#maybe I should wait until either I get it back or I send her another chapter

[dcxdpdabbles]

Cave boy Danny AU where he's half asleep and rambling as he mentions some people back home like his exes (especially Valerie), his English teacher, this stalker of his who he likes messing with, and the annoying fruitloop who's the bane of his existence! They're concerned. Only once he's fully awake when they ask for names.

Lancer is Alfred, Talia is Val, maybe Paulina is Julie Madison but idk, Wes is Edward/The riddler (I'm pretty sure there was a time he had a reddish orange hair. Either way, he was the same model as Danny so maybe Wes dyed his hair to not be confused with the Fentons in this AU), and Vlad is Ra's!

Hello! This actually falls out of my planned plotline for Cave Boy, but I will write something for you that is close to the prompt to make up for it! Hope that's okay and that you like it

Flash sends them a message sometime in the early afternoon before any of the Bats are ready to go out. In fact, Damian, Duke, Steph, and Jason are in class when his message arrives.

Bruce, Dick, Tim, Cass, and Barbara are at work. As the Flash is one of the few who knows what the Batfamily is doing during these hours, it is rare for him to bother at this hour. He would have usually waited until after five as that was when a majority of them became available.

They all quickly check their phones when they vibrate to ensure it's not a world-ending threat, just in case.

Since the messages would be sent to their civilian phones- anyone in the know of the Bat's real identity chooses to text in a very specific code. This way, no one would know what they were saying, and the Bats would realize they were speaking to who they thought they were.

Barry Allen chose Disney theme GIFs as his code.

A gif of Mulan singing Reflections lets them all know that somehow, the speedster has again opened a portal into a different dimension and/or mess with time.

"Why is my reflection someone I don't know?" meant "A double of one of you has crossed over from a different dimension and/or timeline"

This causes a brief ripple of anxiety. The last time someone had a double, it was Tim, and his future version of himself was crazy, evil, and surprisingly capable. It took Tim almost ending his life to beat the guy.

Thankfully, the second GIF comes through seconds later. This one is Mulan's Honor To Us All.

"Please bring honor to us all" meant "The double is friendly."

The last Gif was from Lion King, Timon cheerfully singing Hakuna Matata. "It means no worries for the rest of your days" meant "Sorry for the trouble."

Those in class return to their various lessons, but Tim quickly responds, "I love that movie! We should watch Mulan again the next time I see you, Uncle Barry!"

This means, "We will meet the double tonight."

The rest of the day drags on as they all slowly start to make bets on who the double would be for. They all agree that Cass is long overdue to face herself again. Still, Dick makes the complying argument that Duke needed to have his first "My counterpart from another dimensional/ Timal plane" moment.

They all actively hope Duke can clear another block on his Bat-bingo card. He gets two more and a complimentary tray of any of his favorite Alfred's desserts.

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

That night, they all meet up in the watch tower, each clutching their bingo card just in case. (The game resets every month, and so far, Jason has written down the most accurate predictions. He needed two more squares for a cooking lesson of his favorite meal, and he was out for blood)

They all silently go to the conference room, where Barry entertains the guests. Apparently, they were trying to find discrepancies in their world's history and the double's life to help find which world they came from and send them back.

They were being shown the main rouges to test the timeframe.

"Is that Wes!?" A young male teenager yells. Sadly, Steph swears, staring at her "A new Batgirl from a different world" box.

"We call him Edward when he's not in his costume. Otherwise, his name is the Riddler." Barry answers, amusement clear in his voice.

"Riddler? How is Riddler menacing? What does he tell you, riddles of death or something?"

"You be surprised......."

Bruce gets to the door, pushing it open with a quick flick of the wrist, and inside is Barry sitting at the conference table next to a boy with dark hair and blue eyes. In front of them is a hologram showcasing the Gotham Rouge files.

There are papers and pencils scattered on the table. Likely, they have been writing down notes of the differences they have spotted.

Barry's eyes flicker to them, but the boy is too distracted to count on his fingers.

"Okay, so Wes is Riddler, Val is Talia, Fruitloop is Ra's, Sckuller is Bane, and ugh....for some reason, Spectra is Harley Quinn." The boy finishes checking his notes.

"For some reason? I thought you said Spectra studied psychology too."

"yeah, but Harley Quinn actually got a Ph.D. What did Spectra do? Land a school counselor position? Please." The boy rolls his eyes dismissively, and Barry frowns.

He's never taken kindly to people disregarding another person's profession, especially if it was connected to the educational system in some way.

"Hey now, that's an important job, and you need years of study before you can be a school counselor-"

"I bet Spectra peaked in high school. That's why she's like that." The boy cut him off, nodding as though he had found the universe's answer.

Well.....this was either a version of Jason, Tim, or maybe early Dick, that was a little too sassy but not angry? It's not sad either; it's more like, fed up? Or teenage tired.

"Oh, who are they?" The boy asks, and Barry zips right next to Batman.

"Danny, meet Batman...the you of this world. And his kids."

Danny squints. "Who is your mom, and how easy am I? Because there is a lot of you that I fathered for me to not be easy."

Jason burst out laughing, checking a box. "Yes, someone calling Bruce easy in costume. That's on bingo for me!"

[chronicowboy]

but when i tried to love him i loved at the wrong time

this is a two for one spec inspired by this post and my long lost love trapped dads

any complaints about this fic can and should be directed to @evankinard who bullied me into writing this for her after i ruined her day with a single dm. love you bby <3

Eddie breaks apart a little the moment Buck disappears from view, lets himself feel the wound in his side as an excuse not to feel the big unwieldy thing unfolding in his chest like a colonising panic. He hadn't wanted to leave him, not after half an hour trapped in that smoky room clinging to each other to ground themselves in the reality they were trapped in, but Buck had made several stubborn and convincing arguments about Christopher before announcing he wouldn't move if Eddie didn't. Eddie had tried, had tried to get Buck out first, Buck who had just found happiness with—with Tommy, Buck who has always deserved to live. But Hen and Chim had come in with the clinical wisdom of paramedics and said a rebar through the abdomen was always going to take priority over a fractured leg.

Now, Eddie is rolled out of a collapsing building, leaving behind Buck—a bird with a broken wing, incapable of moving.

God, the noises Buck had made when he'd dragged himself over to Eddie's side. They'll be haunting him for years, for whatever lifetime he has left. Worse somehow than the first time with an entire engine on top of him. Except this time, Eddie couldn't hold his hand. Not now, but not before either because... Because that was someone else's job now. And like a laugh from the universe, Tommy appears just as Eddie reaches down to put the brakes on the gurney before Hen and Chim can get him into the ambulance.

"Kinard?" Bobby greets him with a grim-faced nod. "What are you doing here?"

"Heard you might need an assist from air support." He shrugs, but the breathlessness in the voice and the way his eyes keep jumping around the gathered 118 like he's only counting the one man not there reveals his nonchalance as the act it is. "Thought I'd swing by."

"Isn't that a conflict of interest?" Chimney asks.

"Fine, so I stole a helicopter again. Sue me for wanting to offer a hand." Tommy's face draws as soon as he stops speaking, and he glances back at the building waiting to swallow Eddie's heart whole. "How is he?"

"Holding in there," Eddie answers, voice tight enough to have Tommy really seeing him for the first time. "Think his bad leg is fractured."

"Shit," Tommy hisses, clenching his fists at his side.

"Yeah," Eddie breathes out. "Can't get himself out because of it. I wouldn't have left him, but—"

"He insisted," Tommy says, something entirely too knowing in his voice and his eyes. Eddie swallows thickly.

"And, well..." He gestures weakly to the rebar in his side, Buck's undershirt, now soaked through with Eddie's blood, wrapped around it as a makeshift bandage.

"Shit, Diaz." Tommy grimaces. "Shouldn't you be getting to the hospital?"

"He's refusing care until Buck is out too," Hen deadpans, pressing a new pad of gauze to his wound a little too firmly for it not to be intentional. Eddie just grits his teeth.

"Of course he is," Tommy murmurs. Eddie is too much of a coward to face up to whatever expression is on Tommy's face when he says it, so instead he focuses on the Incident Commander approaching Bobby.

"Site's been deemed too unstable," he announces. "No more personnel are to enter until we've found a way to stabilise it."

"My..." Bobby calms himself when his voice comes out in a growl. "My man is in there."

"And sending another man in there would be a suicide mission." The Incident Commander grimaces apologetically. "Sorry, Captain. That's an order."

Bobby turns his gaze back to the building, something so tightly drawn in him that it makes Eddie hurt all the worse. He knows without a shadow of a doubt what Bobby's thinking. He can't lose another son to a burning building.

And here, maybe this would be where Eddie runs back into the building and drags Buck out all on his own, maybe this would be where he finally gets to repay the favour for the gravel burn on his back, maybe this is where he'd get to redeem himself from the helplessness he'd felt just lowering Buck down to the ground. Except. There's a rebar in his side. Even with the adrenaline, even with the love... Eddie doesn't think he'd make it three steps before falling to his knees—a prayer in and of itself.

Instead, Eddie turns to look at Tommy. Tommy who is already looking at him, something determined and understanding and loving trapped behind the wildness of his eyes. A beat passes between them, silence saying more than they ever could.

"Bring him back to—" Me. But. Not to me.

Because that's not Eddie's place anymore. Eddie doesn't get to ask that of Buck's boyfriend. Eddie doesn't get to ask that at all. He's no longer the person that will be shaking Buck's pain pills into his hand and fetching him a bottle of water. He's no longer the person that will be wrapping Buck's cast in a bin bag for a shower and listening to him lament about the indignity of it. He's no longer the person that will be pulling Buck out of bed on his worst days to remind him that he's real and valued and loved. No, that's not his job anymore. But, fuck, Tommy's the only better man for the job.

"Bring him back to us," Eddie tells him then, and it feels like he's finally let go of the baton in the relay race, sure Tommy's got a hold of it now. And Tommy looks as wrongfooted by this as Eddie feels, but he nods anyway and grabs Eddie's discarded helmet from his lap, strapping it on.

"Kinard, no one goes in," Bobby warns him. "That's an order."

"You're not my captain anymore." Tommy only smiles and shrugs before sprinting towards the doors.

Bobby curses, but there's relief in it. Hen and Chim just watch him go with something hopeful on their faces. And Eddie. Eddie's eyes start to droop.

"Hey, hey, Eddie." Chim snaps his fingers in front of his face, jolting Eddie back into semi-consciousness.

"Eddie, we need to get you to a hospital," Hen says calmly, reaching for the brakes.

"Move me an inch and I rip this rebar out of my side," he says lowly.

"Jesus, anyone ever tell you you're a drama queen?" Chim huffs.

"Yeah." Eddie chokes on his next breath a little. "The man trapped in that building."

A solemn silence settles over them then. They redirect their attention to the doors Tommy had disappeared into, and Hen lays a grounding hand on his shoulder as they wait.

It's not long before Tommy comes stumbling out of the building, looking every bit the action hero Eddie has never gotten to be for Buck what with his soot-stained face and Buck himself slung over his shoulder, splinted leg bouncing against his sternum. Hen and Bobby spring into action immediately, racing to meet them. Chim just unlocks Eddie's gurney and loads him into the ambulance, raising him up just enough to catch a perfect view of Tommy lowering Buck onto his own stretcher with a kiss to his forehead. The ambulance doors close, Chim knocks twice, the sirens begin to whine, and they lurch into motion.

"Did you draw the drama queen straw?" Eddie asks to distract himself from the tenderness of Tommy's kiss.

"Higher ups are a little more serious about conflicts of interest now Buck is officially my brother-in-law," Chim mumbles as he works on getting Eddie's IV in. "But also I'm better acquainted with rebars than Hen, so..."

Eddie huffs a weak laugh as his eyes drift to the ceiling, the clean white of it stinging his eyes.

"Chim?"

"Yeah?"

"Tomorrow isn't promised to anyone, right?" he chokes out. He doesn't take his eyes off the ceiling, but the sudden silence in the ambulance is as deafening as the siren overhead.

"No," Chim says eventually. "No, it's not."

"But what happens if the person you love..." Here, his voice breaks. An almighty crack right through the middle. It sounds like the building behind them just came crumbling down in his throat. "What happens if someone told them first?" He turns to face Chim's wide eyes. "Should you still tell them?"

"I-I don't know..." Chim opens his mouth a few times, a fish out of water, before he makes a decision. He takes a deep breath and squares his shoulders. "But what I do know is." He clears his throat. "If you let a wound like that fester... It'll kill you, Eddie."

"Yeah." Eddie lets his eyes fall shut.

I can feel it already.

[sorcerous-caress]

Taking you as their fake date to an event

[Fluff, suggustive, romance, humour, fake dating, nb!reader]

[Wyll, Gale, Shadowheart, Karlach, Rolan]

Wyll

In the aftermath of clearing the misunderstanding with his father, Wyll found himself back at the centre of attention in Baldur's Gate's circle of nobles. Everyone wanted to meet the famed blade of frontiers, for the last time they saw him was years ago before he fully matured into the man he is today.

Letter after letter were delivered to your camp. Carrier pigeons barely escaped Tara's claws as they dropped the mail on Wyll's tent and left with most of their feathers intact.

Being the son of the grand duke of Baldur's Gate turned all the heads of any sane noble with a marriage allegeable offspring. Invitation for tea parties, hunting competitions, and even balls for the sole purpose of meeting other people. Wyll's hand was slowly going numb from having to write back formal polite declining letters.

If only there was a way to stop them from the source. He'd sigh and vent to his closest of companions. But Karlach wasn't available at the moment, so he had to make do with the vampire.

"Why not just tell them you've already tied the knot with someone or whatever you humans call it?"

For once, Wyll actually considered listening to the fanged devil on his shoulder.

He approached that topic as delicately as he could when it came to convincing you, inviting you to dinner at a restaurant, waiting until after you're both filled and the lighthearted conversation slowed to bring it up.

"My friend, if I may, there is something I could use a helping hand with."

To his relief, you don't seem uncomfortable to his proposal. If anything, you nonchalantly agreed to be his fake date to the upcoming celebration.

He thanks you with a polite smile, yet for some, his heart beat faster when he pictures you holding onto his arm amongst the crowd. Your formal attire matching his suit. The fact he'd get to call you his fiancé for an evening sends an unexpected heat up to his face.

.

Gale

Tara wakes him up with delight in her eyes one morning, her sing song tone of his last name is more chipper than usual.

"Mr.Dekarios, yoohoo~" she licks his face to get his sleepy eyes to focus on her, "Ms.Dekarios sends her regards, along with a mandatory summon invitation for you this weekend." Tara brings her paw up to her face, cleaning the fur and making herself even more presentable.

Before Gale gets a word in, he is interrupted by a paw smacking against his lips.

"Now now, you wouldn't break the heart of your poor old mother by rejecting her invitation when you haven't seen her in years, would you?" The soft beans against Gale's mouth hold the threat of sharp claws underneath.

Defeated and outsmarted first thing in the morning, the wizard reluctantly nods with a sight.

Deep down, he know this day would eventually come. He couldn't hide the orb and the looming threat over his life from his own mother forever, no matter how he naively hoped to find a cure before having to face her. Coming back to announce you've foolishly consumed untamed magic of chaos isn't the most popular mother's day gift.

But maybe, just maybe he doesn't have to let her know yet. If he could find a distraction.

And lucky for him, the perfect distraction was currently standing outside his open tent, rubbing Tara's belly as she purrs and leans into their arms more.

He devised a plan, a great list of excuses and reasons to sell you the idea of why you should go along with his plan of deception, even prepared a bribe if push came to shove.

Well, two bribes, actually. The first one was the massive breakfast prepared and catered specifically for your taste.

Scurrying to sit in the chair next to you before Halsin could, Gale ignored the cofused look the druid gave him before sitting down at another chair.

Either he was too easy to read, or you've picked up on his pattern of gifts and act of service whenever he has a request. Because he only had to hint at the upcoming home visit before you Blatantly stated that you're willing to go as his date.

"Well...this was certainly much easier than I expected. In fact I've deviced a much more elaborate argument and explanation for when you'd initially refuse."

"Why would I ever refuse Gale?"

You gently caressed the side of his face, wiping a small crumb of bread away from his lips before taking your hand back.

"I...well, uhm. You." With a flustered look, Gale wasn't sure how to respond. Did he remember to comb his morning hair? Oh god, wait, is he still in his pyjamas? Does he even look half presentable right now?

.

Shadowheart

A Selunite introduction party, as her parents explained. She never had the afterparty of her ceremony after the woods passage trial, and her mother really wanted her to see her adorned in the moon maiden silvery dress and white flowers.

How could she say no? Shadowheart only wished for both of their happiness, to make up for lost time as much as she could.

While her father never pressured her, knowing he still has plenty of time with her, her mother wasn't offered the same courtsy by life. So he encouraged Shadowheart to bring someone dear to her maybe, just to reassure her mother that she has a loved one, you know how humans tend to get about finding your soulmate and all of that.

But she felt lost. Was there really someone she could call a soulmate?

Your words echo in her mind, how you gently persuaded her into lowering her weapon. The night orchid you've given her is still kept safely in her journal, tucked away between the soft pages to preserve the petals forever.

What if you don't share her feelings? What if she is just another lost soul that has grown attached to you after you saved them. Afterall, you did end up risking blowing your cover when saving that drow women at moonrise tower.

Minthara's respect for you was nothing to scoff at. What's a cleric's faith when compared to a paladin's devotion?

Yet she still took a chance, a leap of faith for you.

One night before the two of you retreated to your own beds, she stopped you for a short conversation. Reluctance in her voice as she lowered her face and looked up at you, eyes glistening under the moonlight.

She explained her situation, her party for her coming of age ceremony that was long postponed, how she wished for you to accompany her as her date.

"Please, indulge me this once. And we can pretend it never happened afterwards...if that's what you wish." The words pained her to say, but the relief that followed at your acceptance made all the pain worth it.

She isn't sure where your heart lays, but for a day, it will be hers. Her faith will guide her, the faith that maybe one day, you too will return her feelings.

.

Karlach

She was nervously walking back and forth outside your tent just after dinner, unsure of how to approach you or even mention the topic.

Her tail aggiated and is switching between curling around her leg and lashing at the ground below. Karlach didn't bury her emotions as the engine in her chest glowed more and more, matching the redness of the sunset in the horizon.

Really, what was she thinking? Agreeing to the double date her friends offered her. She was too excited at having finally met more people from her past, ones that didn't stab her in the back, and one thing led to another.

It's not that she ment to lie to her friends...it was just hard to tell them that even after all these years, she still doesn't have someone to call her own. It felt embarrassing to admit how alone she was, how touch starved and repressed she felt.

Not to mention how every single one of her friends had already found someone. Most of them were married and the other half on their way to get married.

She didn't think they'd make a big deal out of it when she off-handedly mentioned that she was seeing someone, a simple white lie with no harm done. She thought they'd just be happy for her and move on.

But no, instead, it was as if she grew a second head right then and there. Everyone was so excited to meet her so-called partner.

And so she found herself like this, strolling around your tent like a loser, attempting to muster up the dignity to ask you to pretend to be her partner for tomorrow.

Only when bumped into something and lost her balance did she realise who stood in front of her.

Karlach's body pinned you to the ground with ease, even unintentionally her muscles could easily cage you on. Her skin hot against yours, she lifted her head and your faces were mere inches apart.

You didn't miss the way her eyes glances at your lips, the way her cheeks darkned when you licked them. The heacy of swallow afterwards before her lips twitched into a polite smile.

With a quick apology, she helped you up.

"Say soldier, have you ever played pretend before? You know that game that kids play." Very smooth Karlach, she thought to herself. "Uh...do you think the two of us can maybe play it tomorrow? Haha...ha."

You asked what she meant.

"I kinda of...well, I told my friends that I was already seeing someone so. Could you be that person? I'll pay you back tenfolds, I promise."

"Of course Karlach, anything you want." Accepting the awkward fistbump she offered you, in return you gave her a hug that lingered for more time than it should.

"Cool cool, great. I'll pick you up tomorrow?" Her tail was swishing excitedly behind her, a confident smile on her face as bright as the sun.

.

Rolan

He will show them, he thought, he will show his spoiled bratty siblings that he isn't as uptight and "scares away all suitors" as they claimed!

I mean, have you seen him? He is a very talented and capable wizard, how is it his fault that other people are far too dim and slow to realise how much of a catch he is, how his talent more than makes up for his sometimes bitter personality.

Lia was bragging again about the cute bard she managed to ask out, her third date this week. Rolan swears she is mentioning within earshot if him intentionally, hell even Cal gets the occasional longing stares at any tavren they go to.

Rolan isn't less than them and he will prove it. He just well...hasn't put himself out there yet, so what if he has zero experience with dating and romance? He is a fast learner, he is very confident in his ability to become an excellent lover in to time.

A day goes by, then two and three. Suddenly it's been a full week and he haven't had a speck of luck when it came to romancing someone. It's almost as if any person he approaches immediately loses interest the second he opens his mouth.

He is getting desperate, he can't let Lia know about this. She will never ever let him live it down.

So when you find him in the elfsong tavren, sitting alone on a table nursing on his drink with his tail curled around his leg. You stare at him long enough to catch his interest.

He recognises you immediately, you could see the cogs turning in his alcohol clouded mind.

"You, come here." He yells the order across the tavren, catching himself afterwards and clearing his thraot to lessen the embarrassment of the situation. Still his eyes begged you to approch him.

And you did, walking to his table and sitting down. After all your companions were still sleeping upstairs so what's the harm in indulging one drunk grumpy tiefling when you were supposed to be on a supply run.

Rolan orders you a drink too, his treats, he says without meeting your eyes.

And just as you take a sip, he lays it on you bluntly.

"From now on, I'm your boyfriend."

You choke on your drink, it takes him a moment to register the way he phrased his question.

Clearing his throat again, he refuses to meet your eyes as a blush colours his cheek. "No not like this, don't get the wrong idea."

Now you're sitting there, confused as the waiter brings you a towel to wipe down the drink you spilled on yourself. You thank them and take it, giving Rolan enough time to attempt to compose himself.

"I know i haven't made the best of impressions on you." He finally speaks up, "but I need you." His voice is more honest, a hint of vulnerability, "your help I mean. Lia and Cal, I want to prove them wrong."

His glossy eyes meet yours, the alcohol loosened his tongue.

"I'm not unlovable." He whipsers, "I'm not going to beg for a chance, I just need your cooperation for a day or two, just to shut them up."

Your hand goes above the table, wrapping around his own fist softly. "I understand, it's okay." You give it a light squeeze, "you don't have to explain yourself."

Somehow, your few words helped relieve his heart from its burden more than this whole night of drinking ever could.

[mviswidow]

all's well that ends well

Maria Hill x Reader

Word count: 1.8k

Summary: A couple of months after being rejected by Maria, R gets hurt during the Battle of Sokovia and it brings them back together. Pretty angsty with some fluff at the end and plenty of best friend Nat.

Based on this request from a while back but I decided to finish it up. I would love to write for Maria more so if you have any ideas please send them my way <3

“I’m so sorry.”

Maria’s words repeated in your head every day since you bore your heart out to her.

The worst part was probably that she had never told you if she reciprocated your feelings. She’d just insisted it wouldn’t work out; it wasn’t worthwhile. You couldn’t believe what you saw between the two of you was imagined. It couldn’t have been. 

You saw her through the glass door of one of many conference rooms, sitting outside, waiting to speak to Fury while you were in your meeting with him.

You should have been happy. You had just been promoted and were going to be an Avenger, yet all you could think about was a girl who didn’t care about you enough to be honest with you.

You did your best to block Maria out of your mind for the remainder of the meeting, attempting to soak up the moment. This was the kind of thing you’d been working towards since you started at SHIELD Academy. 

You needed this. You needed a win. Having such a huge distraction would be great for you, and the opportunity to learn from a legend such as Natasha Romanoff was incredible.

You moved your belongings into the Avengers Tower during the following week. Your bedroom was right next to Natasha’s.

Per Fury’s request, Natasha trained you multiple times a week and reported back to him on your progress.

The more time you spent training with her, the better you got to know her.

Before you knew it, Natasha had become your closest friend. After feeling crushed about Maria, she was exactly what you needed in your life - someone unwavering.

Natasha knew what it was like to be alone. You did too. Maybe that was why the two of you clicked so well.

She was also very excited to have another woman in the tower. Before you it was her and the rest of the boys.

You spent most of your free time with her. She helped you heal your heart.

With some time, you no longer felt your stomach churn every time you saw Maria at work.

You were starting to feel okay.

-

You knew Natasha and Maria were friends, but it wasn’t something you really ever thought about.

You were reminded of the fact when they hugged to greet each other at Tony’s party a couple nights after you helped the Avengers obtain Loki’s scepter from Strucker. 

You stood awkwardly behind Natasha until the redhead moved on to greet another one of your colleagues and Maria’s eyes landed on you.

Anxiety bubbled up in your chest as you gave her a polite smile and a loose hug.

“Maria,” you nodded.

“Hi,” she smiled, though it didn’t nearly reach her eyes the way it used to when she spoke to you. “I haven’t really gotten a chance to congratulate you since you got promoted.”

You didn’t expect a conversation.

“You’re looking good out there.”

You could feel your cheeks turning red, “Thank you.” 

There was so much you wanted to say to her. You held your tongue, though, you would only hurt yourself.

Before either of you had a chance to say anything more, Natasha returned and began to speak to the brunette. You tuned out their conversation quickly as the only thing you could think about was how terribly you missed everything about Maria. 

After a minute, you excused yourself to the bar, promptly ordering two shots and throwing them back.

You were soon joined by Tony and Thor who you ordered drinks with to celebrate your victory. When Steve joined the three of you, you took another shot with him. It was not long before you became a little too tipsy for a work party faster than you’d realized what you’d done.

Upon noticing you hadn’t seen Natasha since you arrived at the party together, you scanned the room for red hair.

You found her sitting on a chair, listening to a conversation between a couple of people, and clumsily sat yourself on her lap, eliciting a laugh from her.

“Someone’s been busy,” she said with a smirk that turned into a smile.

“Oh yeah, I can’t say no to an open bar.”

“Obviously,” she teased and you saw a glint in her eye that made your heart pick up. “You seeing anyone lately?”

You rolled your eyes with a knowing smile, “Prying while I’m drunk, Nat? I didn’t think that was your style.”

“That’s not a no,” she pressed on.

“You’re very nosy. But no, I haven’t even thought of that since… since I joined.” You thought back to what Maria told you. “Besides, I don’t need a distraction or anything.”

“I dunno,” Natasha shrugged. “doesn’t hurt to have some fun- and seeing someone doesn’t mean you have a distraction in your life. There’s a person behind the big, strong, Avenger everyone sees. Being human doesn’t make you weak.”

Your eyes flitted to Maria who was across the room, engaged in a conversation with Steve, and you rolled your eyes in annoyance, “You should tell that to her.”

Natasha’s face crinkled in confusion and she followed your line of sight, her eyes widening as she turned back to face you, “What is that supposed to mean?”

You groaned and had to stop yourself from facepalming, drinking made you loose lipped, “I’ll tell you about it sober, we’re not getting into this now.”

-

The last thing you thought you would have to do that night was fight sentient fucking robots while intoxicated. You thought you had been holding your own well enough but got knocked to the floor when a bogie hit you in the head.

Your ears rang loudly and you’d been sure the stupid piece of metal was about to kill you as you held your head in agony until you heard gunshots and it never came.

You had Maria to thank for that.

-

The next time you found yourself being thrown to the ground by a bogie was in Sokovia. You weren’t so lucky this time, you landed on a sharp piece of metal that lodged itself in your abdomen as your chin slammed into the concrete ground.

You cried out in pain as you tried to get your bearings, knowing that if you didn’t act quickly you would die. 

Searing pain coursed through your entire body as you reached to unstrap your gun from your thigh. Hot tears ran down your cheeks and mixed with dirt and the fresh blood on your chin. 

You shot the hunk of metal until it collapsed on the floor. You were grateful the lifeboats were taking people from the floating island to the helicarrier every couple of minutes and hobbled over as quickly as your body could go in this state. 

Every breath and step you took was excruciating. The only thing you could think about was how badly you wanted to survive. 

The moment Steve laid his eyes on you, he gestured to Natasha and ran over, picking you off your feet and carrying you the rest of the distance. You let out a sob of relief when you no longer had to rely on your feet carrying you the rest of the way, not knowing how much further you would have been able to make it.

You heard him speaking over comms and vaguely caught Natasha’s response, telling him to take you onto the helicarrier for medical attention while she continued to direct people onto lifeboats.

“You’re going to be alright, okay?” Steve murmured, and you couldn’t tell if he even believed himself. 

Nonetheless, you nodded into his neck and let your eyes close.

-

You woke up in a bed with an IV attached to you. You were grateful that the lights were mostly turned off, besides a lamp in the room, keeping your eyes from hurting too much. 

Your whole body ached, your stomach especially, and you groaned restlessly.

Natasha was sitting in a chair to your right reading a book and Maria was beside her, her eyes closed. When Natasha heard you, her head snapped up from her book and she let out a sigh of relief, taking your hand. “Hey, you’re okay.”

She offered you some water and gave you medication that was left for you in case you woke up, “This should make you feel better, you’ll probably be a little drowsy soon but the pain should go away.”

“Thank you, ‘Tasha,” you smiled gratefully as best you could.

“You scared me, you know - all of us, really,” She said, her voice a little shaky. “I’m glad you’re alright.”

“Me too,” you chuckled.

Natasha smiled softly and cleared her throat, “I’ll come check on you again soon but I know Maria wants to talk to you.” 

She nudged the brunette awake gently, nodding in your direction, “Hey, she just woke up a couple minutes ago.”

Maria muttered a ‘thank you’ to Natasha for waking her up and moved to her previously occupied seat when she left.

“You feel okay?” she asked when the two of you alone, and you figured she was avoiding whatever it was she actually wanted to say.

“No, I was impaled, I feel like shit… Why are you here?”

Maria’s eyebrows raised for a second, caught off guard by how blunt you were being, and took a breath, “I wanted to apologize.”

“For?”

“When I rejected you. I -”

“That’s not necessary, Maria, I really don’t want to rehash this.”

She shook her head and clenched her jaw, “Please. I - I was wrong.”

You quirked a brow. That was new. It wasn’t every day Maria Hill was wrong about something. And it definitely wasn’t every day Maria Hill looked like she was about to cry.

Maria took your silence as permission to continue, “I’m in love with you. And I’m sorry you had to almost die for me to admit it. I was so afraid to let myself love you because I was terrified knowing that something like this could happen to you. But when I got the call I realized that I could die never knowing what it’s like to kiss you.” Her voice broke as she finished her sentence. She let out a breath to steady herself as a tear streaked down her face.

You reached out your hand to the edge of the bed, palm up. Maria put her hand on top of yours and you squeezed lightly.

Her breath hitched and tears welled in your eyes while you watched her lips turn downwards as she tried not to cry. “I’m so sorry,” Those words sounded different this time.

Your heart ached for her. You nodded, understanding. “I know… it’s okay.”

She swallowed and wiped her tears, taking a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

You shook your head, a soft smile playing on your lips, “Why don’t you find out what it’s like to kiss me already, hm?”

[here-to-read-and-write]

Team 141 seeing female reader take off her shirt to train with her friend and seeing she has scars all over her body because she was tortured (burned, knife cuts, bullet wounds, whipped, ect) and reader having a visible pack (I don't care how many packs)

And the boys feeling sympathy for her but also blushing at her body ☻️🤭

You can decline if ya want I don't mind

Should I make Konïg, Las Vargas maybe even add Graves and Valeria versions?

TF 1-4-1: Ghost, Soap, John, Gaz.

don't forget to leave request!!! please!

warning: Torture, no details given. Horny men...little innocent reader, English isn't my first language, my writing!

It was a hot day, and luckily the team didn't have any mission. So they were chilling in the training ground.

It was intimating to see a group of tall and build men sitting and staring at the horizon. Weird too, isn't it? but not when you follow the line where their eyes were so focused on.

In the distance, you stood. Back straight up, as your friends chat with each other. You, on the other hand, were standing waiting for something.

From under the shade, they could see all your expressions, or rather the lack of them. At least, they could admire the stars in your eyes, your pouting plump lips.

It wasn't strange for the TF 1-4-1 to admire you from afar. It became a habit they picked. If you give them a chance they will worship the ground you walked on, not like they aren't already.

They just don't want to hide it anymore, but for now, it will do until you notice their efforts, then maybe things will be different, it all depends on you.

"First, it will be (Y/N) against (your friend's name)" Queu to a groan and a few complaints, while you emotionlessly walked pulling off your mask, and your t-shirt. Leaving yourself bare with only a sports bra as a cover.

It caught the 1-4-1 off guard, especially Ghost, who noticed the ghost's hands, each one holding a breast.

Here comes the train of unholy thoughts.

It sends waves of arousal to warm their stomach and crawl up their spine, as they drank in your form. Each curve, each scares, every inch of you was been craved in their minds.

The men turn away shifting from one foot to another uncomfortably trying to ease the blood rushing down there if you know what I mean.

Some were rubbing their eyes and faces as if it was trying to get rid of the image of you standing there... In only a bra and military pants, but we both know that they were craving it in their mind for later. All for everyone to see, causing a fit of jealousy to bloom in their chest.

Damn you and your body. They thought. Fighting the strong urge to relieve themselves, which could be only done in the bedroom away from prying eyes.

Here comes another unholy thought.

Didn't you know the effect you had on them? Or maybe you know, either way, you really need to stop teasing, or punishment may be the only way for you to understand what you made feel.

They all groaned, for god's sake, they were grown-ass men, not some high school girls stalking their crush.

Fuck!

Why their pants are getting tight?

It was weird for you to show some skins, not like you didn't look great. You looked more than great, but after one horrifying mission, you stopped showing even your hands.

Ghost was present with you that day. He had to watch unable to do anything, as they torture you over and over again for days, and the scars on your body were proof of what you had been through. You screamed still hunting his mind, verytime he closed or opened his eyes.

He blamed himself every second of the day, because if he had listened to you and didn't leave you alone, you may have been able to fight the enemy together, and neither you nor him, would have been captured.

You ran a hand through your hair, before putting in a high ponytail. Getting in your position and the boys remarked how your eyes were closed. You didn't even open them when your friend was attacking you left and right. You avoided all attacks, without breaking a sweat. As if you sense his movement, your movements were smooth too. Much different form military training.

Price, unlike the others, was more interested in your abilities Why are you lying? he had read your files. All he could say that is he was impressed. He tried getting you on his team, unfortunately, you had taken two years off the military to heal from your last mission.

He had heard from Lasweel, that you looked like a mummy when the doctors were done. They say it was a miracle that you survived, sadly, the scars will be forever graved on your body, just the memories in your mind.

Now you were back, with a few rumours lit up like fire in the woods about you. They were all absurd of course, yet some seem to believe them, resulting in them avoiding you like the plague, but you didn't seem to mind. Actually, he had noticed how agitated you become when you share the same space as someone else.

You are always tensed and on guard, whenever someone was talking to you, the only person who you seemed to ease around was Soap, who the moment notice your packs accidentally when you were training together, was stuck like the glue to your side.

You never pushed him, you responded to every question he asked, like patient parents with their children, and somehow you were able to understand his weird choice of words, and even then you spoke few words, only listening and humming along the way.

That gave Gaz some courage, to try and talk to, and boy did he feel bad!

Gaz was one of the people who believed the absurd rumours. He found them to be real. You never tried to prove him wrong, until, he sat by your side, as you prepare something to eat.

Soap had practically dragged him, to meet his crush you. For a movie night. You didn't speak much, you just listen attentively to each word that comes out of Soap's mouth, and he could a crossed smile, even it was small each time Soap throw a joke, no matter how bad it was.

He watched you all night eyes only focusing on you. In his mind, he was watching waiting for one wrong move, while his heart was memorizing each part of, each move and the reason behind it. Maybe that's how he knew you well.

You didn't do anything that night that proves that you were the person in the rumours. You weren't arrogant, and even with the little emotion you had shown, he was able to conclude that you were a good person, just broken.

That's how you become close with Gaz, not like how you were with Soap but enough for you to salute him or pat his shoulder or head. Which always flustered him.

A few minutes into the fight with your friend and you already tackled them. You, on top of them, hand behind their back comfortable setting on their back.

They start wiggling under you, and for a moment 1-4-1 halted in their movement eyes intensely watching your breast bounce.

"Fuck" they cursed under their breath. They knew it will be better to leave, yet their body refused to obey their brain and move.

You turn to get your shirt and gear and leave when you saw 1-4-1 standing under the shade. You politely waved but none of them seems to notice you, from where you stood, you could see the tips of their ears red, some were hiding their faces between their arm supporting their weight with the metal bars in front of them.

You, being the innocent female lead, you titled your head, worried that the sun may be the cause of their redness.

You took the bottles before walking to them after it you offered them to them. They all took it gratefully before shrugging in down.

You escorted them back inside, as you watched them walking. You took notice of the awkwardness in the air, with a hint of ginger and peppermint. You knew what it was.

They were scent caused by sex pheromones, so why do they smell like that?

Oh, if only you knew!

[jahnavisurenda-21]

Hazbin Hotel||Alastor X Reader||Jealousy in Hell||3||Jealous of Mimzy

If you want me to write any requests for you guys, either from anime, Harry Potter, or More specific Alastor scenarios do let me know, and I appreciate it.

Maybe, you disliked her the moment she entered the hotel, because she got herself into trouble and just found this place to dump in, it was annoying.

But Alastor ever the charmer, he was strong, he didn't care, he was confident that he would get the mess sorted.

But, when he hugged her, and he usually never initiates physical contact so openly it bugged you, then he talked about how she was this really cool dancer in her hay day or something, and you just lost the interest to have your presence in this room at all.

You huffed, decided to retreat to your room so you could at least begin to read one of the books you had set in your beautiful pile of books, there was nothing more exciting than reading books from a totally unread library.

Alastor was just about to reach out for you, when you had already climbed upstairs, without even bidding him a good night.

You didn't wait for him to tell him about his day, or tell how you slept last night, if you had woken in the middle of your sleep because of a bad dream or listened to his audios?

"Oh, and Alastor dear, this hotel's got quite the decor maybe, you should show me around sometime?"

"It seems like you upset my partner someway Mimzy, and maybe another day, I'd like to go bid her for the night." Alastor said, it was more like he told himself.

"Don't tell me you actually even care about this girl, and silly hotel?" She asked a little bit astonished,

"Well, she's got that charm Mimzy, and I guess you should leave now, you have brought trouble in this hotel again, and Mind you that Y/n is not a demon like us, she's human and I'd like to keep her out of danger, so until you want to give redemption a shot, please, stay away from this hotel. But that's not really your thing now, is it?"

After he took care of the scene, he finally just briefly opened your door to see you reading, while sipping to some tea you made, it was the book you had been talking about,

When you noticed Alastor, you told him to, "Go away Alastor."

"My dear, Did Mimzy upset you that much?"

"Yes, and I got jealous alright?" You said, it didn't look like you had any fluster feelings when you admitted that you simply immersed yourself in the world of fiction again,

Alastor smiled wider, sitting beside you, his back resting against the pillow. "I sent her away, so I see no reason to worry, or if I didn't send her away, I see no reason to worry."

You scoffed, "You wouldn't know, you have the charm and voice, height? I guess so--"

"Yes, but they are not you, they can't make me care for them the way I do for you. It's just the way it is."

You smiled before giggling, "Highness, you know how to walk your way through all this don't you?"

"I will, only because It's you."

[murdrdocs]

you should totally write another enemies to lovers w ethan but like fem!reader and him get paired into a project we’re they have to take care of an egg together as if it were a baby? (like those cheesy movies LMFAO) and maybe they constantly argue about it and even try to convince their teacher to get paired into different groups but they’re forced to work together. then one night, reader has been taking care of the egg all day, she decides to go to ethan’s apartment but as soon as she leaves her apartment building she gets a call from ethan!gf (to mess w her) and at that point she’s just running to ethan’s apartment and yeah you can do the rest.

description. you're paired with ethan landry for a silly, 2000s-esque 'baby project', forced to reckon with the troubles of parenthood, and your inconsiderate feelings towards the brown haired boy.

includes. GN!reader, allusions to sex but no smut, reader curses a lot, chad's here :D

word count: 1.6k+

a/n: im so sorry it took me so long to write this but its here now :) also i changed this a bit just bc here we have the fake babies that cry and stuff and it adds drama yk and this was not supposed to be this long but enjoy nonetheless (also x2 this isn't proofread at all and it's written like an extended blurb)

anytime you said your life "was a movie" you were never serious. which is because before ending up in this class, life for you was nothing but usual teenage and young adult endeavors; parties, hanging out, spending entirely too much money.

but now, your life literally is a movie. an early 2000s movie that the production shouldn't have greenlit because it desperately flopped in the theatres and digital release, only to become a cult classic 20 years later.

however, you're stuck in that flopping at box office point, coming in the form of being assigned a project where you had to take care of an egg, then a fake baby, in a class you shouldn't have been in in the first place, and being paired with ethan landry out of all people.

you don't have anything against ethan per se, but you don't like him either. on a scale of dislike, neutral, and like, you're in the lower end of neutral with your feelings towards ethan.

he wasn't a horrible guy, but he just reminded you of the guys back home. the ones that were always unnecessarily rude and help "opinions" that were really just hate speech waiting to be turned into hate crimes. and sure, he hadn't done anything in particular to be compared to those people, but you're better off being safe than sorry.

you're sitting across from him now, a brown egg sitting between you two, and your eyes switching from glaring at the egg to glaring at ethan.

"so ... how do you wanna do the schedule?" ethan asks, fiddling with the sticker on his smoothie cup.

your glare intensifies and you sit back in your seat, crossing your arms over your chest. "i want you to know that i don't wanna do this with you."

ethan looks slightly shocked by your blunt statement, which infuriates you more. and then he says, "...okay?" like he doesn't care. asshole.

you decide to be the bigger person, taking a deep breath before you continue speaking. "okay."

it's silent for a few moments. "now that we have that cleared up, how do you wanna do the schedule?"

you and ethan decide on who should take care of the egg-baby for the first week, until you upgrade to a fake baby. that night when you go home, you send an email that is a mix between begging and demanding your professor to switch your partner.

the week was fine. it could've been better if your professor switched your partner, and if you didn't have to communicate with ethan landry more than you would have ever wanted to. but apparently, people can't always get what they want.

by the first class the following week, 3 groups have broken their egg and failed the first half of the assignment. you sit and listen to your professor lecture each and every one of you about the importance of good child care, and how taking care of the egg was the easy part. as she hands out doll babies in a carrier, and understand how lifelike the not-toy is, you start to realize just how much harder this is going to be.

"who would've known blackmore had this sort of money." chad marvels at the doll in the stroller. he has his hands on his bent knees, his brown eyes shifting to notice every detail about the doll in the stroller.

"it fucking knows how much time each of us spends with it, chad," you complain through a mouthful of burrito bowl contents. you have a little time alone since ethan had class, so you took the time to take yourself, and amelia/janice (you and ethan couldn't agree on a name) to the dining hall for lunch with chad.

"just spend time with ethan. i do it everyday."

your eyes roll so hard that you have to pause and hold a hand to your head. "easier said than done."

chad laughs a bit, sitting down in the seat across from you once again and starting to dig into his own burrito bowl.

"what's your problem with him anyway?"

"oh don't even get me started–" but he did get you started. you detail all of the things that deems ethan to be insufferable in your eyes. his abercrombie model body, his nerdy persona, his "well actually" moments, his need to correct everyone, the way he seems like he actually hates tara and sam, his not-so-subtle superiority complex. chad stops you whenever you start to mention his hair.

"just sounds to me like you're hiding your true feelings behind anger."

you don't have a response, instead opting to check your email to see your professor sending a third denial to switch partners.

you're thinking of a way you can convince her whenever ethan texts you.

'my shift? '

"gotta go," you tell chad, sliding him your tray to dispose of with a grin, feeding him an excuse about being a "busy parent now" whenever he tries to argue.

okay, truth be told, ethan landry wasn't that bad. he offered to take up shifts whenever you even alluded to being stressed about other things, he offered to buy you meals in return for watching amelia/janice for an extra half hour. he seemed like he both cared about passing this project, and you.

"just so you know, i also tried to switch partners," ethan admits with just a hint of shame in his voice, and a light pink tint to his cheeks. but you don't know if that's from his confession or the alcohol in his system.

it's the end to another grueling week taking care of amelia (ethan let janice go) and you decided to celebrate by opening a bottle of wine. you were feeling oddly good that whole week, so whenever ethan came over to drop amelia off, you invited him in for a drink.

which turned into two. which turned into a late night kitchen makeout session.

the alcohol was obviously hindering your thinking abilities because not only were you pressing ethan landry back against your counter with your body and letting his hands roam all over your figure while he kissed you, you also pulled back and stared at him wildly to ask, "wait, amelia's down for the night right?"

ethan smiles big, playing along, "yeah, she's down for the night".

his hands find the end of your shirt and the slide underneath to feel the warmth of your skin. your room was occupied by your daughter, but your roommates were out for the night and the couch was available.

you let ethan lead you there and decide that yeah, ethan landry isn't that bad.

this, is the climactic point in the film. it's so cliché that you can predict the next moments, and you don't like them.

you were walking from your apartment to ethan's, preparing to drop amelia off for ethan to take care of now that he was out of econ. you've done this same walk safely many times before, so you weren't worried about yourself at all. you had your headphones on, playing music at a low volume just in case, and there were only a few minutes left in your walk. when your phone rang, you didn't think much of it. you answered it without checking your phone, a chirpy "hello?" being your greeting.

the voice on the other hand was unrecognizable. "hello." he said it like a statement, not a question, as if he had an upper hand.

"who is this?"

"i'm ... an admirer."

a chill runs through your body and you quicken your pace. "okay? what's your name?" you're looking around, searching for people on the street to witness something just in case. but there's only 2 to 3 people walking at this late hour. what are the fucking odds.

"i go by many names. some people call me the boogey man, others their worst nightmare." he speaks slowly, methodically, with a smooth tone, a direct contrast from the fast shakiness in your voice.

"oh, yeah? why do they call you that?"

"because ... i'm known for gutting people like a fish."

you don't say anything, going to reach for your phone and hangup instead. which, you do. you hand shakes as you go to call ethan instead, but before you can click on his contact you're getting a call from him.

"ethan? thank god, i was just about to call you. some fucking weirdo called me and he was freaking me the fuck out but i'm almost at your pla–"

"you think i'm a weirdo?" the same voice.

you glance down at ethan's contact, blinking, making sure you didn't read it wrong. but it's right.

"... ethan?" you ask softly, your heart thudding intensely behind your chest.

"yes?"

"is that you?"

"uh-huh."

fucking asshole.

"you fucking asshole." the entrance to ethan's apartment building is in sight now, as is the boy himself, standing in front of the building with his phone held in one hand, and a white object in the other. the closer you get, the bigger his smile gets, and the narrower your glare gets.

you stop in front of him, shoving the stroller into his foot and pushing at his chest for good measure. "you fucking asshole!" you repeat, as if he hadn't heard you the first time.

ethan laughs, he cackles, like he just told the best joke in history. the dial tone of ethan ending the call is barely heard over the blood rushing in your ears.

"c'mon, babe," ethan tilts his head as he pockets his phone and the white object. his hands reach for you, and you flinch away the first time, but the second time you let him rest his hands on your waist and pull you into him. he places a kiss on your forehead, then your nose, before pressing a soft kiss to your lips.

"i fucking hate you." there's no bite behind your bark.

"yet you decided to have a baby with me."

stupid fucking assignment.

[geekywritings]

Drunken revelations

And another anonymous request finished because I was inspired :D If you have promts, quotes or something for Cal x reader shorts, send them over :D

Request: “Cal Kestis x drunk reader??? Fluffy and comfort maybe he finds out about something from her past cause she’s drunk and doesn’t register she’s saying it?”

I think I might have gone a little dramatic here, but fluff is always included ;)

________You didn’t often consume alcohol. And it showed.

You were sitting in Pyloon‘s Saloon with Bode, waiting for Cal to return from a little security round he liked to make around the place before the end of the day. The last thing you needed was the Empire finding your safe haven. Or more Bedlam Raiders causing trouble. Sometimes, you would accompany the Jedi on his patrols, but this evening you had helped out Greeze in the kitchen before being invited to join your other companion.

Bode was nice and always had exciting stories to tell. This evening, however, he was pensive and in clear need of someone to lend him an ear. He had spoken a lot about Kata, his daughter, revealing how much he missed her and how he regretted not being able to spend more time with her. This fatherly side was what warmed you to the man, as not many were as engaged as him.

During his little monologue, he had kept ordering drinks for the two of you, and out of solidarity, you had downed one glass after another with him. At first, you hadn’t felt anything, but after the third round, your head started to grow fuzzy.

Cal returned after the fourth, his face betraying a mixture of surprise, amusement and a little worry. He had never seen you in such a state.

“Cal… You’re back.”, you spoke, noticing that the control over your voice was slipping. “Was it fun?”

“Fun?”, he asked with a chuckle. “No. But at least it’s quiet.” He took a seat next to you, ordering something for himself as he joined your conversation for a while. Eventually, Bode said his goodbyes, wanting to record another story for Kata.

“He is such a good dad.”, you said, as the two of you watched the dark-haired man disappear through the door. Cal was about to agree when you tacked on a remark that had him raise his brows instead. “I am jealous of Kata.”

You were staring into your half-empty glass now, a longing expression on your face.

Cal cocked his head toward you, trying to get you to look at him and explain. Although the two of you had been dating for a few weeks now, after a rather surprising confession on the battlefield when you thought you were about to die, he knew nothing about your past. For good reason.

But you couldn’t keep it hidden forever either… and the alcohol was clearly loosening your tongue.

“I wish my dad had cared that much.”, you spoke, your eyes finally meeting Cal’s. A hand on your shoulder invited you to continue.

“He was too busy with his career. He had big plans… My mother and I… we just had to wait. Day after day after day. For a visit. For a message even. Sometimes we heard nothing for weeks until suddenly we were called to attend some event with him. He paraded us around and then forgot we existed again for weeks.” You were bitter and it showed.

“I’m sorry, Y/N.”, Cal spoke softly, trying to be encouraging without knowing what to say. He couldn’t relate. He didn’t even know his parents.

“He did get his wish… he got that promotion… that position he had lusted after. And it made me hate him even more.”, you took another sip, even though you clearly had more than enough already. Cal knew that too and subtly pulled the glass away from you once you had placed it back down.

“You should hate me…”

The sudden change of topic startled the Jedi and he found himself blinking in surprise before scooting closer. A finger under your chin brought your face back in line with his after you had turned away. “Do you know what you are saying, Y/N?”

“I do… You should hate me. For who I am. For who my father is.”

“You are drunk. I’m taking you to bed.”, Cal decided, sliding from the bar stool, ready to pick you up, but your following words had him stalling for a moment.

“Tarkin… My real name is Y/N Tarkin.”

Cal’s hands stopped inches from you, as he just stared. He knew that name. The man was part of the top command chain of the Empire after all. Responsible for endless suffering across the Galaxy. And you were supposed to be his daughter? How?

He had met you as part of the rebellion. You were fighting the Empire with as much ferocity as he was.

“That’s not who you are as a person, though.”, he started slowly, allowing his initial feelings to settle.

“How do you know?”

“Because I see you, Y/N. I see what you do to fight him. I see how much you care about the people. I see how much you love me, even though we should be enemies if you truly were his daughter through and through.”

How could he say these things so easily? How could he trust you so much?

Because he loved you, your muddied brain slurred.

“You know what Merrin taught me? Where you come from doesn’t have to define you. You choose your own path in life… and you have clearly chosen yours.”

Tears were brimming in your eyes and you tried to move in for an embrace… just to almost lose your balance on the bar stool and hug the floor instead. Cal’s arms caught you just in time.

“I think I’m drunk…”, you whispered and despite the heavy topic a few seconds ago, Cal couldn’t hold back a chuckle.

“You very much are.”, he agreed. “Come, I’ll bring you to bed.”

“Your bed?”

“Ours.”And with that he hooked one arm under your knees and the other around your shoulders, picking you up with ease.

“I like that…”, you mumbled, head resting against his chest as he carried you downstairs to the room Greeze had prepared for him. The room he now shared with you.

“What do you mean?”

“This… All of this… You.”

He gave you a gentle smile, before leaning down to kiss your forehead. “Any other dark secrets you want to get off your chest?”, he asked, finally placing you down on the bed.

“Just one…”

Your eyes were feeling so heavy all of a sudden, the softness of the bed beckoning you to sleep.

“If I ever have kids… I want you to be their dad…” And with that revelation you drifted off, leaving Cal dumbfounded yet absolutely happy.

[bleedingichorhearts]

𝖂𝖆𝖙𝖈𝖍𝖊𝖗

𝕬𝖚𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖗: Uh, apologies?

𝕿𝖆𝖌𝖌𝖊𝖉: @kit-williams, @egrets-not-regrets.

𝕬𝖈𝖐𝖓𝖔𝖜𝖑𝖊𝖉𝖌𝖊: I do not ᴄᴏɴᴅᴏɴᴇ these 𝙰𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜.

TW // Disownment, Assault, Angst? Yandere Themes.

There was something about being a child of the rich. It wasn't as fun people thought it would be. It was… lonesome, exhausting in a way.

Especially, for a child that just wanted to be recognized by their own blood. That wanted to be held, and coddled just like their siblings did. To be read a book to settle down into bed with. To be cooed at and laughed at. To be running away from her guardians with glee. To be just loved, just like her siblings did.

What made her so different?

What made her to be the outcast? The black sheep? She wasn’t anything different than her siblings, was she? She looked like a normal child to her, but why can’t her mother love her the same way, and not send her off to do her studies? Why can’t her father teach her just like he did to her sibling? …Maybe they just needed time to recognize her? Maybe she needed to prove her worth? Yes, that must be it!

So, she waited, and waited, and waited until these golden knights showed up just as another of their siblings was born. They were huuuuuuge, and in different colors too! They were nothing compared to what she's been reading in the books! Their helmets, a little wonky, but it's just another thing she will have to deal with as she continued to wait for her parents' recognition.

She waited for them through a couple more seasons. Her hopes, high for any day they might give her anything that resembles a real hug. She's been watching long enough to know what was real and what wasn’t. She’s seen them fight before; right in front of her too. She's seen them drink their heads off. Laughing about anything and anyone that is deemed funny enough to them, then start a fight about it?

That part confused her. Why drink something that made you fight, and miserable afterward?

The golden knights confused her too. They were hanging around with her a lot more when they should be hanging around with the rest of her family. She knows her family doesn’t like it so that means she shouldn’t either, right? But with any attempt she has made for the golden knights to dislike her was proven false afterward, and it irritated her. Why can’t they just leave her alone?! That’s what her parents wanted, right? For her to be left alone?

She tried throwing heavy blankets, and pillows over the railing when one of the golden knights would pass by. Landing on their helmet and obstructing their view. Only for them to pull off the blanket and look up at her with a questioning tilt of their helmet. She's tried hiding the books that one of them was reading. Which, in her opinion, she won because it took him a day or two to find it again. She's even tried wandering the streets of the city, only to be carried right back to the house by one of them. She was so sure they wouldn’t be able to find her because she had lost herself too.

These actions, of course, didn’t come without some grounding from her parents, but if it meant getting a fraction of their favor. She can handle the extra weight.

Though, there was a time where she realized that she will never be loved the same way as her siblings. She will never be loved by her parents. She might as well never have been loved at all, and deep down. That scared her.

She strictly remembers staying up late one night. Wandering the halls of the modern mansion at one of her father’s hosted parties that lasted halfway through the night. She could hear their drunken laughs, and the slamming of their drinks on the tables. How someone laughed at a higher pitch than them all. Unlike the rhythmic laugh they do together. She had even questioned herself if they were female or not.

Nevertheless, she was simply wandering the halls, too restless to fall back asleep. Not like she could anyways. It was too loud for her to do so. Her room wasn’t all that far from the main entertainment rooms, nor the laundry room. So, it would be a while for her to go back to bed.

She was also surprised that she hadn’t seen one of the golden knights yet. They usually were more active when there was a party going on. Patrolling the halls. Busy trying to keep people in their place, within their area. Except for one that managed to bypass them.

The bypasser was a young-looking man dressed in a messy black, and white tux as he stumbled into the hall she was in. His form hunched over with an arm to his mouth. Trying not to puke up whatever he’s eaten. His green unfocused eyes staring at the ground before acknowledging her.

“Where you wonderin’ little gal?” The man slurred, grinning as he tried to steady himself. His suit stinking heavily with alcohol. His pupils, bigger than average; pink too. Meaning he drank too much than he should have.

The hairs on the back of her neck rose. Her shoulders tensed as the man took a slow step towards her. She knows this wasn’t a friendly man. She’s seen what a friendly man was like; they were kind, generous, and happy. Not drenched of alcohol, not wobbly and unfocused, creepy, this man is creepy.

It reminded her of a monster in one of her books. How this monster would come in through the bedroom window and steal the children away and into the dark where he emerged from. The book never specified what the monster did to the children afterward, but a child can imagine, and they can imagine big.

“C-Come over here.” The man hiccupped, nearly falling flat on his face after he tripped on a rug. Pulling it out from underneath an end table. A loud thud going off as the table tipped to the ground. The man huffed in response and looked back at the fallen table while she turned around to get out of there. She knows that he was a very, very bad man. How couldn’t he be? He was described as one of the monsters!

What the little girl couldn't expect was an object to be thrown at her. Hitting her right in the back of her head and shattering. Making her fall down to the ground. She even couldn’t register the pain yet, too busy hearing her own little heartbeat in her ears. Too busy scrambling away from the man who gave chase.

She yelped as she turned a corner. Hearing the man slam into the wall with slurs coming out of his mouth. Never has she's been so close to a drunk man before. She only watched them from afar, never coming close to them like her siblings did. They never were this… angry. They never hit her siblings like this one hit her.

She desperately dashed for a cubby hole that she had found while wandering another of her restless nights. Knowing that if she tried going back to her room when she really wanted to, she could end up putting herself in a bad situation just like in those horror movies she's seen her father watch.

Spotting the cubby hole. She flung herself into it just as the man had caught her leg, trying to pull her back out as she kicked and screamed at the man to let her go. Her arms nearly failing on her to keep herself inside of the cubby hole until she managed to kick the man right in the face.

Scrambling inside. She tucked herself all the way up against the other wall of the cubby hole and in the corner while she held her breath. Silent tears going down her cheeks as she watched the man try and shove himself in the cubby hole with her too. His arms thrashing all around in order to snatch her right back out there. A lot more curses falling from his mouth before he finally stopped. A snap shushing his foul mouth. His unmoving form being taken away before being replaced with a shine of gold. The blare of a red visor staring right back at her.

The golden knight cooed out to her, but she didn’t move a single inch. Replaying the events in her head. Wondering why one would do such a thing until she passed out in the cubby hole. Running out of breath to hold. Running out of energy to cry. Her form curling around herself.

She woke up the next morning with a headache, but she stayed in that space for almost three days. Quietly weeping, thinking; waiting.

Waiting for someone to acknowledge that she was gone, except for the golden knights. That have tried everything within their power to make her come out without having to smash through the wall and get her themselves. They really wanted to, but they didn’t want to spook her anymore then she already was. They wanted her to trust them. So, they brought her food that she never would eat. They brought her hobbies that she might like to play with, but still. They sit there at the entrance of the cubby hole untouched.

She wanted her family, her own blood to recognize her. Not these… colored bananas that shouldn't have been with her in the first place. Her family didn’t like her around them. So that means she shouldn’t be around them either, but never once, did her family call out for her. Never once, did her family make an effort to find her. Not once, did they acknowledge her disappearance. Even when the next day was her birthday.

That’s when she realized she was just a watcher, an observer of the household. She was nothing more than a camera in the corner, or a phantom that wandered the empty halls at night. Only to be walked though like a ghost in the morning. She was never a daughter to them. She never will be. She never was.

She came out of that cubby hole the day after her birthday. Hungry, thirsty and… different.

She never ran to anyone like the maids the house hired that she trusted. She didn’t speak much as she used to. She never picked up any toys she loved. She just kept to herself, and her studies as she grew. Ignoring whatever might drive her away from it, and she watched.

She just watched.

Watched how her siblings tore into her things she used to love. Watched as her parents continued to treat her like she wasn’t there. Watched how the maids, or babysitters tried to cheer her up like she once did. Watched how the golden knights even tried being just a little closer than before, but it ended up with her “grounded” for nothing. She watched as her birthday’s zoomed by without a lit candle on a cake or even just on a cupcake, and she continued to watch the days of her creation pass by like any other day.

She also noticed a lot more things that way.

Her father liked to cheat behind her mother's back while she would do the same at 1:00A.M. and 3:00AM. sharp. Her brothers, and sisters doing the same, just worse? They would steal each other's girlfriend or boyfriend, and that was just a loop of disastrous events. Her father liked to drink, and gamble at some casino not too far from here. Her mother also goes there to get laid by another rich man. Just waiting on the day, the two catch one another, not they haven’t before. Oh, and her father's businesses were failing. That he told nobody about. Too afraid of his own failure, and that brings us to the “Golden Knights.” The Adeptus Custodes that she does not have much on.

All she knows is they are annoying. Following her around like she was some royal to them, and her parents hated that. Hated they couldn't do anything about it, but who’s to say anything to a 9ft tall, armored warrior that shuts you up by just staring at you? Not her parents, and certainly not the crackhead down the street.

Though, it makes her wonder why the Adeptus Custodes are truly here? Out of all the places they could have gone to they chose to be here. She knows they weren't being “controlled” by her father. They were to… divine looking to be swayed by his horrible contracts. So, why were they here? What was their purpose? There was nothing special for them here.

Furthermore, making her untrusting to them. No matter what they did. She didn’t trust them, and it's all they wanted. For her to trust them. For her to come to them and use them as their shield. To relish in their protection. To love them just as they loved her.

Please, trust us little one. We will wait a millennium if we have to.

[darksigns-exe]

twenty buttons and a strap - nick folio x josie (ofc)

Pairing: Nick Folio x Josie (OFC) Warnings: Swearing Word Count: 2.5k Note: Prequel to Softly Know Me Masterlist

Days off are rare. They’ve had two relatively close to each other, one of which had been wet in the worst way possible. Today seems to be less rainy though. They’re in New York, and Nick has taken the liberty to spend the morning getting breakfast before he’ll lose too many hours in the music store. Matt will curse him when he comes back with more ideas for the kit, but then again, Matt will always find something to be grumpy about. 

Nick’s completely wrapped up in the plans for his day, running through the little itinerary he’d created for himself. He’s so distracted that the doesn’t notice the door to his right opening and the young woman storming out of it. He only notices when she slams square into him. In an instant, the contents of her bag spill across the side walk. Nick blindly reaches forward and just manages to stop her from falling. 

“Shit.” the curse falls from her seconds before she’s wrangling herself from his hold again. 

She scrambles to pick everything back up again, clearly in a rush. It takes Nick a moment to remember that he should probably help. And so he bends to pick up the loose papers and pens. 

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you.” He says quickly, knowing that it won’t make anything better. 

The shattered remains of her to-go coffee cup lie between them. Its contents slowly seeping into the cracks of the concrete slabs. 

“I didn’t look.” Her reply comes just as quick. 

“Can I get you a new coffee at least?”

“You really don’t have to.”

“But I want to.” He insists and for a moment he feels a little too pushy, but when he looks at her, he finds a curious little smile on her face. 

“There’s a good place up the street.” she finally says, and he can’t stop himself from smiling too. 

She tells him that her name is Josie, and Nick thinks that he’s never seen a prettier girl before. She’s on Broadway, a world Nick knows next to nothing about. Sure, he’s aware of it, but what he knows doesn’t extend further than the marquees of the theatres. But the brief bit of conversation they have while they wait for their orders makes him want to listen to her for hours. 

“You’re not from here either, right?” she asks, setting the paper cup down on the little table. 

He isn’t sure how he’s managed to rope her into staying for the duration of her coffee, but she’s here and he won’t question it. 

“I’m in a band, we’re just here for two days.” 

Something unreadable skims across her face. He thinks that there’s a little bit of disappointment mixed into it. And he can’t deny that he feels that same sting when he thinks about how unlikely it is that they’ll be more than a chance encounter and a shared cup of coffee. 

Josie asks a million questions. She wants to know what kind of music they make, how he got into it, everything. It’s sweet. 

Nick asks just as many questions. 

“We’re playing a show later tonight. I don’t know if it’s — if that’s your thing, but if you’d like to come —”

“I’m on standby today. I’ll be in the theatre until 11 at least.” She sounds apologetic enough for him to believe that she isn’t just giving him an excuse.

Maybe that’s why he feels brave enough to ask. 

“Would you like to grab something to eat afterwards?” 

Her eyes go wide, and for a brief second Nick thinks that he’s messed it up. But then she smiles, and he finally understands what all that talk about hearts skipping beats is about.

“Oh, I would love that.”

When she returns his phone to him so that he can send her a message, he finds that she’s saved her name with a pink heart behind it. He doesn’t want to let himself hope. He’d rather find himself pleasantly surprised than experiencing yet another let down. 

They part ways shortly afterwards. She hugs him goodbye, and Nick decides that he’ll find a way to make this work. Even if that means that he’ll have to drive up here to see her. 

Nick is admittedly distracted for the rest of the day. She’d texted him the name of the theatre she’s working in so that he can meet her there after the show. Against his usual instincts, Nick had found himself scouring the theatre's website for her name. 

Josephine Barnet 

The name rattles around his brain when they run through the set. So much that he keeps missing his cues. It’s never been like this. Sure, he knows himself to fall quickly when a girl bats her lashes at him like that, but this is a new record even for him. He’s not planning a wedding yet, but he’s not far from it, either. Reality hits when he has to apologise for missing his mark for the tenth time that afternoon. 

Jolly suggests that they take a break and honestly Nick is more than happy to take a moment away. As intriguing as Josie is, he can’t let her take over his mind just yet, not when he doesn’t even know if he’ll see her again after tonight. 

Just as he rounds the corner to the stairs that’ll take him deeper into the belly of the venue, a hand wraps around his bicep. 

“Got a moment?” Ruffilo sounds awfully concerned, and really he gets it. 

He has the decency to wait for the rest of them to wander off before he begins his interrogation, “Is everything okay? Did something happen earlier?” 

A small part of him wants to tell him everything. Nick stops himself before he can start gushing over the pretty girl he bought coffee earlier in the day. Instead, he tells him some half-assed thing about not sleeping well. He does feel a little bad about it, but he doesn’t want to raise his own hopes too high just yet. 

He isn’t sure that Nick is entirely convinced, but he seems to accept the excuse for now. Nick uses the short break to gather himself again. The others rely on him, and he can’t slack like this again. The break seems to be enough to get him back on track again. And when they run through the last few songs, Nick feels as if he’s back where he needs to be. 

He’s glad that they’re busy until the show starts. 

They have things to sign, an interview to give and people to talk to. No time for Nick to drift off into fantasies of that pretty girl. There’s a text from her on his phone when he checks just before the show. 

Are we still good for tonight? 

No change of plans on my part. 

Great! Really looking forward to it! 

The confirmation that he’ll see her again makes him a little dizzy. He can’t stop that first date buzz from settling into his bones. 

Focus. 

He’ll let himself get excited about it once the show is over. Nick gets extra involved in the lead up to the show. He’s double and triple checking his kit just to keep himself busy. He even considers going for a run. Luckily, time seems to be on his side for once, and they’re on stage sooner than he’d thought. 

The show takes his mind off her entirely, but once the last note is played, and they’ve said their goodbyes he’s off to take a shower. He can’t and won’t show up to what could be their first date reeking of sweat. In a way, Nick is glad that he has to rush his way through it all. There’s no time to worry about small things like the fit of his shirt or if his hair sits right. 

He let’s Matt know that he’ll be back late as he flees the venue, narrowly avoiding Noah’s nagging questions. He doesn’t exactly want to hear another concerned question about his behaviour today. Sure, the easiest way to avoid all of it would be to just tell them that he’s meeting someone, but that would make it real and that would mean that he’d have to explain that it ended up being nothing once again.

Josie had told him that she’d come around the front of the theatre. She’s wrapped up in a conversation when he comes up to the building. The scene reminds him of the times they – or rather Noah – been swarmed after shows. Although this seems a lot more tame. She stops him eventually and quickly wraps up her conversation before she comes rushing over to him. 

“I am so sorry.” she sounds a little out of breath, voice just a little rough in a way that reminds him of Noah after a show, “I had to fill in for someone tonight, and it usually gets a little wild after that. I hope you haven’t waited for too long?”

The exhaustion that had previously sat in his muscles and bones fades away when she smiles at him like that.

Nick quickly shakes his head before the whole thing becomes embarrassing. 

“Just got here.” he adds just as quick. 

He doesn’t try to sound nonchalant. Hell, he couldn’t even if he tried. 

Josie looks at him for a long moment, and he cannot for the life of him decipher what’s going through her mind. He doesn’t know her long enough for that, and even worse, he’s never been that good at that anyway. 

“Do you want to head out? There’s a little 24/7 place around here that I go to sometimes.” the soft lilt of her voice breaks through the fog in his head. 

She could read him a phone book, and he’d listen with rapt attention. 

The walk to the diner is filled with questions from her about their show. It’s a nice pace of change to talk about this with someone who seems genuinely interested in the craft side of things. She leads him to a place that looks entirely out of time. The world around it has moved on, but this little palace remained stuck somewhere in the 70s. Through the windows, he can see a handful of patrons stuffed into the booths. 

The conversation doesn’t stop when they find a seat in one of them. The change from topic to topic is comfortable. Nick wants to know everything, he wants to hear about every little thing she has to say, even if that means that they’ll be here for hours. He’ll skip sleep if he has to. The others will ask questions, but it doesn’t matter. 

“I have never even seen a fishing pole in person.” she says with a giggle. 

“I’ll show you one day.” he finds himself replying as if it’s already a done deal. 

And he doesn’t catch the choice of words until he mulls it over again in his head. But when he looks up at her, she’s smiling, and it makes his breath catch in his throat. 

“I’d love that.” 

It’s almost two when they’re out of the door again. And while he does start to feel a little tired, it’s not nearly enough for him to want to part ways just yet. 

They end up in her living room. It’s small and stuffed full of what is clearly second hand furniture. But while the space is anything but bare, it doesn’t feel messy. It’s cosy and lived in, and he feels at home almost immediately. 

The conversation continues to be just as effortless as it had been before, and it almost feels as if he’s known her for years. The longer they sit together like this, the closer Josie scoots to him. She’s touchy. Usually, Nick doesn’t enjoy it too much when people get too touchy with him like this when he doesn’t know them well, but when Josie’s hand touches against his knee again, he cannot deny that it sends a shock of warmth up his spine. The warmth of her palm seeps into his skin. She’s telling him about her time abroad, about her own touring experiences, and it feels so good to know that she understands the stress that comes with it. 

The minutes trickle by, and before Nick knows it, his phone buzzes with one notification after another. When he finally checks the time on his phone, it’s nearing five, and Matt sounds surprisingly worried about his whereabouts. 

Josie apologises profusely for keeping him up for so long, but he can’t bring himself to be upset about it. How could he be upset when he hasn’t felt this comfortable with another person in ages. She’s adamant that he should take an Uber back to the hotel, and she doesn’t accept his no when he says that he’ll pay for it himself. 

“I kept you up, let me do something.” 

He doesn’t try to argue with her after that. 

Saying goodbye feels harder than it should, considering that he’s only spent a couple of hours with her. Josie wraps him into a tight hug when it’s time for them to actually part ways. The soft, sweet scent of her perfume wraps itself around his mind. Against his better judgement, Nick lets the feeling of her pressed against his chest ingrain itself into his brain, just in case he doesn’t get to feel this again. 

“Do you think that I could see you again some time?” Nick asks, and his heart is pounding at a thousand miles a minute. 

She nods immediately, “You said you’d teach me how to fish, and I’m going to hold you to that.” 

God, he wants to lean over and kiss her. 

“Good. We’ll figure out a time and day.” 

Josie nods so eagerly, “In the meantime, is it okay if I keep texting you?” 

She sounds so awfully hesitant and shy, and Nick hopes that he hasn’t given her the feeling that she can’t do that. 

“Of course. You gotta let me know how that casting goes.” 

He tries so hard to memorise how her eyes light up at his reply. He’ll do whatever he has to make this work, even if that means coming up here more often than he’d like. 

Nick texts her just as the Uber pulls up to the hotel to let her know that he’s made it back safely. He also lets Matt know that he’s back and prepares himself for the litany of curses that is about to rain down on him. He knows that it’s genuine worry, even if it always sounds like anger with Matt. It matters little, though, not when he has what is objectively the prettiest girl he’s seen texting him about how she’d love to take a coffee into the studio today but will have to get a new to-go cup before she can do that.  

Nick orders a new one while he’s still on the way up to his floor. It���ll show up on her doorstep tomorrow with a note that once again tries to proclaim just how sorry he is for that one.

[seoll3miwrites]

Doing Time | Criminal Minds S.R

Chapter 6. Vegas

Spencer and Hana should probably talk about the other night, if only their wan't so important and distracting. Or maybe they're just coming up with excuses. Chapter Title: Vegas by Doja Cat

Spencer and Hana hadn’t spoken about the drunken kiss they’d shared only a few weeks ago. It had only been a three days after that night they’d been sent out on another case in , but once they’d gotten back to DC neither knew how broach the subject. Even now as they sat next to each other on the jet heading to Las Vegas, New Mexico, they both struggled to start a conversation about that night; so they didn’t.

“I wish it was the fun Las Vegas.” Hana complained as she ate the salad Sasha had made her that morning. 

“Did you know I’m from Vegas?” 

“Really?” She turned to him, perking up in interest, “Does this mean I should bring you with the next time I head to the casinos?”

“I would sat yes but I’m actually banned from majority of the casinos in Vegas.” He informed her nonchalantly. 

“Holy shit!” She exclaimed in surprise, “I was wrong you got a little bad side to you, Doctor.”

He laughed at her, which encouraged Hana to laugh as well. Out of habit she hit him slightly on the arm as she continued to laugh, before catching her breath. The pair were soon joined by the rest of the team in order to get a general profile before they land.

“Is there even anything interesting about this Las Vegas?” Hana questioned to start the discussion, which Spencer was happy to contribute.

“In the late 19th century, it was a booming railroad hub with a reputation for lawlessness, and apparently, outlaws are a part of the town's genetics. Billy the Kid lived there, and Doc Holliday himself had a saloon there before going to meet Wyatt Earp in Tombstone.”

“The more things change, the more things stay the same.” Rossi chimed in, looking through the case file.

“All the victims in both instances were teenagers, except for Jose Rivera.”

“A younger staff, that's pretty typical for a night shift.” Morgan chimed in, to add extra information.

 “The unsubs might have considered that. It would be easier to subdue a group of kids.”

Tara leaned forward slightly so she could contribute, “Almost an identical M.O. Copycat or no, why go back to this town and do this again?

“They could be sending some kind of message to announce their return.” Spencer suggested, followed by Rossi’s other idea.

“Or it just might be criminal ego. They got away with it the first time. Why not do it again?”

“Could also be about reliving it, if it is the same unsubs they might be wanting to relive the ‘glory days’.” Hana noted although she didn’t consider killing teenagers and arson as something someone should see as their ‘glory days’

“With unsubs this violent, how do you just disappear and go dormant for 6 years?” Morgan questioned, continuing to build the profile.

Hotch turned towards Morgan before speaking, “They may have been in prison. That would explain the criminal experience.”

“Crime U., best education taxpayer money can buy.” Rossi uttered making Hana smirk slightly, yet she hid it behind her hand at the glance she received from Hotch.

“When we land, I'll have Garcia compile a list of recently released convicts in the area. Morgan, you and Reid go with Federov to the coroner when we land. Lewis, you're with Dave and me at the local PD.” 

With that the team waited until they landed until they wait their separate ways. Hana followed Spencer and Morgan to one of the 3 cars waiting for them before heading off to the coroner. The arrived only a few minutes later, exiting the vehicle the trio made the way towards the building. The wind was slightly strong and kept blowing Hana’s hair into her face. She gather her hair and went to tie it into a pony tail only to realise that she didn’t have a hair tie on either wrist. Sighing heavily, she released her hair, allowing to flow in the wind. 

As they continued walking, Hana felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to face Spencer to her right. He handed her something before continuing towards the building. She looked down to see that he had handed her a small black hair tie. Smiling slightly, she pulled her hair backup and tied into a messy ponytail.

“Thanks!” She called over to Spencer, who turned and smiled in reply.

Once they entered the building the met with the coroner who led them through to the morgue where the three victims laid on separate metal autopsy table. Hana felt a strange feeling as looked at the victims, this was the first time she’d seen someone younger than her. They had so much life left in them, so much potential. She wanted to catch these assholes. Or maybe just kill them. 

Spencer leaned in to assess the victims, “Several antemortem wounds, facial lacerations, fractured jaw, a fractured skull.”

“Yeah, it was a brutal beating. All 3 of them had broken ribs, too.” The coroner responded as he read from his autopsy report.

“And ligature marks.” The doctor noted as he continued look over the bodies.

The coroner nodded before continuing, “Looks like the boys were bound with their own belts and electrical wires. I found leather and melted plastic in their clothes.”  He spoke as he lead them towards the female victim, “Renee Acosta was different. There's evidence of sexual assault.”

“Any recoverable DNA?”, Morgan asked.

“None. Whatever wasn't destroyed by the fire got washed away by the sprinklers. But she was recovered without clothes on. And based on the cotton and nylon fibres I found around her wrists, I think they restrained her with her own underwear.”

Spencer looked up from the female victim, “That's precisely what happened to the female victim 6 years ago.”

“Those details weren't released to the press. These aren't copycats. These are the same guys.” Morgan noted in reply.

Hana looked between the two other agents before speaking, “The question still stands, I mean why come back now?”

As it turns out only one of the unsubs was the original perpetrators from 6 years ago. Duke Mason had returned due his old flame, who most likely gave birth to his son before he was imprisoned all those years ago. Garcia, the wonder that she is, was able to find Tammy Vasquez’ address, and now Hana was sat next to Morgan as the team drove their way over there.

When they arrived Chief Montoya reached the house first and made his way to the door to knock, everyone else gathered behind him. 

“Ms. Vasquez! Police! Hello? Anybody home?” He called multiple times with seemingly no answer, “Nobody here.”

They turned to leave before Morgan heard a muffled cry in the distance, causing him to pause, “Wait a minute. You hear that?”, He moved towards the door before knocking, “FBI! Anybody here?”

Hana moved closer to the door and heard more sobbing coming from the house, she nodded at Morgan to show she heard it too. “There's somebody in there.”

The officers went around the back as Morgan kicked open the door. Moving through the house, Hana made her way through following closely behind Morgan. Turning a corner the pair found an older woman tied up with duct tape across her mouth.

“Guys.” Morgan called as he made his way to the woman tied up, “It's ok. It's ok, I got you. I got you. Are you hurt?”

“No. I'm fine. He took them. He took them both.” 

“We need to issue an Amber alert.” Rossi stated a turned around back outside the house. Hana stayed for moment longer making sure the other woman was okay, before following her team outside.

She walked towards Morgan and Rossi who were speaking to each other. While she didn’t catch the beginning of the conversation she heard Rossi’s question to Morgan. “What happened to Turner?”

“I bet it got pretty ugly when they split up.” Morgan suggested, car pulled up the scene and Spencer step out running slightly towards them.

“Hotch is out coordinating roadblocks and canvassing the area, but so far nothing.” Spencer spoke, giving them an update.

“Why switch directions are risk coming all the way back here?”

Rossi shrugged slightly before answering, “He's strung out and believes that boy Cole is his son. He's capable of anything.”

“We should extend the Amber alert.” Spencer suggested to which the team all nodded in a agreement.

Chief Montoya shouted as he made his way over to the team, “Agents! Tammy Vasquez' pickup truck was spotted heading south on Route 34.”

“Is that far from here?”

“About 10 miles or so. State police have major roadways on the other end blocked off so he can't get out, but it cuts through the Santa Fe National Forest. If he knows what he's doing, he can hole up out there for weeks.”

“Where would he go to access fresh water?”

“There's an old abandoned campground. It doesn't get used much. Sometimes the kids go up there to drink.”

“He'd want to go someplace familiar.” Rossi observed

“That’s probably where he took them.” Hana stated as Spencer turned to her, a strange expression on his face.

“Agents, if you don't mind me making a suggestion,” Montoya spoke as he lifted a map for everyone to see, “I know that place like the back of my hand.”

Hana stood next to Rossi as her and the team listened as he pointed to the map at a certain point where they could move if they wanted to catch Mason by surprise. After the plan was set up, they separated into small groups and headed towards the campsite. 

When they arrived Hana noticed the car park up, and two figures that appeared to be arguing, she turned to Rossi who nodded to indicate it was time to intervene. Signalling to the other groups who moved in to the figures.

Noticing the guns each of them was holding, Morgan stood out slightly to announce their presence, “FBI, drop the weapon!”

In response, Hana heard the one with the long hair shout something before the pair began to fire at the police and agents in the trees. In the firefight they were able to take the long haired with one sniper shot, but Mason stayed up longer. 

Hana step out for one moment in attempt to get mother shot in, when she felt red hot pain exploded in her right side. She moved back behind the tree and put her hand against the pain source; only to find her hand coated in blood. The asshole had managed to get a shot clean through her shoulder. 

“Shit!” She cursed as she put her back on the wound, “You motherfucker!”

“Language!” She heard the Rossi shout over from his position. 

“With all due respect sir,” she replied, “I’ve been fucking shot!”

While she was shouting back she noticed the firefight had finally ended and saw Mason lying on the ground. The lack of bullets firing allowed Rossi to make his over to where she was now sitting against the tree.

“Don’t worry it was clean shot, I’ll just need stitches.” She reassured as her unit chief looked at her shoulder in concern. 

“Someone should still take a look at it before we leave.” He ordered as he grabbed her uninjured left arm to help her up. 

She smiled wryly at him, the pain still making her dizzy. “Careful, Sir someone might think you like me.” 

Rossi laughed slightly before replying, “Oh we wouldn’t want that.”

After Hana was patched, she joined her team at the funeral of the victims, dressed in black sat between Spencer and Tara on a wooden church pew. That strange feeling that she felt when she saw the bodies had came back, causing her to clench the skirt of the simple black dress she was wearing. As she listened to the singer, and watching the parents say their last goodbyes; she realised it was sorrow. She’d felt sorrow before, but this was the first time she had mourned not only for these young victims but also for the lives they could’ve lived. 

So, around some of the few people that she trusted, she allowed one tear to fall. Noticing the need for comfort she felt Tara reach out and grasp Hana's hand gently, to which she squeezed it in thanks. At least this time she felt sorrow; she wasn’t alone.

Prev Chapter // Next Chapter (WIP)

[dantesunbreaker]

Message Sent

Papa Emeritus IV X Transmale Reader

Copia must leave for a few days after you both finally confess your feelings for each other. But Copia is a bit of an idiot when it comes to these sorts of things and finds a way to mess things up the moment he returns.

Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort TW: mentions of depression. 3.5K words

GIF by ask-papa-iv

“It will only be for a few days, tesoro,” Copia tries to make light of the situation, arms circling tight around you. “Then I will once more be home...and I can perhaps take you to that new place down by the waterfront?”

You’ve been the assistant to Papa Emeritus IV since you joined the ministry, since back to his days as a Cardinal. All those years harboring a silent crush for the older man. Unaware of the returned feelings Copia also shared. But of course, the day you both finally admit to the feelings is the night before he leaves for a special one off show.

“I know, I know,” you sigh, sagging back into Copia’s embrace. “Should have thought about it, I knew you had this show coming up.” There is a lighter tone to your voice as you chuckle to yourself. Of course you knew he would be leaving, you made his schedule. Still, the timing felt right to express your feelings. “Neither one of us has been very good at timing this kind of stuff.”

Nodding in agreement, Copia nuzzles against your neck, wanting to commit your scent to memory before he leaves. Your night ends with a lingering yet shy, soft kiss on the lips before you both depart to your own separate chambers. Come morning, Copia and his ghouls are gone, leaving you to keep yourself busy with your shared workload in his absence. 

Throughout the day you share texts as you usually would, recounting the random mundane details of each other's day. But when it becomes late in the night, just before you know Copia is getting ready to get on stage, you send a text with a bit more passion. I miss you already, C... I can’t wait to be back in your arms. Maybe even your bed? You set your phone down beside the bed, trying to ignore the nagging feeling of wanting to check for a response every fifteen seconds. But it never comes.

When the sun comes up the next morning you awake to zero notifications. Confused, you open up your texts and stare at your last text to Copia. Did you say something wrong? Were you going too fast? Maybe you made him too flustered. Maybe you caused too much of a distraction before the show. You bite back the anxiety and you push those thoughts to the back of your mind for the rest of the day. 

But the next couple of days pass with complete silence from Copia’s end. You tell yourself that he is a busy man, that he just forgot or didn’t have time to get back to you due to how much he has on his plate. And you convince yourself of this up until the morning after his late night return. 

As you approach Copia’s office, as you do every morning, with two steaming cups of coffee in hand and file folder tucked under your arm, you swear you hear sounds coming from just beyond the door. Did Copia have a meeting you were unaware of? Without losing grip on either coffee, you manage to pull the heavy double doors of the office open and step into the room...only to pause midstep the moment you are through the threshold. 

Breath catching in your throat, you nearly drop both coffees and the folder. Papa sits behind his desk, a Sister of Sin all but leaning into his lap as their lips are locked in what appears to be a heated kiss. It hits like a knife to the heart, leaving you to gasp at the sudden pain. One of them must hear your gasp, for a moment later they are pulling from each other. The sister turns with a sheepish look on her face, cheeks flushed red as she lets out a barely audible apology before skittering out of the room. 

“Ah, good morning fratello,” Copia greets a bit breathless, seeming ready to act as if you did not just walk in on him with another sibling. “Do you have some papers for me?”

Numb, all you can do is nod as you take the few steps necessary to place the coffees to the side of his desk, tossing the folder in front of him. When Copia doesn’t even look up, you can feel pieces of your heart shatter. Was it all just a dream? Some cruel joke? You stand there unmoving, unsure what to think of things.

“Do you plan to stand there all day, or are you going to get some work done today?” There is a teasing hint to Copia’s voice as he finally looks up at you. And it’s enough to make your stomach churn. 

Tears sting your eyes, but you fight them back. Of course, this is just some sick little game to him isn’t it? The shatter is complete, your heart crumbling to pieces across the hardwood floor of his office.

“Excuse me, I have to go,” your voice is tight as you turn back towards the door, needing to escape before the waterworks come.

“Wait!”

You don’t know why you pause, holding onto some feeble sense of hope. But you hear Copia rise from his chair and cross around to the opposite side of his desk just behind you. Unable to face him without the tears falling, you keep your back to him.

“Are you sick? You just got here,” the sudden concern to Copia’s voice makes you feel ill. Could he really not see?

“No, Papa, I am not sick,” you feel small, counting the lines on the floor as your vision begins to blur as the tears begin as a small dribble. “I just... I can’t stay right now.”

The quick laugh behind you causes you to flinch.

“Caro, are you jealous?”

Suddenly, the dam breaks. And forth flows not only pain and anguish, but the undeniable anger you feel at both Copia and yourself. How dare he?

"Yes, I am jealous!" Your voice breaks with each word, the tears you tried so hard to hold back running forth quick as a river current. "Is that what you wanted to hear? Does that make you happy? Yes Papa, you really had me going there.” The tone of your voice is near hysteric as your body begins to tremble. “For a moment, a soft fleeting moment, I actually believed that there was something special between us. That someone like me could actually matter to someone like you.” 

Barely able to see through the tears in your eyes, you take a blind step forward towards your escape.

“I can see now that I’ve been a fool.”

“Fratell- ” a hand closes around your wrist in a bruising grip. Just inches shy of the door.

“Don’t touch me!” The words are spit out like venom as you give a firm tug of your arm. It burns. The painful drag of skin on skin.

The hold on your wrist gently loosens, allowing you to pull your arm free without ever having to take a look back at the man who still held the pieces of your broken heart. Footsteps follow you as you sprint down the halls. Copia calls your name over and over, but you run until the sound is barely but a soft whisper in your ear.

When your back finally hits the inside of the door to your bedroom, the tears stop but the heartbreaking pain begins. It feels as though you are suddenly full of cement as you take the heavy steps necessary to reach your bed. Each small movement takes every ounce of energy in your body until you reach a distance at which you can simply let yourself fall forward. Sinking into the inviting warmth of the pile of blankets and plushies that is your bed for once does little to ease your woes away. 

Burying your face into the nearest pillow, you scream until your voice is hoarse and there is a deep burning ache in your throat. It is as though a deep hole now lies where your heart should be. A cold black pit that spreads out like a spider’s web throughout your chest. Have you truly been so blind this entire time? 

How could you go on living? How could you go on as if nothing ever happened? As if the head of the church hadn’t snuffed out what glimmer of joy was left in your heart. Tears once more sting your eyes at the thought of having to face your Siblings of Sin. The questions they will have. And... of course how will you be able to attend Black Mass without falling apart? Simple. You wouldn’t.

For a week you are unable to bring yourself to leave your room, wallowing in your bed and seeking the comfort of solitude. Not that you remain entirely alone. Some of the ghouls find themselves in your quarters at odd hours of the day, offering what solace they can. Cirrus and Cumulus come most evenings to ensure you have eaten at least once each day and to wrap you in the comfort of their cuddles. On a few occasions Mountain joins the pile, bringing offerings of his own special blend of tea in hopes to ease your sorrow. There is never any mention of Papa. Rumors spread fast around the Abbey. Your feelings for Papa are certainly not a well kept secret. Whispers of His Unholiness having been seen with a Sister of Sin however have circulated throughout the congregation. It would be more a surprise to the other siblings if you had not taken reprieve in your own chambers. 

But the ghouls do their best to distract you from the hurt. They also do their part in keeping prying eyes and questions away. Each ghoul, even Dewdrop, has some excuse for your whereabouts ready at the tip of their tongue if ever Papa approaches with questions of your absence. Anything to keep him away. Though you suspect you are far from his concerns of late. Probably too busy wrapped up in a certain new sister.

But as each day goes on, you find it easier and easier to ignore the darkness at the center of your heart. Sure, it is still there. You aren’t sure if it ever truly will fade away. With time though, the pain fades to a dull ache that doesn't always hammer to the front of your attention. You start with small simple tasks just around your room, testing your limits, before you decide to take that first step out of your room. When the world doesn’t immediately come crashing down, you take that as your sign to work back up to resuming some of your sibling duties. You are sure Sister Imperator has not been pleased at your absence, or more importantly your lack of contribution.

While you still refuse to go back to your duties as Copia’s assistant just yet, you do find other ways to remain helpful. Enough that Sister won’t come chasing you down for a lecture about doing your part for the ministry. You start by helping in the kitchen, knowing the staff there were always eager for a helping hand when there were so many mouths to feed. And well, you know it is a place a certain Papa did not frequent often. It was a miracle the man remembered to eat most days with how consumed he would become in his work. It’s why you are always punctual with delivering a warm meal to his office each day... Or at least, you were. You aren’t sure if things will ever return to that state of normal.

It’s nearly three weeks after the incident before things finally come to an unfortunate head, when you finally have to face reality. You’re walking down the hall, eyes adrift  unfocused as your mind floats away. But out of the corner of your eye you catch a flash of familiar black and white. By the time it registers in your brain, it’s too late. Still.. you consider making a break for it.

“Fratello, wait!” 

A heavy sigh passes through your lips, eyes closing tight as you focus on keeping yourself calm. You can do this. It’s time to face your problems head on.

“What do you want, Papa?” You spin on your heels so fast it makes your head spin, Copia’s official title emphasized with clear disdain.

“Please, caro, just hear me out,” Copia sounds so broken as he keeps a hand outstretched towards you. Sorrow clouding dual colored eyes. He is giving you the choice and space to refuse him, unlike your last encounter.

There is a slight tremble to your bottom lip, too afraid that your words were going to fail you. With eyes trained on the scuffs along Copia’s shoes, you silently place your hand into his. You aren’t sure you are actually ready to face whatever is to come, but you are tired of the unresolved turmoil looming over you. This is a necessary step. Sensing your apprehension, Copia lets out one of his signature soft cooing sounds that he knows you have always loved. He hopes that perhaps you still do. Another gloved hand joins the other, both of Copia’s hands now clasped around your one as he takes a tentative step forward in hopes that you will follow suit.

Without a sound, you allow Copia to slowly lead you down the corridor into his office. Once the door shuts behind you, he releases your hand and steps away to give you space. It gives you a sense of security. You aren’t a caged animal in this situation. You suppose that is his intention. 

Sad, tired eyes gaze up at you as Copia sags heavily into his chair. He looks as though he has aged considerably within the few short weeks since you had last seen him. The wrinkles along his forehead are more pronounced, the bags under his eyes plump and heavy, and it seems a frown has nearly been etched into the corners of his lips. For lack of better terms, he looked like shit. But you reign in the sympathy that wants to wash over you. You steel your eyes and wait for Copia to explain himself.

Copia seems to crumble beneath the intensity of your glare, dropping his eyes to his lap where he nervously wrings his hands.

“I am truly sorry for how I hurt you, caro,” Copia begins, wincing at the bark of a laugh you give at his words. But he remains undeterred. “There is no excuse for my actions. But please know that I deeply regret them.”

“Then why do it in the first place?” You take a daring step closer, this time it is almost as if you are the one cornering him. “If you didn’t want to hurt me, why did you lead me on? Why did you.. Why did you flaunt some sister in front of my eyes when my feelings were clear towards you?”

But all Copia can do is gape at you like a fish out of water, struggling to string together a coherent train of thought under your scrutiny. You are keenly aware of the tears forming in his eyes. Through soft sniffles, Copia tries in vain to keep them from falling. But soon enough thin rivers of black bleed into the white of his paints.

“Because your Papa is but a fool,” he is reaching into his pockets, fumbling to pull out his phone and set it on the desk towards you, screen face up at full brightness. He drops his head into his hands with a pitiful whine. “You see, I thought it was you who had been ignoring me during my absence.”

Wait... What?

In your haste you nearly stumble over your own feet as you step closer to the desk, leaning over the vintage oak to gaze at the small screen. The phone was open to the text stream between you and Copia. Your last message, exactly as you remember it, glares back up at you as if to mock you. But you notice something as you look closer. A picture of Copia in full robes and mitre behind a stage is attached, a text message accompanying it. I miss you too amore mio! I would love nothing more than to have you in my bed... so we may come together, eh? Tell me..will you be thinking of your Papa tonight while alone in your bed tonight? But... Copia hasn’t left the Abbey since his return weeks ago? It must be from...

“You didn’t press send,” you reach down, touching the screen and feel the soft vibration of your phone in your pocket in response. A semi soft gentleness has wormed its way back into your voice.

“Si..” 

Things begin to come together, your mind tying the crimson strings of your mental conspiracy board to connect the dots. You spent all that time waiting for a response... but Copia thought he was doing the same?

“So,” you take a step closer, taking note of the way eyes ever so slightly flick up to watch you between gloved fingers. "You thought I was giving you the cold shoulder the whole time you were gone. And you, what? Thought that seeing you with someone else was going to have me crawling to you?"

Copia lets out a pained noise, head sinking lower. 

"No, maybe, I'm not sure what I thought," his voice is thick, his shoulders visibly trembling. When he brings himself to look back up at you, his paint is a marbled mess of gray. "I thought if I pretended to be interested in a sister th...that you would realize what you were missing. That you would fight to win me over... But I'm a fool, and instead I hurt you and pushed you away."

"Yes," you step even closer, hand reaching out towards Copia as wet eyes watch your every move. "You are a fool," a whimper leaves Copia, eyes closing as your hand drops to run through his fluffy locks. "But... I would still like for you to be my fool."

Hands are reaching out for the one still at your side, clutching at it as if it were a lifeline. Eyes still closed, Copia pulls until the back of your hand rests against his moist cheek. You don’t mind the way paint already begins to rub off onto your skin.

“Per favore. Mi dispiace. Mi dispiace,” Copia slips from his chair, dropping to his knees as he drags his eyes up the length of your body until your gazes meet. “Per favore, I want to be your fool. Let me be your fool, caro. I’ll do anything. Per favore.”

Tears still stream down Copia’s cheeks, snot dribbling from his nose and making a sticky wet mess of his upper lip. He looks like a mess. Nothing will ever take back the hurt seeing Copia with someone else caused, the weeks of anguish and isolation it caused you to suffer. But it doesn’t mean you can’t stitch the wounds closed, letting them scar over and heal into something new. A single tear rolls down your cheek, landing on the tip of Copia’s nose.

Pulling your hand from Copia, shushing him in a soothing tone when he whimpers, you move to cup both his cheeks. Tilting his head up, you search his eyes for the answers you need. Sadness and regret oozes out just as heavy as the tears still dripping down his face. That is all you need to see to decide if you can try and work past this.

“What you did, it hurt me C. Hey, I need you to look at me,” you grab ahold of Copia’s chin when he tries to turn away in shame. “You can’t go back and fix that. But, you can learn from it and fight to keep from making the same mistakes. I am giving you a second chance, putting my heart back on the line. Please, don’t make me regret it.”

“I won’t! I won’t, prometto!” Copia surges forward, arms wrapping around you to hold you close. “Let me prove myself. I’m only for you, amore. Only for you.”

You lower yourself to your own knees, pulling Copia into your chest as he continues to give soft wheezing sniffles. Together you rest there until his breathing has calmed and a comfortable silence settles over the room.

“C..can I kiss you, caro?” Copia asks in a semi shaky voice after much time has passed.

With a chuckle, you pull a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe away the snot and slobber from his upper lip. Only then do you smile, giving a nod as you lean in. The press of your lips together is soft and delicate. It in itself is almost like an apology as Copia eases into pulling you to him. You melt into his touch. And you think that with time, you can repair this blossoming relationship.

[strawberry-cowmilk]

closing doors

-> lucifer x mc

-> lucifer realises he's trapped in a cycle

mc's gender is not mentioned, not proofread

a/n: to those who get the reference: I love you, also lucifer baby sorry for making you suffer I love you ♡♡

content warnings: angst, alcohol

-----

The clock ticked 4am. There was still a small pile of paperwork left, great progress for such a busy day. Lucifer inhaled deeply as he poured himself another coffee with the last drops in the can. The bitter beverage had long gone cold, but the avatar of pride didn't care. He chugged it all in one sip and continued scratching the pen on the paper.

The whole house was asleep, the whole house didn't know Lucifer was still up. Nobody knows Lucifer has been busy working and fixing other's problems. Some witch sent Mammon another threatening letter again, demanding her money back, so Lucifer put the cash in the envelope and returned it to the sender. Beel almost made a whole restaurant go bankrupt again, Lucifer sent them some money. He never told his brothers or anyone he's doing this stuff, and he never will.

The demon spends many nights at his desk signing paperwork. To an average person, it might seem impossible, but Lucifer isn't an average person. He's the personification of pride. He is used to it, he does all this work with little effort. Often Simeon stopped by with homemade food and tea, it just annoyed Lucifer. Does Simeon really think he's miserable? Or does the angel think he needs help? It's not like Lucifer is doomed to a life of eternal work. He manages his scedule very well

It was 5:30am when all the paperwork of the day was finished. By now, Beel is probably waking up for his early breakfast and morning run. Satan's alarm should go off by now. The rest of his brothers will sleep longer. Lucifer knows every little detail about his family, he remembers because he loves them so much. His brothers might describe him as cold, but he thinks he's rather affectionate. Anyways, it's probably too late to sleep now, no problem. Lucifer got up from his creaking chair and opened a bottle of fine demonus for himself. The glass clacked as he put the bottle to it, pouring the drink into it. Eventually, as he was sipping demonus, Lucifer realised he never truly showed love to his brothers to their faces. Only through the tiniest of acts they wouldn't notice. Did he ever thank Simeon for checking on him during those long days? Well, that's enough demonus for now.

-----

The day had gone by, it was just your average day: brothers fighting at breakfast, rad, and work. Lucifer sat at his desk signing paperwork again until he got a text. It was from you.

'where are you? I'm at ristorante six'

Oh no. Lucifer quickly flipped open his agenda. To his horror he realised he had a date planned with you. He was supposed to be at ristorante six, an hour ago. This isn't the first time he forgot date night either, he has to get to the restaurant as soon as possible. He can't stand you up again. He can just pull another all-nighter to finish work.

Dinner was awkward though, Lucifer was clearly acting off. The average outsider wouldn't be able to tell, since this man is so good at masking his emotions. He's not like this usually. You gripped your fork tighter before speaking. 'Is everything okay?' Lucifer's crimson gaze met yours for a brief moment. 'Yes, are you enjoying your food?' Of course he wouldn't admit what was wrong. You decided to drop the topic for now.

Back home, Lucifer immediately locked himself in his office again. You knew better than to immediately go after him. He would send you away. Honestly at this point you don't know if you should try talking to him, maybe it would be wise not to. But your gut was telling you something else. You waited a while before gently knocking on the office door.

Truth is Lucifer realised something during dinner: he IS drowning in work. It's always been like this, even back in the celestial realm. He has no time to show proper affection to those he loves. Pride made him think all is well, pride poisoned him. It turned him cold. It was like every gram of warmth that was once inside of him slowly leaked out since his birth. His gaze immediately shot to the door when he heard the knock. 'Come in.'

He knew what you were going to ask the second he saw you. 'Mc, I am fine, you may leave now.' you played with the hem of your shirt. 'Really?' Lucifer dipped his pen in the ink a little more aggressively than usual and nodded. 'Mc, leave now. I have tons of work to do.' The truth is, Lucifer craves nothing more than your comfort and affection right now. He wants to tell you about the thing he realised so badly, but he can't. Not with a reputation to keep up. Not with Diavolo he basically handed his soul to after Michael.

You felt like you couldn't just leave, there has to be something. 'Can I at least stay in your office? I can't sleep.' Of course Lucifer didn't buy it, but he allowed you to stay regardless. After you've been awkwardly lounging in one of Lucifer's chairs, he invited you to sit on his lap. Immediately you noticed his grip on you was tighter than usual, but he kept focussing on work regardless. You know, even if he'll never be free, at least Lucifer has his family, friends and of course you to make him smile. Eventually you fell asleep in his embrace, Lucifer carried you to your room, kissed your forehead goodnight and went back to work.

[soulmate-game]

It was over. For real this time, it was done. Pink hair, darker with matted blood, splayed out on the broken gravel. The white and blue that usually cloaked the mysterious Bunnyx was stripped away, Miraculous lost in the battle.

They had known. He had known. Shadow Moth.

He had known when she would pop out of her burrow, and surprised the normally all-knowing hero. Viperion had fallen long earlier, the only reason Bunnyx had even been forced to get involved.

They lost. It was all lost.

Dust clogged the air, stagnant without any wind to send it anywhere. Suspended, in the lacking gravity that came from the battle. It hadn’t been Chat Blanc, and yet the moon was still naught but shards in a darkened sky.

There was no going back. She couldn’t find any of the Miraculous that could turn back time. Her earrings were still in, but Tikki was silent. Silent and still, where the Kwamii lay in her palms.

Plagg was awake, but despondent. He hadn’t said a word since Adrien’s heart stopped, since the transformation was ripped away from him. She wasn’t sure if he would ever speak again, the way he was looking at Tikki’s fragile, limp form.

And, as she once again was left staring at her own glass eyes and mangled body below her, she wasn’t sure it mattered. Shadow Moth— Gabriel— was dead. But so was everyone else. So was she.

The League had tried— in a fit of desperation, she had called them in. Called them to their deaths alongside her and her team. Only one remained standing, only one life still burning amongst the wreckage.

“… I’m sorry,” he whispered in the stagnant air. He was not without his own injuries, beat and bleeding to within an inch of his life. An inch that nobody else had left, but one that would still fizzle out without a hospital to tend to him.

“Maybe it’s the hallucinations that come with my concussion, or my lack of blood, but… I feel you there,” he continued his soliloquy, staring up at the rubble that once was the moon. “If I could still move, I’d grab the earrings and the ring. Constantine mentioned them before we headed over.”

She tilted her head at him, ripping her gaze from her own corpse. From what she could tell, she was the only ghost here. May as well give him the respect of hearing his last words.

“And I’d wish for a do-over. Nothing perfect, I’ve been disillusioned about getting a happily ever after. But this world deserves better. Longer. You should have had help, we should have insisted on providing more assistance— even from afar. Guidance. Something. And now look where our negligence landed us.”

She would wish, too. If she could still interact with the world. If she wasn’t intangible.

“Bruce,” he rasped. “If you really are there,” he seemed to actually find her then, staring right into her eyes. “There’s nobody for you to tell anymore. But my name is Bruce Wayne. If… if either of us get another chance, find me.”

He faded.

She waited until he was gone, no ghost remaining of him like she did. At least he could have someone by his side at the end.

She sighed, wondering why she was cursed to this lonely end. The wish… even if she could, she couldn’t grab—

A pebble shifted, and she froze.

A moment passed. She stomped down.

The gravel crunched under her foot.

The gravel.

Crunched.

She had never moved so fast in her entire existence.

—*—*—*—*—*

He looked different without a half-burned cowl struggling to hide his chiseled jaw. She watched through the window as he tiredly swept his fingers through his hair.

“Who am I meeting with, again?” He asked his assistant, who didn’t even glance at her clipboard before replying.

“MDC, the French designer who reached out about a partnership,” she recited easily. “The same woman who has been standing outside the door waiting for you to invite her in, because her appointment started five minutes ago.”

His head whipped up, and she couldn’t help but wave at him through the glass. When their eyes met, he jolted as if struck by lightning. His pupils shrunk— whether in fear or memory, she could not tell. What she did know, though, was that he scattered papers across the floor in his rush to stand.

“Y—“ he cut himself off, swallowing thickly and making a show of adjusting his blazer. “Miss MDC? Please come in.”

“Please, call me Marinette,” she insisted, finally stepping around the window and through the open door. After his assistant left and the door was closed, they stood in silence. Marinette had planned— stewed, really— for months about how this meeting would go. She had worked so hard for it, but what if he didn’t believe her? What if…

“You got it,” he whispered, a soft smile stretching across his lips as his eyes overflowed with wonder directed at her. “You got us a do-over.”

That startled a strangled laugh from her. He remembered. What kind of awful curse made him remember when not even Tikki and Plagg did?

“Somehow,” she agreed. “We have a lot to talk about, Bruce Wayne. Maybe even over dinner?”

His responding chuckle was deep and unfairly charming. “Relationships formed from trauma hardly pan out well, but why not? Can’t turn out any worse than the apocalypse.”

—*—*—*—*—*

Oh wow, maybe ao3 crashing affected me more deeply than I thought. Do I have a problem? I might have a problem lol.

[smolwritingchick]

The Bangtan Gal Chapter 90- Idol Parents?

Chapter Summary: BTS anticipates the release of WINGS. Jennie and Jungkook are assigned to take care of a robot baby for a parenting class at school.

Words: 6,000+

Author's Note: Anotha one! Enjoy! Big Jungkook fluff!

------

Once September 25th hit, Hobi's Boy Meets Evil concept video was released and the members praised him for his outstanding performance. Jennie filmed the group watching the video with Hobi as they were hyped and excited about how good it looked. That grin on Hobi's face as he gushed over how much praise he got from the group made Jennie's heart feel full.

"Oh my gosh~!" Jimin exclaimed, loving the video as the other members whooped and hollered.

"Yasssss, Hobi!" Jen yelled.

After they watched the video, Jennie went to give him a big hug and multiple kisses on the cheek. "I'm SO proud of you! I remember you sending me all those progress videos of practicing the dance and you nailed it! You're exceptional, Hobi!,"

"Munchkin...thank you," he pulled her in for another hug.

"You're going to blow everyone away when you perform this live, I hope you know that," she continued to cheer.

The next evening, Jennie couldn't sleep as she found herself anticipating the comeback that was just a couple of days away. As their comeback got closer and closer, more information and photos of their comeback were released as fans continued to freak out about her hair and how good the group looked. It excited her to see how passionate fans and locals were about their comeback. She had a strong feeling this was going to be the start of something huge.

Looking at the time, it was past 1am and she decided that eating a snack would suffice.

Getting out of bed, she stretched. Walking out of the room, she regarded the smell of pizza rolls and the sound of a microwave running. Looks like someone else was awake too. As she inched closer to the kitchen she was met by Jungkook's bare back to her, playing a game on his phone while waiting for his pizza rolls to finish cooking.

'That back...' she thought as she found herself staring.

He remained unaware of her presence, focused on his game as he let out some curses and a frustrated low growl when he was losing. For a while, she felt ready for that next step. Maybe this was a good time to tell him that she was ready. Or maybe she should wait until they were all alone and not with the rest of the members in the dorm, sleeping.

Decisions, decisions.

With her emotions taking over her and thinking about how good he looked, her mind went to a more suggestive place, as she thought about where in the kitchen and living room he'd pin her against. Her heart raced and her body felt flushed at the fantasy. Shaking her head, she pushed the passionate thoughts aside.

'Calm yourself, sis,' she thought.

After pulling herself together, she made her presence known as she greeted him and went to the freezer to grab some ice cream and a spoon.

"Can't sleep either, honey?" his cheerful voice filled her ears. 

It seemed like his mood brightened when she walked in, making him forget that he was losing his game.

Oh gosh...she wanted him so bad, right now.

"Looks that way," she answered sweetly. "It's one of them nights. I guess you could say I'm excited about the comeback and can't wait for it to release,"

Placing the ice cream on the counter, she took the top off and leaned up against it with her elbows. Jungkook leaned his back against the counter as he stood next to her and watched her with a smile. Her silk scarf that was protecting her hair was still intact along with her Captain American pajama shorts and shirt. She looked cute. He paused his game and placed his phone on the counter.

"Yeaaaaah, it is," he stretched as she tried to ignore the way his muscles flexed.

Why did he have to look this good when they weren't even officially alone?

Scooping up a big chunk of chocolate ice cream, she ate it eagerly, welcoming the cold treat with delight.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Ah, finally they're done," he promptly removed the pizza rolls from the microwave and placed them on the counter next to her.

"Don't you want to wait until they cool down?" she exclaimed as she watched him pop one in his mouth with ease, ignoring the heat.

"I'll live," he giggled and ate a few more.

"Wow, you must love pain," she sarcastically said after eating a few more spoonfuls of ice cream while he giggled again at her response. "Just be careful with your tongue, please,"

"A kiss would cool it down since you're eating that ice cream," he suggested playfully after swallowing his food.

"You like to find clever ways to kiss me, huh?"

"From the way you were looking at me, it looked like you want to kiss me more than I want to kiss you," he raised an eyebrow and stepped in close to her, standing in front of her. 

His movement made her drop the spoon in the tub of ice cream and place her back against the counter. He then laid his hands on each side of her on the counter, getting closer to her face.

"Am I right?" he teased.

"I wasn't staring..."

"You make it pretty obvious, Jennie," he acknowledged as her face began to heat up.

She needed to work on being more subtle.

"Okay. I admit it. You're right. But you're not getting a kiss that easily,"

"Why not?" he tried to go for a smooch but she playfully evaded it and placed her cold lips on his cheek instead. "Lips, not cheek,"

"Hmm. I'll think about it,"

He tilted his head to the side a little, deciding to take up the challenge. As he went for another kiss, he met her cheek instead. Going for it again, she turned her head the other way and felt him kiss her other cheek. The way he kept trying to kiss her started to make her giggle which turned into soft laughter as her hands were placed on his chest, light-heartedly attempting to push him away. Anticipating that he was going to kiss her left cheek again, she moved her head but he was too quick and managed to press his lips against hers this time. His kiss deepened instantly and she sighed into the kiss, enjoying how his kisses made her happy.

He pulled away too soon but only to softly say with a grin, "Got you," and leaned back in to kiss her.

As her cold tongue met his hot tongue from the pizza rolls, Jungkook set his hands under her thighs to lift and place her on top of the kitchen counter.

Pulling away for air, she rested her arms around his neck.

"Pepperoni Totino's pizza rolls?" she guessed from the taste.

That caused Jungkook to laugh lightly and nod. "Correct,"

"Elite," she laughed with him and ran her fingers through his hair. 

His hair was now light brown for the comeback. The Stylists knew how to make her man look irresistible. Wanting more kisses, she pulled him back in for a needy smooch. But then he reluctantly pulled away.

"Jennie, I'll get carried away if we continue like this. I know you want to wait,"

"It's okay. It's okay, really," she removed her arms from him.

"I know but still. I don't want to pressure you," he took a step back as she stepped down from the counter.

"Kookie?" she grabbed one of his hands and looked up at him.

"Yeah?"

"There's something I've been wanting to tell you,"

"What do you want to tell me?"

"I'm actually-"

"Is that pizza rolls I smell!? Can I have some?" Hobi's cheerful voice filled the kitchen, making the couple slowly break away from each other.

'Of course, I get interrupted when I'm about to tell him I'm ready.' Jen thought with a sigh.

"Sure hyung!" Jungkook was feeling kind enough to share since he made the whole bag.

"Midnight snack, huh? One of them nights?"

Jen chuckled lightly. "Yeah, one of them nights,"

"Oh Jagi, what did you want to tell me?" Jungkook smiled as he ate another pizza roll.

She shook her head. "Lost my train of thought,"

"Ah, I hate when that happens. Let me know when you remember, all right?"

"Yeah," she murmured and ate another spoonful of ice cream.

After the trio ate, she spoke up to tell Jungkook that she remembered what she wanted to tell him.

"Oh great. What was it?" he asked.

Dismissing the idea to tell him she was ready, instead, she thought of something else. "Since we're awake, do you want to do a live stream for a little bit on Twitch?"

His eyes lit up. "Yeah! Let's do it! Hyung, you want to join?"

"Sure!" Hobi agreed.

"Great! Meet us in my room when you're ready!" Jen told him and went to her room to set up the stream. 

Jungkook put on a shirt and met up with her after. In Jennie's room, Hobi sat in the middle of them, happily anticipating the show.

'We can't sleep so Golden Duo is back at it again in a few minutes! Check us out on Twitch~! #Jen' she tweeted with the link.

Once they were ready to go, Jungkook waved to the camera and began to speak as a large audience popped on the stream. "Hi ARMY! Jungkook here!"

"And what up? I'm Jennie!"

"And we are The Golden Duo! We have a special guest with us today. Hyung?"

"Hi! I'm your Hope! J-Hope~!" Hobi waved. "I love you, ARMY!"

"J-Hope is here with us~! Yay!" Jen cheered.

"Today we are here to play another game," Jungkook announced.

"A game I'm kind of dreading because I have no idea how to play," she cringed.

Jungkook giggled evilly. "We are playing overwatch today,"

"Yay..." she said unenthusiastically, making him laugh loudly with Hobi. "Jungkook insisted I play this for some crazy reason,"

Her boyfriend smiled slyly. He wanted to watch her struggle tonight since she was still not quite familiar with the game controls.

"Jungkook is so evil for this. Good luck, Munchkin," Hobi said.

"Yeah, I'll need it," she chuckled and turned back to the camera, "We're going to mix it up today. Jungkook and I agreed on having a punishment for this stream. If I can get ten kills within a set of three games, he has to drink of mixture of condiments mixed with water. If I am unable to get ten kills, I have to drink a glass of eggs. Raw eggs."

"You're going to drink the eggs," Jungkook guaranteed.

She scoffed. "The fact that you have no confidence in me for this game, is astonishing,"

"Because you suck at the game. So, I automatically win. You might as well drink the eggs now,"

She narrowed her eyes at him while he smiled sweetly. Hobi continued to giggle in the background and commented on how funny they were bickering.

In response, Jungkook was about to say "I love you, honey," but refrained as he realized this was live.

"Let's get started before I end up smacking you," she replied.

It didn't take too long to find an online match and she chose to use Tracer. Once she began to play, she was immediately shot down.

"That should be a record. The game just started!" Hobi exclaimed while Jennie stared at the screen in disbelief.

"Okay, that was a trial run," she said and went back to run around the map.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Jungkook asked with amusement.

"No. I don't but I'm a quick learner," she answered confidently but she kept missing shots. "This is bullshit. Bullshit..." 

"Munchkin, language," Hobi lightly warned. "Wow, she's really getting angry, huh?"

"Because she knows she sucks," Jungkook laughed with him.

"Jungkook shut up," she rolled her eyes and continued to play.

"You are doing an amazing job. Wow," her boyfriend said sarcastically, being a smart ass.

"Shut up!" she whined.

Fans began to comment with laughing emojis:

'LMAOOOOO she is going to kill him after the stream'

'He is so wrong for this haha'

'Poor Ennie! This is hilarious'

'OMG JUNGKOOK SKSJSEJK'

"ARE YOU FU-UGH!" Jen screamed, stomping her foot down aggressively. 

Her face twisted up in frustration after getting killed again. Meanwhile, Jungkook was having the time of his life watching her stress out while Hobi occasionally shrieked at her anger. Her character got hit and suddenly Sleep is written on the screen.

"Oh my God! I'm asleep!? No!" she yelled and watched as she fell in the water and died.

'lmfaooooo Jennie is about to tap out. She mad as hell right now'

'I think she's about to rage quit'

'MOOOOOOOD LMAOOOO'

"This is some bullshit. I'm done for today. I don't want to play no more," she decided to rage quit.

"Wow, already?" Hobi asked.

"Told you, hyung. All right, Ms. Walker, let me show you how it's done," Jungkook took the controller from her hands and started a new game. As she watched him play, she claimed he was cheating. "And how am I cheating Ms. Walker? Elaborate," 

"You picked an easy stage," she claimed.

"No, I didn't."

"Nah, this is flat out cheating!"

"How so?"

"You know you are! This is not cool how you are easily killing everybody like this,"

"I am better than you at this game,"

She rolled her eyes. "Corny,"

"I want to play after you, Jungkook. Let me try it out," J-Hope spoke up after watching for a while.

"Sure, hyung. You'll probably do better than Ms. Jennifer Rage Quitter," Jungkook continued to roast her.

"A-are you serious!?" her face began to heat up and she retaliated by kicking Jungkook in the leg.

After he won his game, he gave the controller to Hobi and watched him play. Hobi seemed to have gotten the hang of things while occasionally shrieking when he saw players shooting at him.

"Oh, make sure you do this, to help your team," Jungkook pointed out.

She stared in disbelief that Jungkook started helping him. "Uh uh! You didn't give me advice when I was playing! And you're giving him advice?!"

Hobi and Jungkook burst out in laughter from her freakout. Their laughter was enough to get Tony to join the party and jump on Jennie's lap to try to get her to calm down.

"Hi, Tony. Tony is the only person that never lets me down. Y'all on the other hand. Disrespectful,"

Tony barked happily and she rewarded him by rubbing him and giving him kisses.

"Say hi to ARMY, Tony! It's been a while!" she beamed and made Tony wave his paw to the camera.

'Tony~!'

'He's getting so big!'

'Awwww JenKook's son!'

After J-Hope managed to win his game thanks to Jungkook giving him pointers, Jungkook turned to his girlfriend.

"And like I predicted, you lose, Jennie. Let me go get the eggs," he announced happily and left the room.

She groaned and covered her face in her hands while Tony jumped on Hobi's lap to play with him.

"Why~!?" she whined. Uncovering her face, she went to see the comments. "I tried my best, guys. Overwatch is just not my thing. I'll just have to keep practicing,"

'It's okayyyy'

'Lolll enjoy the eggs'

'Hahaha it's nice to see I'm not the only one who sucks at Overwatch'

'Practice makes perfect'

'Wow u really have to drink eggs?? RIP'

Jungkook walked back into the room and sat back down to place a glass of three raw eggs for her to drink.

"Here you are. Enjoy. And drink every single one. Not just one egg or a sip. All of it," he demanded.

"Whoa. He said it with such authority," Hobi looked surprised.

"For real like do y'all hear him?" she exclaimed as she looked at the camera, taken aback by his statement but secretly liking it. "You so demanding, like damn. Okay, Mister Jeon," she said sarcastically, making him laugh.

Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the glass and examined it. 

'Gosh, why couldn't it just be one egg?' she complained in her head.

Going for it, she gulped all of it and slammed the cup down. It tasted bland but it was tolerable to handle as a punishment.

"That was...interesting. Tasted super weird but I did it," she sighed out of relief and went to down a bottle of apple juice to get rid of the aftertaste.

"Yay~!" Hobi cheered.

"Wow, your reaction was not what I was expecting. I wanted you to suffer," Jungkook said with disappointment.

"Wow! I get no love, I swear. Anyway, thank you, Army for tuning in! Until next time! Hopefully, when we play Overwatch again, I'll be a little better," Jen promised.

"That's a lie. I guarantee she won't," he snorted.

"You know what!?" she reached for a nearby pillow and began to attack him with it. "I am so tired of your shit tonight, you smartass!" she exclaimed over her boyfriend's laughter while Hobi tried to break it up.

--------

Once October 9th hit, BTS hosted the WINGS preview show on the V-Live app. As the first stream appeared, Armies broke the app with over 60 million hearts and 1 million views before the show started. 

When the group found out, everyone was shooked and Jen laughed out loud and grabbed her phone to tweet, 'LMFAOOOOOO, Y'all really crashed the app. #Jen'

Once they got the technical difficulties out of the way, they went on with the broadcast as Jin was the host. Jennie sat in between J-Hope and Rapmon for the show.

'BTS News'

"Hello, V viewers. This is Jin, anchor for Oct. 9 countdown BTS News," he announced. "It's been delayed because of an unexpectedly high level of interest. Let me start again. Here's the news for today. BTS is going to release their second official album. Let me talk with Suga, who is on-site,"

The group laughed as they watched the banter.

"Hello, this is Suga on site!" Suga acted out as a dramatic news broadcaster. "The second official album of BTS is said to be released right now!"

"Have you heard of the songs?"

"Yes, I've just heard them!"

"What do you think of the songs?"

Suga placed his fingers on his ear like he was trying to listen in on an earpiece. He then began to make sound effects to portray that the signal was bad. "It's getting a fervent response! I think the album will be a big hit!"

After the group laughed and clapped, Jin continued, "It seems that the album is awesome. Here's the news that just came in. It's an amazing one. Let me give you 8 exclusive news on BTS members. Suga dyes his hair black in three years since the debut song. No More Dream Black sugar is back!"

"How handsome," V noted.

"Rap Monster destroyed the floor while dancing with the group. What is the truth behind his destructive power?"

Jennie snickered at the memory. "He was like BAM!"

"It's not true," Rapmon tried to defend himself and covered his face.

"The lovely Jennie FINALLY dyes her hair for a BTS comeback! And what color to make a bold statement than red! Jennie had red hair!" Jin announced.

The sound of the members whooping and hollering at her new hair color made her grin and she posed cutely for the camera.

"J-Hope exposes his body in a trailer. Was it intentional?"

"Exposure~!" J-Hope shimmied his shoulders.

"Wouldn't it be intentional?" Suga asked.

"Jimin's cheeks have hollowed out. Would we ever see them again?" Jin asked as Jimin made his cheeks look big. "V. V's eyebrows are back. Everyone in the world is amazed," 

"The whole world is shouting for joy!" Suga added over the cheers for V.

"Jungkook almost split his legs while doing wire action. It's not certain whether he has recovered or not," Jin declared while Jungkook looked down at his legs in surprise.

"What's next?" Rapmon asked.

"Jin is getting handsomer day by day. When will he stop getting handsome?" he gave the viewers a flying kiss.

After the group did their greeting, the broadcast discussed the second album before it was released. A whole preview show for WINGS. Jin brought up the group to give explanations about their news and told Jungkook to start first.

"It wasn't my legs. My back hurt," he explained.

"V next,"

"I did it because fans loved it!"

"Jimin!"

"My cheeks will come back if you want,"

"It wasn't intentional. It's part of the dance," J-Hope explained.

"It's over five seconds," Suga pointed out

"Really?"

"Jennie!" Jin called her out.

"Because every single comeback I've been asked when am I dyeing my hair and this was the perfect comeback to do it for," she explained.

"My shoes were expensive!" Rapmon explained.

"Do I have to explain why I dyed my hair black?" Suga wondered. "It's fun,"

"I'm handsome because of Army's love," Jin explained and sent another flying kiss.

As the broadcast went on, the group went to give some background information on WINGS. Jennie listened most of the time, occasionally laughing with the group.

"How was it working on this album while you were away from us, Jennie?" Jin asked.

"It was interesting and a bit weird since I'm always used to being at Big Hit to work on new music. For this comeback, I chose to not be that involved in singing in songs but instead, you will see me in the album credits for a lot of background work. I played the guitar for a handful of songs and did a bunch of background vocals. It was a fun experience and I am grateful that I was able to help with the album while I was back home," she beamed.

"She stayed up late nights. Keep in mind we are in different time zones. She worked very hard and sacrificed a lot for this album. Please listen out for her vocals and her guitar sound. She did a wonderful job," Rapmon praised.

"Awww, my heart. Thank you," she gave him a side hug, making him smile.

The group introduced the tracklist and how it included a solo song from each member. Something that fans are anticipating the most. They went down the line to explain the tracklist.

"Our solo song starts from the third track. The third track, Begin. Whose song is it?" Suga asked.

"It's my solo," Jungkook raised his hand. "Begin is about how I came to Seoul and met the BTS members. It's about emotions that I felt in the process. It sounds very dreamy. It might be difficult to grasp when you hear it, but I've worked hard on it and recorded it,"

"What's the lyrics like?" he was asked.

"It's embarrassing to explain," he grinned. "I've changed thanks to all of you,"

After his answer, V shoved him, making everyone laugh. The members went on to talk about how much the song meant to them and that it made them cry.

"My first solo song. It's about lying," Jimin went over Lie. "It's about the conflict due to lies and temptation. It was difficult because the song is in a very high pitch. Just don't expect me to sing it live,"

"Why? You're good!" J-Hope exclaimed.

"He says this now, but he will sing well," Rapmon added.

"This is a lie," V pushed him, making Jimin laugh.

"See? You're good at lying. Professional liar," J-Hope pointed out.

"Stigma is mine. It's a song of neo-soul genre. I personally think that it's the most sophisticated song in this album," V said confidently, surprising the boys with his statement.

"Are you confident?" Jungkook asked him.

"I am!" he answered with a grin. "Usually we recorded altogether. It was my first time recording alone, and it was bitter because I was recording alone. The staff helped me out but..."

"Do you mean that you were lonely? Not bitter?" Suga asked.

"Lonely," Taehyung nodded.

"Let's move onto the sixth track. First Love. It's my solo song," Suga revealed. "Since the title is called First Love, many people thought that it's about first love,"

"Can you figure it out if you listen to it?" Jimin asked.

"Yes, it's in the first bar. I cried while recording," Suga admitted. "I cried a bit. Next song. Reflection,"

"It's my song," Rapmon proclaimed. "I go to Ttukseom Island when I have a lot in mind or when I have a hard time. I wrote this song sitting down in Ttukseom. You can hear the sound of the surroundings that I've recorded in Ttukseom at the time. And I can dare promise you that it's the best song to hear outside in this weather. I've produced it myself,"

"Really? You've produced it yourself?" J-Hope asked as the group was amazed.

"The best song to listen to in October, Reflection will be out at midnight. Please listen to it," Suga said. "Next, the eighth track. Mama,"

"It's my song," Hobi spoke up. "Can't you guess what it's about right from the title? That's right. It's about my mom. It's about emotions that I felt about Mom since childhood. I think this will be an unforgettable song in my life as a singer. Please look forward to Mama,"

"A lot of people are waiting for Mama. They are looking forward to it a lot," Jimin praised.

"Please look forward to it. It's good,"

"The most anticipated song in October, Mama, will be out at midnight," Suga replied. "Our next solo song, Awake,"

"We don't need a word to describe this," Jimin pointed out.

"Awake is my solo song," Jin said. "I've composed for the first time. It's much more difficult to write a song than I thought. I'm happy that a decent song is out. Not only writing but also singing was difficult because many parts were in high pitch. It was higher than I thought. I will work hard. Please listen to it,"

"It's the first time that Jin participated in composition. Please look forward to awake," Rapmon said.

"Last but not least is Jennie's solo song! Evermore. Jennie, explain your solo song," Suga pointed out.

"Ah...okay. This song is kind of sad and filled with a lot of doubt. It goes back to how I felt anxiously when I got mobbed at my sister's play. And I felt like I wanted to just stop performing. Feeling the fear of getting more famous. But as you listen to the lyrics, you'll see more of a positive shift that I can do this and I will overcome this. This song is very experimental and showcases my DJ skills. I want to show more of a versatile version of myself so you'll get a taste with this. I hope you like it. I was very nervous about it. The song is very blunt and straightforward. I am very nervous about performing this song live, one day. But we'll see how things go, yeah? If we can do more solos, I'll try to make a more upbeat song. So, I apologize in advance if you feel the waterworks when you listen. Trust me, I am ok. I hope to perform the song in a more positive light and have fun with it,"

"Did you cry when recording?"

"Yes. It took me days to properly try to sing it after I got my emotions in check. I feel much better now. Please look forward to it," she smiled nervously as she tried to keep her hands from getting shaky.

"Ennie, you'll perform it well. I have no doubt," Jimin reassured.

"Yes, indeed. Let us move on. The next song is Lost," Rapmon revealed. "Us rappers did the Cypher all the time. But this time it's the song of vocalists. I've written the lyrics. Please look forward to the unit song of vocalists,"

"Just an FYI I'm not in the song but I provided instrumentals!" Jennie waved.

"Yes, Jennie's guitar compliments the song nicely. She did an excellent job," Jin recognized.

Jennie grinned. "Thank you~!"

"The next one is BTS Cypher 4. I'm sure that a lot of you waited for this." Rapmon said.

"I'm sure that Taehyung and the fans waited for this," Hobi laughed as Taehyung started bouncing around.

The rapline had to calm him down before he started to reveal any lyrics of the song.

"It's a Cypher made by a very famous American producer. Next, Am I wrong? It's a song that you will love," Rapmon went on. "It's a song similar to Crow Tit or Dope. Next, 21st Century Girl is like what we did in the beginning. It'd be nice if you remember our old albums. The next track is Two! Three! And there's a sub-title, Hope there are better days. I think you can guess from the title. It's our first official fan song!"

The group whooped and applauded.

"Army fans will cry," Hobi whined.

"It'd be amazing if we could sing it with all our fans at the concert. Please look forward to it. Two! Three! is super nice. Last song. Interlude: Wings. It's like the title of our album. It's a genre called hip house, which we've never tried before. It's a very new song. I'm sure that it will captivate many fans as well. That concludes the track list of our second official album, Wings,"

As the broadcast went on, the group took a nap while they showed the jacket shooting of WINGS. A highlight that got fans laughing was Jennie falling down the steps.

-------

She took photos lying down on a pair of red steps.

"Never did I think I would be taking photos on steps. This is a first. I like it," she said as she gave the photographer her undivided attention.

Once she got the OK that she was done with photos, she cheered and excitedly got up.

"Yay! Thank you!" she took a step down but then lost her footing and fell hard on her butt, all the way down to the end of the steps. 

The staff was startled but relaxed when they heard her laugh.

Rubbing her butt, she groaned. "My ass...I'm okay!"

-------

After the showing was over, the camera showed the members sleeping and Taehyung sneezing loudly which made Jimin giggle and Jen wake up immediately.

"Good Grief, Tae." she chuckled as her heart rate calmed down after being startled by him.

Standing in front of the camera, Rapmon talked about waking up the group and starting the next part of the show.

"Everyone, get up! Stop sleeping!" he called out. 

Beyonce's Crazy in Love came on and so did the lights to get everyone moving.

"What is this?" Hobi got up and walked up to him.

"Show yourselves," he exclaimed.

Hobi started dancing around and Suga joined in.

"What in the world...?" Jennie got up and watched the boys dance around.

Once the song changed, Jin and Jimin danced in front of the camera, showing off their sexy side.

"It's really dirty," Hobi laughed while Jin blew a kiss to the viewers.

"V, Jungkook, are you ready?" Rapmon asked when the song changed to C & C music factory's Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody dance now).

The two stood there as the song played but suddenly made funny faces and danced, making everyone crack up.

"Jennie, you and I together!" Rapmon called her out as 'Never Gonna Give You Up' by Rick Astley came on.

"This song," she laughed as she watched Rapmon dance around her. She joined in, dancing like Rick in the music video.

After the rest of the broadcast and the clock turned 12am, the album and music video dropped.

-------

Jennie couldn't sleep as she wondered what the public would think of BTS' new work. Being nervous about the reactions, she chose to avoid social media, not quite ready for the feedback. With the curiosity getting the better of her, Jennie went on Twitter to see that everybody was in a frenzy, praising Bangtan for the bops and visuals of the comeback. Thanks to the undeniable chemistry of Taehyung and Jen, #Taennie trended worldwide as everyone talked about their scenes together and came up with theories. Jennie was proud that her acting lessons and taking her sister's advice were paying off and she had a blast filming with her best friend.

'WHAT THE HELL is going on between V and Jennie!?'

'That didn't look like acting, wtf is happeninggg!?'

'Taennie shippers we WON! This music video is about them!'

'HOW can she be so calm when he's doing all THAT to her!? I'D MELT!'

'They should've kissed'

'Evermore made me cry. Omg I felt that. The chorus is a MOOD!'

'Okay, puberty hit Jennie like a truck. She looks so mature for this comeback. Like she's about to be 19 and looking this fine af?!'

As she read more tweets, she noticed that quite a few fans were bummed that she was not in Lost and chose to tweet about it even though she explained she wasn't involved vocally during the live.

'Please don't be upset about Lost. I did more things behind the scenes this time. Just trust me and enjoy the new music. Everything is A-OK :) #Jen'

That seemed to ease their frustrations. But then she saw that others were questioning Jungkook's Begin because he only mentioned brothers and not sister.

'I'm bummed Jennie isn't mentioned in Begin. Jungkook said brothers. You have a sister too, y'know!'

'Why did you forget about Jennie, Jungkook?'

'I hope they don't hate each other'

'It's official, he hates her. That's why he didn't write about her'

She laughed at the ridiculous accusations.

Jeesh, people like to panic about the little things. It was clear that things were taken out of context and some bad seeds in the fandom were thinking negatively about him not adding her to the song. They were making it bigger than what it was.

On Instagram, she went to her comments after posting a celebration photo of the release of WINGS and typed:

'Lol, why does everyone think I'm upset that Jungkook didn't sing about me in Begin? It's okay! Relax, please. We are working on a song together. We'll release it soon! Please, do not be angry at Jungkook. Give him love and enjoy his solo song. He worked very hard, '

And again, she managed to ease everyone's frustrations as they quickly moved on to more positive things about the comeback. 

Blood, Sweat & Tears had become extremely successful. It started to break YouTube records for a K-Pop group and it became the most liked video on the V-app. They even got an ALL KILL on the music charts. Bangtan was beyond grateful for their achievements so far and was excited about performing at music shows.

Later on the day, BTS was getting ready to be filmed for a Bangtan bomb as they were going to watch the release of Blood, Sweat & Tears.

"I have no idea how I look in the music video but we're going to find out today," Jennie said.

"I still think it should've been me instead of Taehyung," Jungkook complained playfully after mentioning that he saw how much of a hot topic Taennie was for the music video. "Everyone was talking about it,"

Taehyung giggled. "I'm sorry, Jungkook."

"Jungkook, you know that wouldn't have worked. It's about storytelling," Suga pointed out.

Jennie didn't know how much of her scenes with Taehyung were put in the music video but it was clear to be enough for the music video's rating to be at 15 instead of 12. Sitting in between Jin and Suga, she watched as Jimin pressed play and turned up the volume.

After the beginning, it showed Jennie running down the hallway as the boys pointed out how beautiful she looked with her hair flowing. And when she opened the door, it revealed the boys on the couch. As they watched, the group praised Jin for his facial expressions. And once the song started, everyone raved about how good Jimin looked.

"Ooo, okay Jimin!" Jennie cheered as she watched him start the song.

"Whoa, Jimin Hyung is sexy," Jungkook added.

When it showed Suga seated on the chair, rapping and then walking around, Jennie said, "Look at Suga, looking cool,"

"He does, doesn't he? Woah and look at Rap Monster," Jin pointed.

"Rapmon has changed quite a bit this time, hasn't he?" Hobi mentioned. "His gestures and facial expressions,"

"V! That's a bit sexy, aye?" Rapmon asked when the music video showed V's solo scenes.

After the chorus, Jennie was shown with V and she covered her mouth.

"AHHHHHH!" the boys yell, shooked at what they did on camera.

"Jennifer Walker!?" Rapmon shouted.

"Jennie and V! What is happening here? What is this?" Hobi exclaimed.

"I told them that I felt like I was interrupting something when we filmed at the table. They have good chemistry," Jin mentioned with a laugh.

"Very good chemistry," Suga nodded.

The boys started screaming when they saw they were about to kiss and then the scene transitioned to one of her solo shots in the garden.

"This is what happened when we left early that day!?" Rapmon looked on in disbelief.

"I didn't think a lot of that would be in the music video," she grinned sheepishly.

"It was really easy to film with Ennie," V mentioned and glanced her way as they smiled at one another.

"Agreed,"

As they watched J-Hope in the video, Rapmon enthused about how much energy he had.

"Jennie has definitely changed a lot for this comeback. The new hair color, and everything. She is doing so well!" Suga shouted proudly and shook her, making her laugh.

"Whew! That gaze she did," Hobi was impressed.

"That's one of my favorite parts! How smooth you were with it," Jennie told Suga once the part of him pretending to lift a drink was on the screen.

"One shot!" Jungkook shouted while the rest talked about how cool he looked.

When it showed Jimin exposing his shoulder, everyone yelled and hyped him up. Jimin tried to explain that it was an accident but it just seemed a little too convenient for Bangtan to believe. As they got to the part with V covering Jin's eyes, they brought up how it was supposed to be Suga doing that.

"It could've been a disaster if I did it!" Suga exclaimed.

"I'm still mad they made the good guy lose," Jennie shook her head. "I could have saved Jin. I could have saved him. But noooo they had him fall into temptation,"

"You fell into temptation too," V brought up.

"No, I didn't!"

"With me, you did,"

With the boys laughing at their banter, Jennie stared at him in disbelief.

"Wow~! I resisted. You saw that I ran away and resisted. I tried my best to save Jin,"

"You tried your best, Jennie," Jin grinned.

As it showed V with his broken wings, Rapmon pointed out that he was not the Taehyung he used to be, which made the whole group laugh out loud. After the video finished, the group cheered and talked about how great it looked.

---------

While juggling the comeback, JenKook still had to go to school and had been dealing with a parenting class they had been assigned to. The teacher gave the class a project which consisted of taking care of a robot baby. When the teacher paired them up and gave them a male Korean baby, the Golden Duo thought it was a joke that they had to be idol parents for a grade while doing promotions.

As long as the baby's needs were rated 80 and above, they would pass the project. If not, they would get a low grade. The robot baby looked real and moved and sounded like a real baby. Its reactions were natural, it laughed, it cried, it did its business and even burped. The teacher seemed pretty serious about the concept of parenting and was strict about making sure each group took great care of their assigned baby.

"Wait wait wait, are you serious? Your teacher gave you a baby to take care of? During promotions?" Jimin laughed as they watched the young couple bring the baby home in a small baby seat. "This is too cute,"

"JenKook. Idol parents. This is going to be good," Hobi grinned.

"Yeah. That's a big responsibility. I hope you pass the project," Rapmon said.

"I can't wait to see how you two handle the baby when we go to music shows," Suga added.

"Got a name for him?" Jin asked as the members gushed over how cute the baby looked.

"Not yet. We're still deciding," Jen said and started to hear the baby cry.

"Hyung, what did you do?" Jungkook exclaimed.

"I-I didn't do anything!" Jin backed away, startled by the loud baby cries.

Taking the baby out of the seat, Jennie walked into her room to try to settle him down.

"Gosh, I dunno how my mom did this three times," she murmured and gently laid the baby on her bed to check what he needed. "Ah, so you're hungry,"

Jungkook came into the room with a large bag of baby supplies provided by the teacher and the baby seat. "He's hungry?"

"Yep, the thing is showing that he's hungry. Whip up a bottle, please?"

He nodded and went through the bag. "Could I feed him?" he asked.

"Yeah, go ahead," she gently gave the baby to him after he sat on the bed next to her. 

She watched as the baby's hunger went up as he fed him.

"This is weird," she chuckled. "But he's so adorable,"

"He is. This is going to be an interesting project. What should we name him?" he asked her as he held the small baby in his arms. The sound of it happily making baby sounds, content with being held made him smile. "Don't say Steve Rogers,"

"Gosh darn it," she playfully acted upset.

"You seriously want to name him that?"

"Haha, no silly,"

He let out a breath of relief. "Good,"

"Wow. Our dog's name is Tony and I didn't complain,"

"Because Tony is better,"

"Jungkook. Don't start this again. Your points suck," she bickered with him. "Another J name to match with us. Jordan? Or were you thinking of a Korean name?"

"We can stick with Jordan," he nodded.

"So Jordan Jeon Walker. Something simple. One day we'll have plenty of time to think of names in the future," she blurted out as she rambled.

He instantly looked up and started to smile at the thought. "What did you say?"

"N-nothing. I was just rambling," she felt her face flush.

He chuckled softly. "I'm going to take a shower. You all right with him?"

"Jordan and I will be just fine. It looks like he's going to be sleeping soon so try not to make too much noise. Who knows how sensitive this baby will be to noise,"

After Jungkook showered, he took over to watch the baby while Jennie showered and got ready to go to bed. Walking out of the bathroom, she smiled at the adorable sight of him sleeping with the baby on his chest. She couldn't help but take a few photos to show him later.

----------

Once October 13th arrived, which was also Jimin's birthday, Bangtan got ready to go to Mnet Countdown for their comeback stage of Blood, Sweat & Tears.

Before departing, JenKook had to bring the baby along to continue their assignment. Jennie made sure Jordan was well fed as she gathered her things and Jungkook thought it was a good idea to change Jordan's shoes.

"There we go. He looks great!" the Golden Maknae grinned, showing off the baby.

"Are you kidding? Timbs?" she stared at him, unimpressed.

"Yeah! The coolest baby at SOPA!"

"No,"

"No? He's wearing Timbs!"

"He should be wearing Nike! I put Nikes on him for a reason. Why did you change his shoes?"

"That's so basic. He'll stand out more wearing the Timbs,"

"Did you just call my favorite brand basic?"

"Truth hurts, honey," he shrugged, being a smartass once again while V and Jimin watched in the background, laughing.

Jennie let out an unamused laugh and nodded. "Jungkook, no baked goods for a month," she grabbed her bag and walked past him.

Her statement caused him to become Jungshooked as he held the baby and walked after her.

"Shit, wait, I'm sorry!"

[theycallmebecca]

18+ Drabble: The Great Tease

A few days ago, I was inspired to write a thirst trap story, but with a twist and that's what this is. I made a moodboard and I used photos I found here on tumblr and shared with friends in a discord, but that means I don't remember which blogs the photos originally came from...

Title: The Great Tease

Pairing: Andy Barber x female reader

Rating: R

Warnings: suggestive, fade to black sex scene

Disclaimer: This work of fiction is not to be reposted, used or translated without my permission.

18+ Disclaimer: This work contains sexual material that is for those over the age of 18. By clicking the keep reading link below, you are agreeing that you are over the age of 18 and are not offended by sexual content.

Usage Disclaimer: This work is for fans only. This author does not give permission for it to be shared, spoken of, referred to in any public manner (podcast, tv, online, etc.) that wants to either make a celebrity uncomfortable, mock fan fiction/fandom in any way, or the author themselves. Requests can be made, but it is unlikely the author will change their mind. If no response is given to a request then the answer is a solid no, not interested and the work cannot be shared, spoken of or even referred to, regardless of the manner or context. 

“Have fun this weekend,” you said to Andy before you kiss him goodbye.

“Ugh, come on, you two,” your best friend said, feigning disgust. “Save something for the honeymoon.”

“Go wait in the car,” you told her with a laugh. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

“Fine, but I’m setting a timer for five minutes,” she said before leaving with your bags.

“What are you doing this weekend?” you asked Andy.

“Just hanging with the guys,” he replied with a shrug. “Probably play some golf, maybe some video games. I’ll definitely be available for anyone who needs to escape…”

“She’d kill us both,” you said with a laugh. “And killing the bride and groom during the bachelorette party would probably ruin the wedding…”

“LET’S GO!” your friend yelled from outside.

“I’ll text you when we get in there,” you told him then gave him one more kiss before you left.

“About time,” your friend muttered.

You stuck your tongue out at her then got into the car.

It wasn't until the two of you arrived at the rental house and you grabbed your phone to let Andy know that you were there, that your friend said, "This is a no boys allowed weekend. That includes texting."

"Just let me tell him that we got here, I promised,"  you told her.

"Fine, but I'm warning you right now, if he texts you at all while we're here, you're showing it to all of us," she stated. "No matter what. And no warning him, either."

You shook your head and sent Andy a quick text:

Here. Have a good weekend! 😘

Then you showed it to your friend. She nodded her approval and then the two of you got out of the car.

—------

"I know this was meant to be a girls' weekend, but I'm surprised I haven't gotten a single text," Andy said, later that evening as he and his friends had dinner together.

"Maybe we should text them and make sure they're ok?" one of the guys he didn't know as well said.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," your best friend's husband said.

"Why not?" one of the others asked.

"What do you know?" Andy asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I overheard my wife on this phone this morning," the husband explained. "If anyone, but especially you, Andy, sends a text while they're at this thing, it's getting read aloud and shown to everyone."

"Even dick pics?" one guy asked, nervously glancing at his phone.

"Anything that is sent from the moment they arrive to the moment they leave," your best friend's husband stated. "So be careful what you send."

After dinner, Andy went back to the house with your best friend's husband and another of their mutual friends, who were crashing at the house since they lived out of town.

"Your wife doesn't know you know, right?" Andy said as they drank beers.

"No, I didn't say anything to her about it, why?" the husband asked.

"Because we could have some fun with this," Andy said with a smirk.

"I'm not showing my junk to all those crazies," the mutual friend stated.

"We're not showing junk to any of them," Andy agreed. "But it doesn't mean we can't take some staged photos and send them to them. Think thirst traps."

"But won't it be suspicious if we all do them?" the husband asked. "Maybe it should just be you."

"I agree, it should just be you," the mutual friend stated with a laugh. "It will get the best reaction."

"Fine, you chicken shits," Andy said. "But I'm going to need help taking the photos."

————

The first text came as you, your best friend and your three bridesmaids were getting ready to play a game.

At your best friend’s insistence, you’d all changed your text alerts to be something different so it was easier to tell them apart. You and the others had overruled her idea, however, that the person receiving the text couldn’t be the one to look at the phone.

“That’s you,” she said, smugly.

“I know,” you replied as you got up to get your phone from where they sat on the counter. Looking at your phone, you saw that Andy had sent a photo and found yourself grateful that the majority had overruled the dick pic sharing rule, too. Meaning no dicks would be exposed.

Going into your messages, you nearly choked when you saw the photo Andy had sent you. It was just his bare pecs and torso, but it was a close up, showing off all his muscles.

“She definitely got something good,” one of the others cackled.

“Come share it with the group,” your best friend said with a smirk.

Grudgingly, you handed her your phone and they all leaned in to take a look.

“Hot damn,” one of them said while another whistled.

“I knew he was hot, but lucky you,” another said, winking at you.

“Ok, enough ogling my future husband,” you said, grabbing the phone. “We have a game to play.”

“Fine, but you aren’t allowed to text him back,” your best friend reminded you.

“I know,” you replied though you were suddenly wishing you were at home with Andy and his muscles instead of with your friends.

Hours later, a second photo came as you all were getting ready for bed. This photo was of Andy in bed with a picture of his torso and half of his hip 'V' on display with the rest of his lower body hidden under the sheets.

“Are you sure we can’t call our partners?” one of your friends asked after passing the phone.

“No boys allowed!” your best friend stated.

“She’s just jealous 'cause her husband doesn’t look like that,” another muttered as she looked at the photo a little too long for your liking.

Once you had your phone back, you gave it a last, longing look then locked it for the night, thankful that each of you had your own room.

The third and fourth photos were waiting for you when you woke up the next morning. One was Andy standing at the kitchen island, coffee cup on the counter and his hoodie unzipped showing his entire torso. The other was Andy with his back to the camera and only wearing an apron with the top of his ass showing.

“I don’t know if I can look Andy in the eye anymore,” one of your friends said. “Not after these thirst traps.”

“Did you tell him?” your best friend asked, looking at you.

“When would I have told him? You only let me text him once and that was to let him know we were here,” you replied. “And you read that message.”

“You told me on the phone the other day,” another friend spoke up, looking at your best friend. “Did your husband overhear? He’s with Andy isn’t he?”

“I’m going to kill him,” she muttered and reached for her phone.

“Uh huh,” you said, grabbing it with a grin on your face. “No boys allowed. Your rule.”

“Your future husband is sharing all his goodies,” she replied.

“Not all of them,” you stated. “Besides, it’s kind of fun. They think they have one over on us.”

Your phone dinged at that moment and you opened it and your jaw dropped. Andy was wearing his wedding tux with the shirt completely open and he was stretched across the bed, showing off his torso.

“Fuck,” you muttered when you could finally think again. You looked up at your friends and blinked, once again wishing Andy was nearby to jump.

“Distance makes the bride to be hornier,” one of the girls teased.

You flipped her off and placed the phone on the table for them all to see.

Five additional thirst trap photos were sent to your phone during the remainder of your girls weekend, each of them highlighting Andy’s torso and/or arms and proving that Andy knew just which parts of his body you liked the most.

You were so turned on by the photos that you didn't invite your friends and their significant others to have dinner with you and Andy like you had originally planned to. Instead, you had practically rushed them all out of the house, upon getting home, then turned to your future husband.

"Strip," you ordered him.

Andy's eyebrows shot up and then he grinned. "You did get the photos then," he said, obviously pleased with himself.

"And we figured out that you knew about the no boys allowed rules," you replied, crossing your arms over your chest. "Now stop stalling, hot stuff, you showed off all weekend and now I want a taste."

"As you wish," Andy said, simply.

Then took his sweet time undressing, which you normally appreciated, but your desire had been building for nearly two days. Yes, you had masturbated last night in the shower, but that wasn't the same as being with Andy.

After what seemed like forever, he was naked before you, partially aroused.

You'd planned to play with him a little, but you needed him sooner rather than later. You quickly removed your clothes and then closed the gap between the two of you.

"Remind me to torture you a bit later," you said to him before you pressed your lips against his.

"Will do," he whispered against your lips.

Then he made love to you.