawkins and manages to turn his life completely upside down. In the best of ways.

But how will everything play out between them? Also, can they handle all the weirdness ahead? We shall see.

Warnings:

LOOSE CANON COMPLIANCE AT BEST, TOTAL DEVIATION AT WORST - this is just an up front catch all because sometimes, things happen that I don’t particularly care for (the senseless death of Barb, anybody?) and if you’re one of those canon only people, this is here to warn you that this is not the fic for you. LANGUAGE, OCCASIONAL GORE, MONSTERS / FANTASY ELEMENTS, TEENAGE DRAMA AND SHENANIGANS - Obviously, teenagers are going to do stuff. They’re at that point in their life where not every decision they make is the best one. So if you’d rather skip over this kind of thing (teen drinking, fighting, etc) then yeah.. you’ve been warned. THIS IS NOT A SLOW BURN, I REPEAT NOT SLOW AT ALL / EVENTUAL FILTHY GOOD NESS - because lets be real.. we’re all wondering when we’re gonna drop the plot and get to the good stuff. When this chapter occurs, I will flair it with an M. In the meantime, if you’re not into slow burn or mutual pining, then you’re probably not going to care about this.

Other Parts

[ SOUNDTRACK | part one]

Other Stuff

[ FAQ - TAG LIST DOC ]

Tagging:

There’s nobody on my list yet but… If you wanna be tagged for this, tell me pls. It will make me overjoyed.

Throwing out a no pressure tag to @RAMPAGEWRITING​ and @TWISTNET​ as well as @CHASINGEVERYBREAKINGWAVE​ just because. No pressure though bbies!

TWO.

Monday came with no sign of Steve. Then Tuesday. By Wednesday, I felt like I was about to lose my mind. Still no sign of him.

It was now Thursday afternoon. And honestly, I’d put the whole thing out of my head. Started to convince myself that I’d been right about Steve Harrington and his intentions after all. Nana Ginger had gotten Jonathan to come and help out by bussing tables in the dining area for an hour or two so I could go over the books for her with no interruptions. When I caught sight of Steve’s silver BMW pulling into the parking lot, I was perched atop the counter in the gas station doing just that.

With Billy Idol blasting quietly from a little boombox nearby.

I raised a brow when instead of coming in like usual, Steve wandered around back. Out to where Nana's boyfriend Hank was working in bay 3 of the garage behind the place.

“Oh. Oh no. Steve, why the hell…” I muttered to myself. Sitting the ledger to the side as I tiptoed carefully to the door that lead out into the garage from the front of the buildings attached. I pressed my ear against it, trying to listen.

All I could really make out was Hank laughing out loud. And Steve asking what was so funny about what he’d apparently asked. Then Hank telling him verbatim, that he didn’t know if he could trust him as far as he could throw him while pointing out that he’d been a teenage boy once too and that he knew exactly where this was all heading.

My breath caught in my throat. I waited on Steve to offer some form of rebuttal. Seconds later, he finally did. “ You’re actually completely wrong about me, sir. With all due respect.”

“If you can get her to say yes to a date in the first place, kid, by all means. But if you hurt her, you’re not gonna have anywhere to hide. We clear, kid?” Hank said this as loud and as plain as day. Clearly enough I could hear it completely through the door separating the two areas.

Steve muttered something else I couldn’t quite hear and in a mad scramble that had Jonathan nearly doubling over in laughter, I was trying to perch myself back on top of the counter at the front of the gas station. Balancing the ledger on my lap. Trying to force myself to concentrate on running numbers.

My reading glasses started to slip down the bridge of my nose and swearing, I pushed them back up. Eventually taking them off to unfocus my eyes and give them a little relief from strain. Jonathan spoke up from nearby.

“Hear anything interesting just now, Jen?” he gave me a teasing smirk and I grumbled, playfully flipping him off as I gave a soft smile. I nodded. “Yeah. I guess I have to at least consider saying yes to Harrington’s constant asking me out. I mean… takes a brave guy to talk to Hank.”

“You’re definitely not wrong there.” Jonathan muttered, chuckling quietly. Digging around in the pocket of his apron and tossing me a cassette tape. Smirking. “I made it during the countdown last night.”

“Oh?” I turned the cassette over in my hands, smiling. “I’ll put it in right now, give it a listen while I’m doing the rest of the books. Hey, do you need somebody to give Will a lift to Mike’s on Saturday?”

“If you don’t mind?” Jonathan asked.

“Not at all.” I grinned, adding quickly, “I’m supposed to drop Dustin Henderson off there too. Figured since they’re going to the same place and I’m gonna hang out with Nancy for a while, why not?”

“Thank you.” Jonathan gave a grateful smile and an idea kind of formed. I smiled and mentioned casually, “Ya know, Jon.. If you really want to thank me.. You could talk to Nancy sometime.”

Jonathan eyed me with a raised brow. I held out his mixtape and added, “She loves The Clash.”

“Really?” his brow raised.

“Just take my word for it, Byers.”

“ You’re sure you don’t mind me giving her this?”

“Why would I? I told you to, silly.” I laughed, shaking my head. Jonathan was being called to the back dining area again by my Nana, so he hurried off and I stood, stretching. Slinking down the aisles of the gas station, over to a cooler.

I grabbed myself a Diet Pepsi and dug around in my pocket for the money to put in the register to cover it. Once I’d popped the top against the counter, I settled back on top of it, getting back to balancing the books.

I heard a throat clearing from the doors about ten minutes later. The smell of cheeseburger and french fries wafted straight to my nose, making me groan quietly as my eyes fixed on Steve and then promptly lowered to the grease stained brown paper bag he held in his hands as he grinned at me, nodding to the glasses perched on my nose.

“Fuck.” I scrambled to take them off. Steve stepped into the gas station completely, walking towards me. A teasing gleam in his eyes as he shook his head. Stopping on the other side of the counter, in front of me. “You don’t have to do that, Jennie. I’ve seen you wearing glasses before, remember? The red framed ones you had in kindergarten.”

I cringed, laughing a little. Leaning in slightly. Gazing at him almost helplessly as the bits of conversation I’d overheard between him and Hank out in the garage earlier replaying in my head.

Remembering that tonight, if he asked me on a date yet again, I was going to say yes. And not just because of some silly dare given to me by Barb and Nancy. Because I couldn’t keep fighting Steve Harrington off the way I had been if I wanted to, to begin with.

I was leaning closer where I sat. It occurred to me when Steve chuckled quietly. Stepping between my legs, the way they dangled over the counter on his side. He sat the grease stained paper bag to the side and he bit his lip, gazing up at me.

“Your grandma told me to come and drag you out of here. She told me to tell you not to worry about waiting the tables, she’s trying to help Jonathan get some extra cash on the side. She also said don’t argue.” Steve flashed me another one of those charmer grins and I swallowed hard. My mouth opened and closed for a second or two because I just couldn’t think of anything clever to say. Weird, because normally, I have plenty to say. Constantly.

Out of habit, my fingers drifted up to the dainty cursive nameplate that hung on the silver chain around my neck. I toyed with the lettering as I pretended to mull it over, just to be slightly difficult.

So I could feel better about giving in when I inevitably did.

“C’mon, Jennie.” Steve pleaded. Eyes locked on mine. Gaze dropping briefly to my lips and lingering there just long enough that I could feel my breath when it caught in my throat.

I finally managed to get my mouth and brain working in tandem and licking my lips as I gazed at him, I muttered quietly, “It’s Jen.”

“Maybe I like Jennie better.” Steve leaned in just a little. A teasing gleam in his eye and a flirty tone to his voice as it dropped lower. Quieter.

And when Hank’s throat cleared from the door between the garage and the front of the building, I wanted to puddle into a pile of goo in the linoleum tile.

“Interruptin somethin, Jaybird?” he asked the question so casually.

Steve looked like a deer in headlights. He pulled away just a little and despite myself, I pouted.

Satisfied that he’d interrupted things between Steve and I, Hank smirked a little, dragging an oil stained hand over shaggy brown and gray hair. Gazing at us both. Giving Steve that universal gesture that clearly spelled out “I’m watching you, kid.” before going to a cooler to grab himself a six pack of beer, counting out the correct change in bills and coins and handing them to me.

I grabbed hold of Hank’s hand. “Nana is gonna have a fit. I know that’s not super glue I see holdin skin together, sir.”

“It is, Jaybird. Because if I don’t get that damned Chrysler off my lift, I’m gonna burn her to the ground.”

“Oh Hank.” I shook my head, clucking my tongue at him. Digging around for antiseptic and a bandage, holding it out to him expectantly as he withdrew his hand. He chuckled and shook his head. “It’ll be fine, kid.” he waved away the antiseptic and the bandage and made his way into the garage area again, making me shake my head.

Taking the time to pull myself together decently enough that I wasn’t a stammering mess when I glanced at Steve again.

“C’mon. Please?” he asked again.

I tapped my chin, pretending to think about it. Slipping off the counter. By this time, he’d stepped in close all over again, so me slipping off the counter had us body to body. His hand settled in the curve of my hip and I barely restrained a gasp.

“Okay. Alright. I’ll leave with you.”

He grinned brightly. Holding the door open for me after I clocked out and placed my timecard in the slot with my name on it. I ducked my head into the dining area and my Nana’s only response was to smirk and wink at me. Shooing me out of the diner.

“Get her outta my hair, kid!” my Nana smiled as she called out to Steve, who was standing right behind me. His hand at my lower back. The second I realized this, I could feel myself burning up all over. Just the simplest touch.. Felt comforting. Intimate. And me, being of dirty mind, well.. Me and my dirty mind, we took that and ran.

Jesus Christ, of all the times for my hormones to manifest, it’s now? When I’m trying to break 2 prior generations of questionable romantic choices? I wanted to shake my head at myself. I reminded myself calmly that just because my Nana and my mom did the things they did, that didn’t mean I had to cave in and repeat. I am my own person, after all. And apparently right now, that person is giddy with… Thoughts.

“Gladly, ma’am!” Steve called back, laughing.

He pushed open the door and we stepped outside. When he opened the passenger door, I sank down into the seat, leaning back against it a little. Steve wandered around to the driver side, getting into the car. Starting it.

“Where are you taking me?”

He chuckled. “ I think you’ll like it.”

“Steve.” I pouted, “A hint?”

“It’s outside.” was literally all he’d tell me.

“Well that really narrows it down.” I teased with a laugh.

He parked at this old park we all used to play at after school. Just as the sun was starting to go down.

We got out, wandering over to an old picnic table. Sitting on top of it, digging around in the bag for our food.

“So.. That dumb carnival is this weekend. Starts tomorrow night, I think.” Steve hinted after a few minutes. I nodded to where carnival workers were already setting up a midway a few feet away from us. Taking a bite of my burger, I mentioned casually, “I thought about going. But Nancy’s grounded again and Barb’s got that date with some guy Logan.”

“You could go with me.” Steve chuckled as he said it.

I smiled, taking another bite. “I could.”

“Would you?” he asked a few seconds later. Adding quickly, “Tonight isn’t a real date. Tomorrow. That would be.” flashing me that charmer smirk.

I nodded. Smiling as I spoke up. “ Yeah. I will. Hey… since I don’t have to go back to the diner…” before trailing off and gazing down at my legs . Reminding myself to have boundaries and restraint. But all the mental reminders in the world just weren’t cutting it. At all.

He reached out, curling his fingers beneath my chin. Making me look up at him. “What were you going to say, Jennie? You can tell me.” he coaxed. Biting his lip as he gazed at me intently.

“I was going to ask if you wanted to go swimming with me. There’s this little place out by my Nana’s out in the woods I go to swim…” I gave a soft laugh. I had to laugh at myself, it was pretty much all I could do.

Look at me. Going overboard.

“Yeah.” he nodded, smiling. We finished our food, and after, we wound up driving around a little. And about an hour later found us walking through the woods. Well, he was walking, glancing around warily, swatting at spider webs that he almost walked into a time or two and I had hold of his hand, practically dragging the poor guy.

We stepped out onto the sandy bank and he chuckled. Dragging his hand through his hair as he gazed down at me. “We don’t have suits or towels.” he mused, stepping closer to me. Staring me down all over again. I could feel my breath as it caught in my throat because if you want me to be honest?

I hadn’t thought this through properly. And was now freaking out silently. Just a little bit.

But I did my best to shove that out of my head and play it cool and calm. I went for turning it around on him, hoping to fluster him like his observation had flustered me just now.

“I know Mr. Lady Killer’s not worried about somebody seeing him in his Calvins.” I teased, sticking my tongue out at him. He chuckled. Going for his shirt, tugging it over his head. Letting it settle on a branch nearby without tearing his eyes off me for a single second as he did it.

“Did that look worried to you, Jennie?” he muttered, stepping closer. His hand at my hip as he gazed down at me. Waiting.

I cleared my throat, gesturing for him to turn around. He did, but as he did so, he joked that I was the one who was worried. Which to me, sounded like a challenge. So I tapped his shoulder so he’d turn around after lowering my shirt.

He eyed me, a brow raised.

“Challenging me, Steve?” I questioned, giving him an amused laugh as I reached down, tugging my shirt up and over my head. Letting it settle on the branch next to his polo shirt.

Steve sucked in a sharp breath and muttered something to himself, closing the distance between us. His hand settled on my hip again and he laughed quietly. Leaning down a little bit so that we were face to face, his forehead against mine and one of his hands cradling my face.

My heart was pounding. Hard and fast. So fast that I thought it might break out of my chest. I went to lick my own lips and my tongue brushed against his mouth. His fingers dug into my hip lightly and he muttered huskily, “ I see you still can’t turn down a dare, Jennie.” only half teasing. I shrugged, biting my lip as I gazed up at him. Trailing my fingers over his chest mostly just so I could ignore the way my hands were shaking and I was wet, getting wetter by the second. I glanced over my shoulder and nodded at the water. “If we’re going to swim, we should get in.”

Steve cleared his throat, nodding hastily. Stepping away, bending to tug off his sneakers and nearly tumbling over in the process. Making me giggle softly as I pulled off my boots. When my pocketknife and my mom’s old lighter fell out, he eyed me and then nodded to the items on the ground.

“A knife?”

“A girl’s gotta be prepared.” I shrugged it off. Steve tugged down his jeans and while I told myself I wasn’t going to peek or stare, I wound up failing at this miserably and got so distracted watching him that he was able to turn around my own words on me as soon as he kicked his jeans free at the ankle.

“If we’re going to swim, Jennie… we should get in.” he gave me a playful smirk as he said it, stepping closer all over again.

My hand shook as I lowered it to the button on my cut offs. As soon as I’d shed those, I took off for the water full speed. Nearly tripping on a stump in the hill leading down to the water. Steve’s arms shot out and he caught me, pulling me back upright. Pulling me hard enough that when he did, I found myself pressed against him completely.

He chuckled quietly, raising a hand. Pulling a leaf free from my hair.

“The water’s not going anywhere, Jennie.”

“I know.” I answered, my breath catching in my throat when our mouths brushed against each other’s just a little more with each word spoken. His fingers dug into my hip a little more and he took a shaky breath, asking the question quietly, “If I kissed you right now…”

My heart was hammering away in my chest but I managed to answer, “I dare you, Steve...No… I triple dare you.”. The hand he’d placed on my hip was tangled in the hair at the back of my head, pulling my mouth all the way against his mouth. His tongue swept out, outlining and then parting my lips. Massaging my tongue. Slow. Deep. Savoring the moment, even after we both clearly started to get light-headed from lack of actual oxygen. His hand moved up and down my body, settling on my lower back. Pulling me up to tiptoe slightly. The kiss broke long enough for both of us to properly breathe and then his mouth found mine again.

When it finally broke completely, Steve dragged the back of his hand over his mouth. Taking a few deep breaths. “Yeah.” he chuckled to himself.

I raised a brow. “Hm?”

“That was exactly how I thought it’d feel.” he mused, adding quietly, “Wow.”

My stomach churned and I tensed up a little. He chuckled, shaking his head. Placing his lips against my forehead. “It’s not a bad thing. Not at all. I mean.. It wasn’t for me?” he was the one who looked anxious now.

I muttered quietly, “ I definitely wouldn’t mind a repeat. A few repeats, actually, if I’m being honest.” while still quietly reeling from the intensity of it all. Melting myself against him, my fingers dancing slow over his chest. He sucked in a breath, catching hold of my hand. Tilting my chin so that I had to look up at him.

“You’re blushing.” Steve was teasing gently. Rolling his thumb over my bottom lip, leaving it quivering.

“I’m not!” I pretended to be offended by what he said, pouting a little. But I knew I was, I could feel my cheeks burning hot. I stepped away and turned my back, taking off at a run down the hill. Hitting the cool water with a loud and obnoxious splash. Steve dove in behind me, swimming over. Surfacing behind me and pressing against me from behind. I turned to face him and when he splashed me and dove out of the way, I sent up an obnoxious spray of water in his direction, making him yelp because he hadn’t been expecting it.

After about an hour of swimming around and walking the creek down further, we made our way back up to the bank, flopping onto the sand.

My restraint was well out the window by now. If I even thought for a second I was going to fight off the magnetic pull I felt to Steve, I was mistaken and I knew that now. I settled my head on his shoulder and he looped an arm around me, and we lounged around lazily, watching the sky get darker and darker.

Talking. A lot.

I realized that it had to be getting late and I sprang up, holding out my hand. Steve grabbed hold, pulling himself up. After we’d gotten redressed, we wandered up the hill and out of the woods, over to where he’d parked his car at the end of my nana’s driveway..

When he went to walk me up to my front door, we wound up body to body. My arms raised, settling around his neck. My back met the front door and he pulled me into another long and drawn out deep kiss that had us both breathless when it broke.

“Kind of don’t want tonight to end.” he admitted as he gazed down at me. I nodded, definitely agreeing. “Me either.” I admitted quietly, muttering the words against his lips. The porch light started to flicker like crazy and I smiled into the kiss, wiping my mouth as I finally managed to pull away.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, right?” Steve asked, reminding me that I’d agreed to go to the carnival in town with him. I smiled and nodded. Pausing in the doorway of my grandmother’s house to steal another quick kiss before finally making myself go inside.

I leaned against the door, pulling myself together and my Nana called out from the kitchen, “Well? How did it go, Jennie Bird?”

I wandered into the kitchen, sinking down in a chair at her kitchen table. Smirking at her as all I did to answer her endless stream of questions was to shrug.

“You’re no fun, girl. No fun at all. I wanted to hear juicy details.” my nana reached out, pulling a leaf from my wet hair, holding it at me, smirking as she did so. “Any reason you’re all wet and dazed, bringing half the forest up in my house?”

“We went for a swim down at the creek.”

“Mhm.” my nana teased, laughing softly. “I know you’ll use your head. God knows one of us Brown women needs to, neither me or your mama, god rest her, could ever manage it.” she nodded to the phone on the wall by the doorway. “Might wanna call Nan and Barb. They’ve been calling all afternoon, wondering where you were. They both told me tell you they wanted full details.”

“No listening from upstairs, Nana.” I teased as she shrugged. “Makin no promises, Jennie Bird. You know me. I’m a nosy old broad.”

I grabbed the phone and managed to make the cord stretch to the living room, where I sprawled out on the old couch, legs over the back, telling Nancy and then Barb everything that happened that afternoon.

At one point, while I was talking to Nancy, I smiled to myself when she went into a good ten minutes of gushing over Jonathan walking her home from the library earlier. And giving her a mixed tape.

To be fair, it’s about time he finally talked to her. I was beginning to wonder if I’d have to shove them both in a closet and walk away.

“So… how’d it go with you and Steve tonight?”

“So many sparks.” I gave a dreamy sigh as I spoke, making Nancy laugh. Toying with the necklace and smiling softly to myself as I continued, “ Between you and me? I needed the dip in the cold water…”

“You went swimming?”

“Mhm.” I answered, taking a deep breath. “He’s taking me to the carnival downtown tomorrow night.”

“Oh my god. Get out. Really?” Nancy laughed.

I rolled onto my stomach, twisting the phone cord around my fingertip. Laughing softly as I explained exactly what transpired when Steve showed up at the diner earlier. By the end of it, Nancy let out a low whistle. “He really sacrificed himself to Hank.”

“Mhm. Left me with no option but to say yes. We know how my nana’s boyfriend is. It takes… a brave one to even attempt that.”

“Confession… I may or may not be meeting Jonathan at the carnival tomorrow night too. And Barb mentioned earlier that she’s going to come to it after the movie ends over at the theater, with Logan.”

“Group date?” I asked, giving a giggle. Raking my fingers through my hair as I reached for the Diet Tab I’d gotten myself before grabbing the phone, taking a sip of it.

“Yes. Group date indeed.” Nancy answered. I could hear her mother yelling at her to hang up, and I let her go, calling Barb.

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, you are not going to believe what happened to me this afternoon, Barb.”

“Your nana told us you left with Steve earlier. How’d that go?” Barb asked in a teasing tone. “I told you he liked you, you realize this, right?” she added.

“All I’m saying is I needed that swim to cool me down. I needed it badly.” I giggled. Agreeing reluctantly when she reminded me that she’d been telling me he liked me all month long. I rolled onto my back, twisting the cord around my fingers again. “Hey, are you and Logan gonna stop by the carnival after your movie?”

“Yeah! Did Nancy tell you? I told her to tell you so we could all meet up or something.”

“I am dying for funnel cake. And maybe getting stuck at the top of the Ferris Wheel like some cliche romance novel…” I muttered, giving a soft laugh at the end.

“Aww how cute!” Barb teased.

I took a few more sips of my diet Tab and smiled to myself. Excited about tomorrow night. Barb spoke up again, “Wait… you said you and Steve went swimming…”

“We did.”

“What was that like?”

“Oh, it was interesting. Very,very interesting.”

“You’re no fun girl!” my Nana’s voice cut through the call and I groaned inwardly, lowering the phone to call up the stairs to my Nana in her room, “Seriously?”

Barb was laughing. After my nana hung up, we talked a little more and I told her about Steve going out to the garage. WIth all the tools. And my nana’s boyfriend Hank… to ask him if he could take me on a date.

“He did? And he’s alive? How?”

“I don’t know, actually. Hank’s always giving him shit when he comes into the diner, I did not see it going the way it did. But.. I’m glad it did. Ah, I had such a good time tonight.”

“He’d better be good to you or I’m coming for his knee caps.” Barb teased, going quiet for a few seconds. Her mom must have come to her door to tell her she needed to use the phone, because she had to get off. After I ended the call with her, I wandered up to my room, falling across my bed.

What.A.Night.

[atiny-orbit1219]

I Am Not Spiderman

*Pairing: Spiderman Mark lee

*Genre: Fluff

*Plot idea: (This master piece was inspired by my friend @sharklee127​‘s imagine about Spiderman Mark and I wanted to make it into a longer fic!) Mark lived a painfully boring life. Nothing special ever happened to him, he even resorted to joining Yearbook club so he could at least observe more interesting lives. But all of that changed when the new girl shows up and Mark gets lost during his tour of Osborn Laboratories. 

*Word count: 3,600

*Warnings: Cussing, cute baby Mark

━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━

 You first met Mark in the crowded hallways of your high school. You had just moved from your small town home in Upstate New York all the way to Queens because your father had received a once in a lifetime position at Osborn Laboratories. You were hesitant about moving and leaving all of your friends and your old school behind but like the supportive daughter you were you transferred to Midtown High “school in Forest Hill, Queens with a smile on your face. Maybe that had something to do with the fact that you were also given an internship at Osborn Laboratories and that would look excellent on your college applications, whatever it was you soon found yourself in one of the largest schools you have ever seen. Thousands of students must have to attend here which made you slightly nervous, how were you going to make friends when there are so many people to get to know at once? Internship… remember the internship. So you walked into the building with your head held high and your earbuds pushed snugly in your ears as you used your music to drown out the unfamiliar sound of hundreds of kids screaming at each other. 

    You got a few looks from the people who realized they’ve never seen you before but the majority looked right through you, and one boy even tried to walk right through you. “Oh my god, I am so sorry!” The stranger rushed out as you fell to the floor. His books in hand followed in suit, the hardcovers making an obnoxiously loud sound. “It’s okay.” You muttered, letting out a soft sigh before leaning forward to help the clumsy boy pick up the textbooks. “Are you okay?” He asked, extending a hand for you to take, which you did; you had to make friends somehow. You just nod at his question, handing him the books with a small smile. “Oh, Thanks… Are you new here? I’ve never seen you before.” You look up at the lanky boy, his hair was so fluffy you had to restrain yourself from reaching out and seeing if it’s as soft as it looks. He wore thick black-framed glasses that had their fair share of tape holding them together, so he was always this clumsy. “How could you tell? There’s like a million kids here.” You exaggerate, your smile growing. He was kind of cute. 

    “Try a little over three-thousand. And when you walk the same halls for three years you start to pick up on faces, even the people you’ve never talked to. Plus it does help that I work with the yearbook.” He was shy when he spoke, his voice quiet and he avoided any form of eye contact, he had the habit of scratching behind his neck every few seconds but yet you were still intrigued. “A little over three-thousand is a lot compared to the school I used to go to.” you joke with a small smile. “I’m Y/N, I know its a bit sudden but you’re the first person I’ve talked to here, do you think you can show me around? I have my schedule but it makes absolutely zero sense.” You were hopeful, maybe you didn’t have to be the new girl who got lost on her first day. “I’m Mark! And despite the fact that I talk too much sometimes and I fall a lot, I’m a pretty damn good tour guide.” You let out a small laugh and hand him your schedule. “Then lead the way Mark.” 

    “Looks like you and I have Chemistry together first period!” The boy said with an excited smile, “And we’re in the same lunch block! You can sit with me if you’d like, I’m sure Ned won’t mind.” Mark rambled and you just listened, nodding your head along. You found the nerdy boy quite amusing, and really, really cute. “Sure! Sitting with you sounds a lot more appealing than sitting by myself.” You reply, giving the dark-haired boy a smile, which he returned. “And we have arrived! This is the Chemistry lab.” He opened the door to the lab and led you into the room, “We do experiments Tuesday Thursday, and lectures Monday Wednesday, and a free workday on Friday.” Mark brings you to one of the many lab tables and takes a seat, you follow, sitting on the stool next to his. “Oh, cool! I like chemistry.. And just science in general.” You confide, excited to see what experiments you would be doing in this class. “Really!? Me too!” There it is… another one of his perfect smiles. You admire it while it lasts but his attention is diverted from you to the teacher walking in. 

~

    Lunchtime has finally rolled around. You didn’t know exactly where the cafeteria was, but your plan was to just follow everyone else after the bell rang. But it turned out you didn’t have to do that because as soon as you walk out the door of your AP Calculus class you are met with Mark leaning against the lockers. “Figured you didn’t know where the lunchroom is.” He said simply. Just the small action sent the long-dormant butterflies in your stomach into a frenzy. “How’d you guess?” You teased, falling into step with the taller boy as you two walked down the crowded halls together once more. “Just a gut feeling.” he teased back, and you couldn’t help but laugh. 

    “So how are your other classes? Probably not as interesting without me right?” You playfully roll your eyes as you sit down at the lunch table in the far back, the previous mentioned Ned was not there yet so it was just you and Mark. “Oh of course, without Mark Lee my life is just dim hues of grey.” You say dramatically. Mark chuckled and rolled his eyes back. “Maybe you should drop the whole science thing and become a theater major… Drama queen.” You scoff but before you could give your snarky reply someone joined the two. “Oh Hey! Ned this is Y/N, Y/N this is Ned, my best friend.” You smile up at the new addition to the table, giving him a small wave. “Nice to meet you!” you say sweetly before reaching into your bag and pulling out your lunchbox. It was only your first day and you made two new friends… Success. 

~

     “Dad I think you’re more nervous than me.” Today was your first day for your internship at Osborn Laboratories and your dad was driving you to the large building. “What? No! I’m just excited! You and I are working together, it’s like every day is bring your daughter to work day.” You smile at his enthusiasm, humming along to the soft music coming from the radio. 

      You two approached the company and you couldn’t lie, you were just excited as your father, this was the opportunity of a lifetime. The selection process for this internship is tough, hundreds of teens apply but only five make it in, and you just happened to be one of those five and so did… “Mark??” Even from behind you could tell that it was your new friend. After a week of following him around the school, you’ve become accustomed to the messy bedhead and bad posture. The boy turned around in surprise, following the sound of his name. “Y/N?! What are you doing here?” He asked, an automatic smile appearing once he saw you. He jogged over to where you were walking and took his normal spot next to you. “I’m here for the internship! Today is the first day.” You explain, ignoring your father’s questioning eyes for now. “No way! Me too!” you look up at him with shock, what were the odds. Even if you didn’t meet at school you two were destined to cross paths at some point. You only smile widely, bumping into the other’s shoulder playfully, “Guess we’ll be spending even more time together.” You say with a raised eyebrow and Mark only smiled. “Guess so.” He replied.

        You two joined the other three interns once you walked through the large glass doors, the intro tour was starting soon but Mark had left after a few seconds to go to the bathroom before the important information was given. You pitied your friend, the directions he got to the bathroom were even more confusing than the school hallways you were still learning. When the tour started and Mark wasn’t back yet you started to grow nervous, the guide’s voice going in one ear out the other as you look around for the lanky boy. Did he really get lost? You were too scared to pull out your phone, knowing it would look disrespectful, so you just try to forget about Mark for now and focus on the guide, you can just give the boy a recap once you see him again. Which wasn’t until the end of the tour. The skinny boy came rushing towards you from some random doorway and you let out a breath of relief. “Mark Lee where the Hell have you been?” You whispered angrily as he got close enough to be in earshot. “To be honest, I don’t really know, I got lost like majorly lost, I don’t wanna talk about it.” You tilted your head curiously, wondering why your friend was gripping the back of his neck, he stopped doing that as often as you two got closer so it was weird to see. You just shrugged and turned away. “Can you catch me up on everything?” He asked, leaning over so his head rested on your shoulder from behind you. “What are friends for?” 

~

    Its officially been one month since you transferred to this new school and met Mark, and you can safely say there hasn’t been one boring day. After your first day as interns Mark started acting a bit weird. He no longer wore his glasses but he excused that with his new love of contacts. He was stronger and his body was not as lanky as before and overall just gave off a new aura. He didn’t feel like your normal nerdy Mark. You weren’t complaining, of course, That boy needed some confidence you were just curious about its sudden appearance. 

     “Have you guys heard of that Spiderman dude?” You ask nonchalantly at the lunch table, you lift your head from your phone and look over at Mark, his eyes met yours and it was hard to hide the blush that appeared. Shy or confidant Mark, it didn’t matter, as time went on you fell head over heels for the fluffy-haired boy. He shakes his head quickly, “N-No! Spiderman? What stupid name is that?” He rushed out. “God you’re so weird Mark Lee, I was just asking. I saw a video of him on Twitter last night and he looks pretty cool, the suit could use some work though.” You shrug before taking a quick sip of your chocolate milk. “What’s wrong with the suit?!” Mark asked defensively, Ned glared at his friend and punched his arm from under the table, but you didn’t miss the way Mark flinched. He cleared his throat, letting out a nervous laugh, “Uh... I mean.. From what you’re saying, he’s a new hero right? He’s probably still working on the suit and other minor things.” Mark covered up poorly. You look over at the flustered boy before turning your head to Ned. “I guess..?” You replied simply. 

      The rest of the day was uneventful, Mark was still being his weird self but you were getting used to it. He had yearbook club today after school and you stayed with him since you guys carpooled together to Osborn. He knew you found yearbooking extremely boring though so he excused you and you left to wander the halls, it was rare to see them so empty and you took advantage of the quiet. You hummed softly to yourself as you scrolled through your phone, more and more videos of this Spiderman guy popping up on your feed. After a few minutes of silence, you were brought back to reality by the sounds of yelling and lockers rattling. Being the curious person you were you followed the noise. 

      “Mark?!” You were not expecting to see the boy you have a crush on, on top of the high school football star, both were throwing punches left and right. Mark had blood dripping from his lip while the other had a busted nose. You run-up to the nearest bystander, “What the Hell Happened?” You ask. You were too shocked to do anything, you thought you’d never live to see the day where Mark Lee got in a fight and was winning. “I don’t know! Levi was talking his normal shit talk and yearbook boy wasn’t having it, he just lunged at him.” Holy shit, the Mark you knew would never do anything like that. Just as you finally move to step forward and do your best to convince your friend to stop, the booming voice of the principal echoed throughout the halls. “What is going on?!” Just at the sound, everyone started running, including you. You ran towards Mark, grabbing his hand and pulling him up quickly. “Come on dumbass, if you get expelled you’ll lose the internship.” Levi apparently had the same idea as he also got up and bolted. 

    You and Mark ran hand in hand all the to his car and while you were completely out of breath, he was doing just fine, well except for the cut on his lip. As you two rushed into the car you couldn’t hold back anymore. “What the fuck were you thinking??” You almost yell, disappointment seeping through your voice. This bastard had the audacity to laugh. He was laughing! “Should I drive? You don’t seem mentally stable.” You only half-joke. “No no no I’m okay, I’m okay. Honestly, I’ve never been better! Do you know how long I’ve been wanting to do that? Since Freshman year.” You just watch Mark as he speaks. His hair was messy, his lip was bleeding, he had a bruise forming on his cheek, yet this was the happiest you have ever seen him. “I’m used to him making fun of me.. But he said something about you and I don’t know what came over me… all I know is that it felt good, really good.” Mark explained as he drove the familiar path to the lab. “What did he say?” You ask curiously, he did it for you..? “Something about taking you away from me, that you were too good to hang out with Ned and I… in his words you are too ‘hot’ to be associated with us… I hated it, I hated the way he talked about you. He doesn’t know how smart you are, how clever, you’re a genius and all he sees is how pretty you are.” Mark was in one of his many rants but with each word, your face grew redder and redder. Mark soon realizes his mistake and he shuts up too, a blush of his own growing. “You are though… You’re really pretty.”

     Once you two reach the lab you walk over to Mark’s side of the car and as soon as he got out you grabbed his hand. He didn’t argue and allowed you to lead him to the break room for the interns. “Sit down.” You said softly, pointing to one of the many chairs. For the first time, the air was awkward around you two and you hated it, no you despised it. You took what you needed from the first-aid kit before walking back over to your friend. You pulled another chair in front of Mark’s and when you sat down your knees were pressed against his. You both gulped nervously from the closeness but you just continued, leaning in slowly, using the edge of a cotton swab to clean the cut on the boy’s bottom lip. Your eyes were trained on the wound you didn’t even know Mark’s eyes were focused on the same thing. He couldn’t stop himself from training his gaze on your lips. He meant it earlier, he found you absolutely stunning, which was why he attacked Levi the way he did… because a part of Mark believed that the other boy was right. You were too good for him. “Y/N?” The boy whispered. “Hm?” you reply, not really paying attention to his words. “Can I kiss you?” That caught your attention. You looked up at Mark in surprise, your eyes wide. Did he just say what you thought he just said? “What?” You ask although you heard the question but your brain refused to process the words. “Can I kiss you? I’ve been wanting to kiss you since I met you but something happened to me recently that changed how I view the world and I just don’t want to live with regrets an-” Mark’s rant was cut off as you place your hand on the back of his neck, pulling him close so your lips met in a soft kiss. The first thing you noticed was how warm he felt against you, you felt safe and comfortable, kissing Mark was like sitting by a campfire during a freezing night, it was an escape, and you were afraid that with this one taste you would grow addicted. Mark was quick to act, his hands pulling you closer so you were literally on the edge of your seat. He also couldn’t believe this was happening, he’s liked you since he met you and he never thought the day would come where he would be kissing you and it felt so much better than what he imagined. After a few more seconds the both of you pulled away, your foreheads resting against each other as you let out a soft laugh.

~

    It’s been a few weeks since Mark and your’s first kiss, and you two have had plenty more since then. You couldn’t believe that you settled in so quickly to this new school. You had a group of friends and even a really cute boyfriend. But you couldn’t get the thought out of your head that Mark was hiding something from you. He would disappear randomly for hours at a time and give you pisspoor excuses as to why. Sure you were nervous and curious… but every time you asked about it he would just change the topic. You tried to ignore these thoughts though, just wanting to enjoy the date in Central Park with your boyfriend. “I think I figured out why you disappear all the time.” You muse with a teasing smile. “You’re Spiderman! Just think about it, I’ve never seen you and Spiderman in the same room, and every time you’re gone Spiderman is off saving the city.” You were teasing of course. Your hand was laced with his, the light from the buildings and the smog in the air hid most of the stars except for the brightest but the night breeze was very much appreciated. Autumn was coming to an end, the colorful leaves that once hung from the trees covered the ground. The street lights lit their path as the couple enjoyed the hot chocolate they bought a few minutes ago. Everything was perfect.

   “Hahaha very funny. I’m not Spiderman.” Mark said, giving you a playful look. You didn’t notice the way he tensed up when you brought up the idea. “I don’t know, you and the spidey boy have similar bodies.” You continue to joke, meeting Mark’s eyes. “First of all don’t call him spidey boy, and second of all, I. Am. Not. Spiderman.” Mark replied, not liking this conversation one bit. “I think you’re Spiderman.” You say with a simple shrug, you, on the other hand, found this game very fun. Mark stopped you two from walking before moving in front of you. He bent down slightly and cupped your face with his free hand. “Y/N.” He said sternly. He leaned in and placed a quick peck on your lips. “I.” Another peck. “Am.” A longer kiss this time. “Not.” Another peck. “Spiderman. What do I have to do for you to believe me?” You smiled up at Mark, your cheeks pink from the affection. “Hmmm.” You pretended to think before grinning, “Kiss me again… and again… and again..” Mark just laughed and pulled you closer, wrapping his arms around you tightly. “Okay.. I will kiss you as much as you want.” He answered before leaning in once more, his lips immediately meeting yours. You gripped his jacket as he moves to deepen the kiss, swiping his tongue over your bottom lip. But before that could happen Mark ripped away from you and turned around, following the sound of an explosion.

    You watched in shock as one of the tallest buildings in the city erupted into flames. “Oh my god.” You mumble the fire reflecting in your eyes as the screams filled the air. The shock didn’t end there, you saw Mark take his coat off in the corner of your eye, the rest of his clothes following to reveal the familiar red and blue suit. Before he pulled on the mask he looked over to you with a shy smile. “I will explain everything later.” was all he said before placing one last sweet kiss on your lips then raising one of his arms, webs shooting from his wrist to the nearest building. Mark swung out of sight, leaving you on one of the many sidewalks of Central Park, wide-eyed with your heart racing a mile a minute. All you could think of at the moment was one word, and it brought a smile to your face. 

“Liar.”   

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