#mbj fluff

[fanficbarbie]

❝ ...ready for it?❞

A/N: sorry this took so long. i really have no excuse, my job doesn't allow me to have a set schedule. unedited so ignore any mistakes. i hope yall enjoy. ★ ˙ᵕ˙ liv

─⋆♡ chapter summary: the president’s daughter spends her first day with her new security detail.

─⋆♡ main tropes: Michael B. Jordan x Fem!OC, Rome Flynn x Fem!OC, Damson Idris x Fem!OC. Bodyguard x Princess, Secret Service x First Kid, forced proximity, forbidden love, tolerated enemies to lovers, college romance.

─⋆♡ chapter warnings: angst, 18+ black!writer, language, fighting, threatening, choking, physical descriptors (brief), characters affected by symptoms of anxiety or depression.

series masterlist ✰ faceclaims ✰ spotify playlist

The door opens to the media room and in an instant, the social butterfly that helped my mother win the presidency is flipped on. “Secretary Randall!” I greet the short woman in front of me.

“Liberty! It’s been too long,” Secretary Randall returns the familiarity with an outstretched hand.

The smile doesn’t leave my face as I reach out to meet Secretary Randall halfway before Agent Jordan attacks her. “It’s so nice to see you,” I say through clenched teeth. Fuck, my jaw is going to hurt after all this fake smiling.

“It’s nice to see you too. Thanks for making time for this in your schedule,” she chirps a little too loud for my liking this early in the day.

“Of course. I wish I had more time, maybe we can figure something out in the future,” I lie. I hope this is the last time I see this woman until I’m begging for a good student teaching placement.

The photographer directs us to stand in between the windows with the most sunlight. “Yes, that’s right. You’re in class at…” she trails off, hoping I’ll finish her sentence.

The photographer snaps a couple of pictures of us smiling, standing side by side. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel Agent Jordan’s eyes on me, waiting for the secretary to step out of line so he could pounce. “Howard,” I finally blurt out.

Once the photographer gives a thumbs up, I step back giving us each some personal space again. “Yes, Howard. Amazing education program,” Secretary Randall compliments.

“Speaking of, I have class in,” I pause to look down at my wristwatch. “Half an hour so, I’m sorry but I have to go,” I apologize and hope it looks sincere.

She nods, stepping out of the path for the door. “I understand. Have a good day, Libby,” she waves goodbye.

I return the smile, moving to exit the room as soon as possible. “You too, Secretary Randall,” I try to call towards her over my shoulder, but Agent Jordan is blocking my way.

Once the doors shut behind the three of us, Jo clears her throat. “You know you don’t have class in thirty minutes, right?” she asks.

I nod, turning towards the staircase to the residence levels. “Of course, I know. But I just need 15 minutes of alone time before this interview,” I explain.

Jo stops just before we ascend the staircase together, leaving Agent Jordan and me alone. “Got it,” she says, walking back in the direction we came.

My feet rush up the stairs, making a right towards the blue room. 

Please let it be empty, please let it be empty, please let it be empty. I chant the mantra in my head over and over again until my hand is on the handle, pushing the door open. A sigh of relief rasps through my body. Thank god, it’s empty. 

I step into the room, taking in the relaxing feeling of the calming color. The door shuts behind me and I assume Agent Jordan has closed it and is now standing outside the door. I take advantage of the opportunity, closing my eyes and flopping down on the couch.

My breathing calms and I mentally note to plan a regular massage appointment if things are going to continue this way. When my eyes flutter open, I almost jump out of my skin seeing Agent Jordan towering over my face. “That was good,” he compliments with his signature menacing smirk on his face.

“I know,” I scoff, hyper-aware of his every move now. My eyes watch Agent Jordan come around to the front of the couch. “What are you doing?” I question him.

Agent Jordan pulls at the bottom of his pants a bit before sitting down. “What does it look like?” he chides.

I roll my eyes, feeling them get stuck from the sleepy feeling I’ve yet to shake. “Sitting, yes. But next to me,” I point out Agent Jordan’s perfectly sculpted body.

Agent Jordan shrugs, tilting his head to look at me. “It’s the best way to protect you,” he mutters.

“You’re supposed to protect me from stuff outside the room. There’s nothing to protect me from in here but you,” I counter.

Agent Jordan’s head falls back and he lets out something I thought I’d never hear. A fucking boisterous laugh. “My lady has jokes,” he chuckles.

I roll my eyes, scooting further away from Agent Jordan on the couch. “No. Your lady has questions,” I warn.

“No,” Agent Jordan deadpans.

“Yes,” I argue.

Agent Jordan’s eyes narrow at me sending a chill down my spine. “No, Liberty,” he bellows with finality. “Prep for your fucking interview or something,” he crosses his arms, staring directly up at the ceiling. He doesn’t dare to move and his face is cold as stone.

A few moments pass and I realize, Agent Jordan’s not going to break. I might as well press forward. “What’s your first name?” I ask.

Agent Jordan's lips part and he lets out an exacerbated sigh. “Michael,” he states.

I lick my lips, sitting up to prepare another question. “What’s your zodiac sign?” I buzz.

“Why do you care?” Michael asks, still no movement.

“Because I do. Now tell me,” I spew.

Michael blinks rapidly as if he’s trying to reach up and grab the zodiac sign from his mind. I should’ve just asked him his birth date. “I don’t know. My birthday is on February 9th,” he responds.

My eyes roll again. Gotta love the air signs. “Great, you’re an Aquarius,” I criticize.

Michael’s face scrunches with blithe disregard. “I won’t even pretend to know or give a shit about what that means to you,” he mouths off towards the ceiling.

“What are you doing here?” I ask with my head propped up in my hand.

“Working,” Michael grumbles.

“You know that doesn’t answer my question. Why. Are. You. Here?” I intonate. 

Michael’s tongue darts out over his perfectly plump bottom lip and the simple act has me gulping. “Have to be. It’s in my contract,” he reminds me.

“Well, the only reason why an ex-navy seal would be doing this job would be because you did something bad,” I speculate, pausing to search Michael’s face for any discomfort.

Michael’s poker face is award-winning, and he doesn’t crack, so I continue to press. “Were you a bad boy, Mikey?” I coo seductively.

“Don’t,” Michael snaps.

My jaw drops and I cover my mouth with my hands. ”Oh my gosh. Did you kill someone?” I gasp facetiously. 

Michael clicks his tongue against the roof of his mouth making an unsavory popping sound, causing me to flinch slightly. “I’ve killed so many people, I’ve lost count, my Lady,” he patronizes.

“No, I mean like someone you’re not supposed to,” I elaborate.

Michael finally moves, suddenly snapping his head over to look me dead in the eye. “Stop,” he demands.

A small grin creeps onto my lips. Got ya. I shift on the couch so that I’m on my hands and knees, crawling to Michael. I wish it were under better circumstances but, here we are. 

“Oh you killed a bunch of people and now you’re stuck with me. Poor Mikey,” I taunt, inching my way closer to him.

Michael’s mouth twitches as if I’ve offended him but he doesn’t stop me from practically crawling in his lap. “That’s not what happened,” he corrects me.

Michael’s breath smells like cinnamon and I catch him glancing at my ass so perfectly poked up in the air. The feeling of being this close to him is intoxicating. “So what happened?” I dig.

All the blood in my body rushes to my ears, hungry for a taste of the man just inches away from me. “What happened, Lady Li–” I cut Michael off with a finger pressed to his lip. 

“Stop calling me that,” I mewl just above a whisper. I drag the tip of my finger down so Michael’s plump bottom lip snaps up.

What happens next, I could’ve never predicted. Michael’s rough hands wrap around my neck, squeezing the sides. “Don’t interrupt me again,” he spits in my face before pushing me back.

The force is great enough that it gets me out of Michael’s personal space, but not so bad it hurts. It only makes me want more and I try to ignore the searing heat pooling in my panties. “The problem isn’t with me killing people. We did that in the Seals all the time. I took money for it after. That’s the issue,” he explains to me like I’m a 6th grader now that I’m kneeling patiently next to him.

“So like a mercenary?” I cut to the point.

With a petulant shake of his head, Michael corrects me, “Not like, I was a mercenary.”

My eyebrows raise in surprise. “Jesus Christ. Obviously, the government caught you,” I speak in utter shock. He doesn’t seem like the type of person who’d ever get caught up in a job like this.

Michael nods, confirming my suspicion. “Mmm. Caught our leader and he was weak. Snitched on the entire group before killing himself,” he explains.

I gnaw on my lip, processing all the information. Although I don’t know them from a can of paint, Michael’s coworkers don’t look like they could do what he’s talking about. Agent Flynn is too bubbly and Agent Idris is so outspoken. “So Agent Flynn and Agent Idris, they’re…”

“The person you hire when you want someone dead,” Michael deadpans.

“That’s, well…” I pause, not wanting to alienate the man. If he has to be with me for 4 years, I want him to get acclimated slowly. If I push too fast, he may run for the hills.

Not that I care what he thinks about me because I 100% do. not. care. “What?” Michael’s voice brings me back to reality.

I’m assuming you can’t have a girlfriend or kids. Too risky in the business meaning a majority of your time is spent with coworkers or alone. No forming real long-lasting relationships. “Sad. Must be lonely with a life like that,” I finish the thought.

Michael shrugs and I watch the statement bounce off of him like water off a duck's back. “Trust me, you get used to it.”

 I try to keep my face as composed as possible not to show him pity. “I’m sorry,” I apologize. That’s not a life I’d want to live. Barely any connection and no one to talk to.

“Don’t apologize,” Michael murmurs and for a moment, I see a flash of human in his eyes. The once robotic side of him is slowly starting to melt away and it’s only been a few hours.

Good, he couldn’t keep up this act for much longer. I offer Michael a soft smile before he returns the question, “What are you doing here?”

“Meaning?” I clarify.

“You’re 20, in college already. Why are you living in The White House?” Michael gestures outside the windows to the spectacular white pillars. 

Because I’m being used as leverage. It's the same as any young royal, or so I’m told. “They’re trying to set me up with someone. Probably a young prince from another country,” I huff.

Michael’s nose scrunches, almost as if he’s displeased with my statement. Is he jealous? “You don’t seem like the relationship person,” he points out.

I shrug because Michael’s right. Ellis is underage and Hudson can’t be trusted as far as you can throw him; I’m the only child up for the task. “I’m not, but Lady Liberty sure is. If I date the Mexican president’s son, drug trade talk will be easier,” I explain feeling despondent about the situation.

“But you hate it,” Michael says and I feel like he’s staring through my soul. Of course, I hate it. This country has limited abortion access yet I’m being paraded around like a piece of meat to stop a war.

My eyes stay fixed on Michael’s and my breathing slows. Something about him makes me feel safe, although he could work on the scowling. “And I love my mom. What’s 4 years?”

“If their little plan for you goes well, it’ll be 8,” Michael asserts.

A knock rasps on the door before Jo sticks her head in. “Times up. Teen Vogue time!” she cheers.

The loud ticking of the grandfather clock in the fitting room has me wanting to push it right over the balcony railing. The noise is like nails on a chalkboard, reminding me that time is fleeting. 

The doors fly open and Ellis bursts in, being closely trailed by Agent Idris. “Guess what I found out?” she asks melodically.

My head shakes at Ellis’s antics. “Do you ever knock?” I ask. I could’ve been fucking naked.

Ellis huffs, sitting down on the armchair closest to me. “No. You’re not doing anything anyway,” she says, gesturing to me sitting idly on the loveseat.

My eyes roll and I hear Agent Idris chuckle lowly. Annoyed with Ellis taking so long to get to the point, I try to speed her up, “What did you find out, bestie?”

A creepy all-knowing smile plasters onto Ellis’ face. “King Charles III is coming tomorrow,” she informs me maniacally.

“Yeah, Ellis, I assumed. It’s a state dinner. The head of the honoring country has to be on the list,” I explain. She’s in high school, she should know this already.

“Yeah, but you don’t get it. The last two state dinners with the prime minister and the previous queen. This is his first state dinner as King,” Ellis explains excitedly with her hands, showing us a visual representation of the King’s importance.

The Brits haven’t been very fond of us since an official July 4th many moons ago. “That probably means way less to him than it does to us,” I inform Ellisr. 

The back doors to the room open 4 clothes racks are pushed in with accompanying stylists. “Time to play dress up,” Ellis sighs, standing from her chair. 

She can go first, I don’t care for this shit anyway. 

Ellis starts sliding the hangers across the rack, looking at each piece with a detailed eye. My hands find the book I was reading earlier in the afternoon and I pick it up, trying to busy my brain with something. A couple minutes pass of ambient noise before I hear Ellis ask, “Where’s Jo?”

I don’t bother to look up at Ellis, knowing her back is probably facing me. “I told her to go home for the day. Like you said, it’s not like I’m doing anything,” I quote her words a few moments ago.

“We’ll be outside,” I hear Michael say from behind me. When I turn around, he’s pulling a reluctant Agent Idris towards the door.

“You guys can sit right there. We’ll be behind the dressing screen anyways,” I stop them in their tracks. Agent Idris turns around with a smirk on his face before straightening his now-ruffled suit.

Michael’s forehead puckered and his eyes blazed with anger. My eyes squint at him, unsure about his sudden behavior change. What the fuck is his problem? “Sweet,” Agent Idris boasts before smoothly crossing over to me.

I pat the loveseat next to me and Agent Idris smoothly slides onto the cushion, leaning close to me. Once he’s content, I turn my attention to Michael, who looks like he could strangle Agent Idris. The veins are popping out of his skull so I stand, motioning for my spot on the couch. “Here, take my spot. I’ll take the chair,” I motion towards my seat. 

Michael obliges my request, stalking towards me and sitting in the inevitably warmed seat. Agent Idris, uncomfortable with the proximity of closeness, scoots back drastically. A snort leaves my nose and I lower myself into the velvet armchair. 

I turn the page and before I can begin reading, Ellis comes out dressed in the first dress. The grey tulle adorned with black butterflies is perfectly age-appropriate for her. “Oh Ellis, you look so pretty,” I compliment.

Ellis steps in front of the mirror, spinning a bit. Her nose scrunches and she fluffs the skirt out. “I don’t really like it,” she murmurs.

“Why?” I ask.

Ellis turns around, kicking the skirt out a bit so she can walk. “Too much tulle,” she calls over her shoulder on her way towards the dressing room.

“So pick one without tulle, Ellis. I know you have one back there,” I chastise her.

Ellis grumbles something inaudible back and I hear the sound of the crinoline moving against the floor. Two zipper sounds fill the air and minutes later, I hear her sigh, “Okay.”

I abandon my book, figuring my turn is upcoming. “Yeah?” I shout slightly at the screen.

Ellis comes from behind the screen in a Tiffany blue dress with minimal crystals adorning the pockets. “Yeah,” she smiles bashefully.

It’s perfect for Ellis, but without accessories, she looks naked. “You need some gloves and maybe some earrings,” I list, walking over to the vanity with crystal pieces laid on the silk trays.

“I mean duh but what do you think? Hair up or down,” Ellis asks and I look up at her reflection in the mirror. She switches between holding her hair up and letting it flow, posing as she does.

Why would Ellis ask me? I’m the most indecisive person on the fucking planet. “Down,” I suggest.

Ellis nods, picking up the bottom of the dress. “Okay, let me get changed,” she scurries behind the screen.

I silently disappear between the racks, hoping that if I stay silent, no one will notice my short stature in between the clothing. “Your turn,” Ellis unfortunately chirps.

My eyes roll and I touch the fabrics. I don’t want anything too extravagant, but sexy enough to command presence. And I’ll be damned if my little sister looks better than me, no offense. I pick a few dresses, putting them on a rack that an assistant swiftly pulls away for me. 

Once I’m ready, I step behind the screen. The stylist unzips the first dress, stepping out of the room so I can slip into it. I shed the clothing, folding up my outfit. I step into the first dress, calling for help to lace up the back. “Okay,” I say, finally looking up in the mirror. “I can already tell you I don’t like this one,” I grunt, turning to get a good look at myself.

The dress has a cinched waist, and the blue is bright–it reminds me of a highlighter. It’s a beautiful dress. It’s just not the dress for me. 

“So I don’t need to see it. Next!” Ellis shouts. I nod, allowing the stylist to slowly untie the ribbon. I put my hands back on my chest to avoid spilling out of the top of the dress before the stylist puts another dress up on the rack.

Once she leaves, I exhale, allowing the dress to fall to the floor. I pick it up, put it back on the rack, and turn to pick up the next one. This one is a hot red color with a crystalized top. Similarly to the first dress, the red satin flows out from the waist, with velvet roses on the straps. I call the stylist in again to lace me up, and she does so with practiced ease. 

When she’s finished, I step out but only in view of Ellis. “This one’s okay,” I say. It’s too sweet and would be a better fit for Ellis.

Ellis shifts with her hands on her hips. “Mmm, we can do better,” she says before turning back to the racks. She maneuvers through the racks, pulling a blue tulle dress and holding it up towards me. “This one?” she asks.

I shake my head, “Too extra.”

Ellis hands the dress off to the assistant, diving back into the rows determined to find something appropriate. “This one?” she asks, holding a long silk dress. “Oh my gosh, please try it for me,” she pleads.

I scoff, taking the dress from Ellis’s hands, “Fine.”

The Tiffany blue silk with the bow on the back makes it a beautiful, yet promising dress. Giddy about the outcome of this dress, I step into it and call the stylist in for hopefully the last time. After she’s done securing the back, she lets me know, and I let my arms fall to my waist. A smile grows on my face when I look myself up and down in the mirror. “You know what, Ellis? You might’ve been right,” I praise her selection.

It fits my body perfectly and it’s a beautiful dress. “Really?” I hear Ellis ask just before I step out from behind the shield. Her eyes drink me in and her face lights up like a kid on Christmas morning. “Hell yeah,” she boasts.

Ellis steps to the side and when I look behind her, I see Agent Idris’ jaw is on the floor. My eyes find Michael’s and his face is still stone cold. But I see a flash of desire in his irises the longer we have the staring contest.

Ellis clears her throat and I blink rapidly, returning my gaze towards Agent Idris. Michael notices and backhands the man in the chest. Agent Idris quickly snaps his mouth shut, swallowing before his lips part again. “Hot,” Agent Idris groans, shifting his pants.

When I look down, his prominently hard member is practically waving at me. “Show some fucking respect,” Michael barks, tossing one of my throw pillows in Idris’ lap.

A faint giggle slips Ellis's lips and when I turn my head toward her, she’s covering her mouth discreetly. “Oh come on, I’m being objective,” Agent Idris defends himself before turning his attention to me. “Libby you look beautiful,” my sister’s agent compliments with his arm outstretched.

A small smile creeps onto my lips. “Thank you, Agent Idris,” I say before turning around to face the jewelry case.

My eyes scan the contents of the box, allowing my fingers to pick up a gold ring and slide it onto my finger. “Pretty. You wearing that one?” I hear Ellis ask.

“I don’t know,” I say, similarly abandoning the jewelry to her. “Hair up or down?” I ask, striking my poses.

Ellis squints, gnawing on her lip for a second like it’s the hardest decision she’s ever had to make. Me and you both, Lil Bit. “Down,” she finally utters.

I turn towards the couch behind Ellis. The guys will give me a better opinion anyway. After all, it’s their desire I’m trying to obtain. “Agent Idris?” I ask the man.

“Up,” my sister’s guard answers with such quickness that I wonder if he read my mind before I asked that question.

Michael’s body tenses and his buttons dare to pop off his shirt. “Say another word and I’ll be watching you bleed out on the rug,” he threatens his colleague.

Curious about Michael’s opinion, I pose him the same question, “Agent Jordan?”

Michael’s body stays stoically still but his jaw clenches unnaturally. After a couple of moments, I get fed up with the fact that he won't give me attention. “Fine, what about the jewelry? I don’t know which one,” I return to the jewelry boxes.

Ellis looks over my shoulder before pointing at a box. “Gold,” she states before leaving my side.

I pick up the tray with at least 15 pieces on it. “Way to narrow it down for me, Ellis. Now get out,” I playfully bid her goodbye. “and take him with you,” I joke, pointing at Agent Idris.

“Bye, Libby. See you whenever,” Ellis waves over her shoulder. 

“Bye, Lis. Bye, Idris,” I call after the lanky brown man who throws me a wink over my shoulder. These men are going to be the death of me.

I peer out of the window at the tip of the National Monument. Hudson’s obsessive rants about whatever topic he chose are starting to drive me nuts, and we still have 30 minutes of traffic to sit through. “I need you to shut the fuck up for the remainder of our time together in this car,” I whip my head towards my kid brother and snap.

His nose scrunches and he leans forward defensively. “We’re only in traffic because of your stupid education degree. Ceramics has night classes,” he taunts.

“Yeah, cause your ceramics degree is going to come into good use,” I slander his degree choice. I have nothing against art majors, it’s just my brother is a dick who needs to be put in his place right now. 

Agent Flynn snickers and Hudson smacks my pants leg. I reach out, grabbing his wrist before he can scurry back to his side of the car. “Touch me again,” I start twisting, eliciting a spew of cries from his throat. 

“Ow, ow. Let go,” he pleads.

“And I’ll fucking kill you,” I finish the threat, releasing my grip. He snatches his arm back, rubbing the skin around his wrist.

He mumbles something under his breath before looking across the car at his guard. “Aren’t you supposed to kill her if she touches me?”

Agent Flynn shrugs, seemingly unbothered by the sibling bickering. “I would but Agent Jordan would kill me on the spot. So is there a true winner?” he clarifies.

A giggle leaves my lips. He’s got to be joking, right? “Hahaha, my guard is better than yours,” I tease Huddy.

“Not better just, quicker and more serious,” Agent Flynn needlessly defends himself.

The cars pull up just inside the gates, pulling over to the side of the road. “They’re stopping,” Michael alerts Agent Flynn.

His hand creeps down to hover over his gun when I realize what’s going on. They didn’t tell him about Code Grey. Code Grey is the scheduled mindfulness break, brought to you by the white house. They just want to ensure the first children don’t get off track, especially their prized pony.

“No, put those away. The plan says to the door but we haven’t had a mindfulness break today,” I quickly explain, before the door slides open. 

An agent with black sunglasses extends his hand for me to grab. “Come on, Agent Jordan,” I request, although he doesn’t have a choice.

When I step out and the January air hits my face, I grimace. How is walking in freezing temperatures supposed to be good for my mental health? 

A hand is placed on my back, pushing me slightly forward. When I look next to me, I notice it’s Agent Jordan. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel butterflies fluttering around in my stomach. But he’s not an option, none of them are.

My brother steps out behind him, following a chipper Agent Flynn. I bid my sibling goodbye, allowing him and Agent Flynn to cross campus together discreetly. They take off leaving Agent Jordan and I to stand in their dust. “Since you’re here, carry this,” I demand, shoving the bag into Michael’s arms.

He accepts it, swinging the pastel pink strap over his back. “Whatever you say, my lady,” he flirts and I roll my eyes.

My hand slides up to hold his arm. The boots I have on are too high for me to walk stably on the salt-covered ground, so I hope he doesn’t mind. Abruptly, I hear the familiar camera shuttering noises not too far from us. Michael shakes his arm so I let go and he secures it firmly around my shoulder, pulling me into his body. 

He shields me from the paparazzi on the other side of the gate and for the first time, I understand the reason for him. I wouldn’t be able to do this with a 40-year-old man. The topic of conversation surely wouldn’t be how hot my bodyguard is.

We quickly cross the lawn to the education building. When I scan my card for entry, he looks up at the tall structure. “Shit looks depressing,” he comments, holding the door open for me to enter.

I step into the warm building, feeling an instant pain in my ears and nose from the temperature change. I stomp any possible salt off my boots. “I don’t think higher education is supposed to be fun,” I theorize and he chuckles.

The halls are mostly empty, aside from a few scattered students. I look down and check my phone in my hands, seeing that it’s a couple of minutes past four. My heart starts beating rapidly, and I slightly pick up my pace. I like this professor, and I want to leave a good impression on her. She and Jo are the only people who treat me like I’ll have a normal life after this.

The click of my heeled boots echoes off the walls until I’m standing at the door, looking back at Agent Jordan. “I’m sure she knows about you, but just in case. You’re a transfer student, and we’re friends,” I explain our cover story.

He raises an eyebrow, before taking a step back. “Do I look like a fucking teacher, my lady?” he asks, rhetorically. 

“No, you look like a munch,” I respond, quickly pulling open the door before he has a chance to respond. Maybe he’ll charm the pants off my professors and I’ll get an A.

Taglist: @cherrellek, next part

[quilleth]

twitter’s still scary to share things on but i’m kind of liking how this is turning out so far. so i’m actually sharing something for wip wednesday for once....will i get it done by august 7 for moshang week? who knows? not me

[thunderpot]

HEHEHEHE GI AU! That I like to call fluff au ´v`. I imagined both working as a single unit (sqh main, but mbj takes over during bursts!) It was very fun thinking about their design, actually. MBJ’s my favourite!

Imagine being an enemy and thinking you can knock sqh out — and then he calls out ‘my king!’ and mbj’s shadows show up as he takes over sajnjnrnja

[starcrossedxwriter]

Babies on Board Part 1 (MBJ x Famous Black OC)

A/N: Sort of a part 3 to Falling Apart? Gonna be honest... this is just 5k words of Els and Bakari being cute lol there's no plot here... just fluff and cute pregnancy vibes.

12 Weeks

“Any concerns before we get started?” Simone asked as Michael helped Charlotte get situated on the examination table. 

Her initial response was a mere disgruntled huff as she flopped back against the cold uncomfortable material of the table. 

It would have been easier to list what was not a concern at this point. She was was not even close to done with teh process and was already ready for this baby to move the fuck out of her uterus to a new address. She was constantly uncomfortable, throwing up every hour of every damn day, dizzy and to make matters worse, she was gaining weight faster than she could have ever imagined. Limbs that never ached before seemed to now only know one setting: pain. And she knew it was only going to get worse.

The A list couple had made the conscious decision to not publicly announce their pregnancy yet. That decision had made the final week of their press tour decidedly miserable and their vacation did not fare much better as Charlotte fought off non stop morning sickness. While she enjoyed the first week of their trip, laying out on their private beach in Saint-Tropez, she was essentially sequestered to the cabin of their yacht during the final week as the deadly combination of morning and motion sickness hit her. She tried to power through but even she could not hide how miserable she was. So she was not shocked when Michael cut the trip short so they could get home and Charlotte could relax at home and be close to her doctor.  

They both knew their runway to announce this themselves was quickly running out as Charlotte had, much to her chagrin, already formed a small but distinct baby bump. Her wardrobe now consisted almost exclusively of Michael’s oversized clothes from his Killmonger days to hide it. And while it was cute and chic now, she knew it would not last without someone noticing soon enough. She knew it was not a secret they could hide forever but she thought they would have more time than this. 

The bump was the first physical and tangible sign that they were going to be parents and that their lives were about to drastically change. And every time she looked at herself, she was hit with this all consuming dread that she was not ready, that she had gone on this journey and she would not be good enough. Michael was ready, he had been born to be a father and his excitement was bright enough that she did not think he even noticed how dim her light was.

“Umm the only thing… I feel like I’m already gaining too much weight?” She paused when she heard Michael make an annoyed tsk noise, whipping her head around in frustration. “What? That’s my concern right now.” 

“That ain’t what we talked about, baby,” he sucked his teeth in annoyance, though his tone maintained its usual sweetness toward her. He knew she was struggling with all of this and the hormones certainly were not making it any better for her. 

Vain was not a word he would have ever used to describe Charlotte. She cared about her appearance and being a fashion it girl on red carpets but she never really harped on putting on extra weight or things like that. However, as her body started to make subtle changes week by week, she developed an obsession with her weight and figure. And every day she looked in the mirror and noticed something different or saw the number on the scale increase, it only added fuel to the fire in her mind. And while he understood all of that, there were real concerns that he did not want to get lost in her pursuit to maintain her weight despite being pregnant. 

She groaned, rolling her eyes as she folded her arms like a petulant child. “It was just the once, Bakari. And everything I read said it’s normal.”

“It wasn’t just once. And you know it’s hella convenient when you choose to listen to Google and when you don’t.” He turned to address his rant to Simone who merely sported an amused look on her face. “100 articles told her it was totally normal to start showing at 12 weeks but she’s convinced that can’t be right. But WebMD, which told her she had brain cancer once cause she had a fuckin’ headache by the way, is right about you faintin’ left and right??” 

“First, ‘left and right’ is dramatic… this isn’t a set, no need for theatrics.” She sucked her teeth in annoyance. “Second, there’s no reason to trash Web MD, real doctors submit that information and it is literally science…” she started to fuss at him when Simone cut her off, shaking her head at the couple’s antics.

“Ok, ok, ok. How about you tell me, an expert, you know years of schooling and residency and a mountain of debt, and I’ll tell you if it is normal or not?” 

“Well the two things are connected, in my opinion,” Charlotte responded. “When we got back from vacation around 9 weeks, I felt like I was already gaining a lot of weight so I increased my workouts a bit. Got dizzy a few times and someone,” she cut her eyes toward Michael, “insisted I cut back. But I already have a bump and it’s huge… I look like I could be six… EIGHT months pregnant!” Simone and Michael both snickered at her exaggeration but her hormones gave her a pass. “Don’t laugh at me, Michael! I’m serious! This all just feels too soon and I know it’s not my diet. I just started being able to keep food down all day like yesterday.” 

“She’s leaving a lot out,” Michael chastised, though his tone mirrored the loving and exasperated expression on his face. “We cut back because she’s fainting after her runs. And not just after runs, I bet she didn’t tell you about her fainting spell on our press tour.” 

“Once!” She cried out. “And I already compromised with you on this! And that was weeks ago… such a snitch,” she whispered the last part under her breath.  

“Twice,” he called out louder. “She fainted twice, once in the driveway and once trying to walk up the stairs after her run. She was alone the first time and I was behind her the second time thankfully. Or else, I would’ve been taking her to the damn ER. She could’ve been seriously hurt. And she’s been getting lightheaded and dizzy almost every day. Her compromise was to cut back from 5 miles to 3, which is the point of this argument that I’ve been having with her for the last 72 hours since I caught her from falling down the damn stairs. She needs to stop completely and she thinks she shouldn’t because of the weight gain.” 

Simone’s hand went to her heart as she made a small “awww” noise and wheeled around in her chair. 

“An overprotected husband and a wife who can’t slow down… you two are in for a very long 9 months,” she chuckled before turning her attention back to Charlotte’s chart. “Many women have a bump at 12 weeks. It’s jarring, which is totally fair, and can be overwhelming but it’s true. Everyone’s different. We’ll make sure nothing’s wrong. But Charlie, you’re gonna have to learn to accept the changes in your body as they come. I’m sorry but you aren’t gonna be able to outrun a baby bump. If there was a way, lord knows I would’ve done it for my kids. And you’re both right and wrong so that’s fun and please, for the love of God, stay off WebMD. Dizziness and fainting are common and there can be several causes but if they persist as time goes on, you should let me know. You are fine to work out for now but listen to your body and take it easy. I would lay off running outside and trails unless someone is with you thoug. Is that a good compromise for both mom and dad?”

“Fine, if Michael gets us a better treadmill than that janky one in the gym.”  

“If it keeps your ass from running through our neighborhood, I’ll buy 10 treadmills. I assume that’s in addition to your real push present?”

“Naturally. Diamonds, baby… lots of them. And a new car if you ever want me to go through this shit again,” she winked at him and pushed herself up to kiss him softly. 

Michael knew she was half kidding and did not expect all of those things, however, he would get them without question. In fact, he was already shopping for a new car for her and a new family car. He had not figured out her other gifts yet but they would most certainly be of the sparkly and expensive variety. His baby deserved every push present he could afford.

“Hope that Black Panther check is still coming,” Simone mused as she stood up with the ultrasound wand. “Alright, let’s see what we got going on in here.” 

Michael pressed his lips to Charlotte’s forehead to calm her as she nervously fidgetted. It was more than nerves, they both knew, she was terrified. Terrified that they had made it this far only for something horrible to go wrong. She would never admit it to Michael but she had barely forgiven herself for their miscarriage. If something happened this time, she did not know how she would survive it. 

She was thankful every day for Michael, his steadiness and calm. His face was already the picture of fatherly pride as he stared at the black and white ultrasound monitor. He was the only thing holding her together, the only thing keeping her ever present terror somewhat at bay. They waited in a slow silence until a soft thumping filled their ears. Charlotte let out a deep exhale of relief as their child’s heartbeat sounded through the room. 

Michael did not outwardly show his relief, even though he had been just as nervous as Charlotte. He was simply better at hiding it and did so mostly for her benefit. He could tell she had been keeping the pregnancy at arm’s length up until this moment. Her excitement was muted, she spoke in terms of ifs instead of whens as if she was convinced something would stop them from seeing that glorious finish line. While Michael had always been more of the optimist in their relationship, he was a bit surprised at how little Charlotte wanted to talk about or acknowledge her pregnancy until the first trimester was over. He imagined that was what fueled her obsession with her weight and the changes in her body. Those were the physical signs that she was indeed pregnant and that it was not something she could push to the back of her mind because she was scared. 

But Michael, regardless of his fears, had faith that this was their moment. Every day that passed assured him that this was different. He saw their child and future family so clearly, it was as if God was speaking to him. In a few months, they would have a healthy baby. His mind would not allow him to believe anything other than that. 

“And there’s our little one’s heartbeat. Very strong.” 

Charlotte squeezed Michael’s hand as they listened, both of their eyes filling with tears as they listened to the steady beat of their child’s heart. Proof that they had created this miracle together. 

“Thank you, baby. I love you so much,” Michael whispered as he kissed her lips.  

Before she could say it back, Simone interrupted them. 

“And… oh, give me a second. I see something that could be…” Simone continued moving the wand around, the heartbeat fading away as she studied the black and white ultrasound machine. The doctor was clearly preoccupied with whatever was on the screen that Charlotte could not hope to understand, her half completed sentence dying off much to the couple’s chagrin.

Charlotte glanced between her husband and her doctor, her joy souring into panic within an instant. This was the one moment and place she did not want her doctor to see anything that gave her pause. She glanced back at Michael whose face was no longer the excited one from minutes ago, but had gone utterly stoic. His eyes were the only thing that gave insight into his emotions, his worry swirling around in them despite his best efforts to shield his wife from it.

“W-what’s wrong?” She asked, clearing her throat, hoping she could keep the pure panic she felt out of it. 

“Relax, Charlie. Nothing’s wrong. Sorry, I just wanted to triple check but our friend has a friend in there. Hear that?” She moved the wand to another part of her belly, another heartbeat sounding. “You’re having twins.” 

Silence.

“W-what?” 

“N-No, no. That can’t be right. H-How’s that possible?” 

Simone laughed. “Well, sex… genes and pure luck, honestly. Can’t tell the genders yet but you definitely have two growing in there. Which would explain the weight gain and bump and lightheadedness… multiples can make symptoms more severe. So just listen to your body and take it easy,” Simone smiled. “You two look like I just grew three heads.” 

Charlotte let out a nervous chuckle. “No, no… I think that just wasn’t on our list of things you’d say today. Twins… whew… God’s just throwing us in the deep end, huh?” she laughed, glancing at Michael. She was excited, her eldest sister had twins and their bond was truly beautiful to see. However, she could not tell how Michael felt. They were doubling their household in one go and she could not tell if he was happy or utterly terrified. 

Michael merely smiled and kissed her. “We know how to swim,” he whispered. Michael knew he should be terrified at the prospect of two babies but he wasn’t. But with Charlotte, he knew he could tackle anything, they could do anything.

“Famous last words,” Simone remarked, enjoying their blissful excitement. 

***

New Years (15 weeks)

“Come on, bed. You’ve been on your feet all night.” 

Charlotte laughed and glanced back at him as they walked up the stairs to their master suite. “You gonna be this overprotective the whole pregnancy? You were damn near pushing me into every open chair all night, Bakari. I stood for maybe two hours total.” 

“Yea well, still too long. And you just started to feel better a few weeks ago. Bey did not care that you weren’t tearing up the dance floor. She’s been where you are. She said she was shocked you even made it out of the house.” 

Charlotte sighed as they both walked into their giant closet. Their garment bags were already hanging and ready for their matching New Years Eve fits to go back into their safe homes. 

“She has been amazing… so much good advice. And please… as if I was going to miss Bey and Jay’s epic New Year’s party. It’s the party of the year, babe. Though this year was not the same with my stellar dance moves.” 

“Drunk dance moves,” he whispered as he came behind her to help her take off her jewelry. 

“Don’t pretend like drunk Charlotte isn’t your favorite,” she teased. “Too bad she’s serving a ten month prison stint. I miss her,” she moaned quietly. 

Michael let out a barking laugh. “I love you in all forms, baby.” His eyes fell down to her boobs, which were straining against the deep v neckline of her dress that stopped right at the top of her belly bump. “Particularly this form,” he leaned over and sucked on a particularly sensitive spot on her neck. 

He loved every aspect of Charlotte’s body, always had. And while Charlotte continued to bemoan the changes her body was going through, Michael was not complaining one bit. Her boobs were bursting out of every top and her already perfect hourglass figure had started to fill out a bit more. She looked radiant and sexy as fuck. Michael could barely keep his hands off of her. All of his friends who were dads warned him that there might be a lot of cold showers in his future depending on how the hormones affected her. But that had not been an issue. When she was up for it, his honey bee was putting his high sex drive to shame. 

His hands rested on the sides of her perfectly rounding belly, which is why Charlotte decided to enter 2019 with on full display. She had Law only pull outfits that would accentuate her growing bump and new curves. She was still getting used to them but she knew she looked damn good tonight. And she was pleased that her husband thought so too. 

She let out a breathy moan. “Let me get out of this dress and shower first and then we can ring in 2019 properly.” She paused. “Oh! First, we gotta pick a photo for Instagram. Gotta get something out before the official photos get out there. I know we took those great ones before we left but… I kinda want to post one of the photo booth ones. They’re so fun.” 

“Sounds good. We can each post our favorite. You sure you’re ready to announce?” 

“Don’t second guess it after I basically told all of Black Hollywood babe! We don’t have a choice now. Besides, I’m tired of hiding under giant sweaters, it’s just getting weird.” 

“I hear you. Just wanna make sure you’re sure and don’t feel pressured to do it. We don’t owe people shit.” 

“I know. But we also deserve to share our news and joy… we’ve always done our thing on our time and I don’t want that to change. I’m just glad we waited till the second trimester. Now it feels good. ” 

Michael unzipped her dress, helping her shimmy out of it. “Are you excited now?” 

“I was always excited,” she muttered as she anxiously pulled the excess rings off her fingers, leaving her with just her engagement and wedding rings. 

“Lighthouse?” he whispered, kissing her bare shoulder. 

Her eyes clenched shut. That was their code, the one word they could invoke that demanded vulnerability and honesty, not assurances that placated the other’s feelings.

“I was always excited… my fear was just bigger,” she amended. “I didn’t want to disappoint you… or myself again. I know things that could still go wrong, b-but the fear is just different now, I guess.” 

Michael nodded as he started to take off his own outfit, carefully hanging them both back up and zipping their bags so they could be picked up the next day. He already knew everything she said, but Charlotte often needed to be pushed to voice the insecurities rattling around in her brain. And he knew that their relationship always struggled when they did not voice their fears and concerns. Neither of them were particularly good at being vulnerable and leaning on others but they were both working on it. He thought her subdued nature around the pregnancy was merely her fear of another miscarriage but there was still something that felt slightly off to him. It was something so subtle that he would have missed it if he did not know her so well. But this went beyond the typical fears of impending parenthood and he was determined to figure out why. 

“For the record,” he remarked as he pulled her over to their bed. He sat on the edge and pulled her between his legs, his hands resting on her sides. “You never disappointed me. What’s scaring you now?” 

Charlotte studied him for a few moments before shaking her head. She was not ready to share what weighed her heart down now, what terrified her. He would merely question why he decided to have kids with her and she could not take that. 

She ran her fingers down his arms and shrugged. “Just you know… scared of how fast everything is changing. Feels like we’re gonna run outta time before they get here. I’m excited, Bakari, I promise.” 

He decided to leave it there for now, knowing that she was not being entirely truthful. But it took time and perhaps she did not even know what bothered her yet so he would let it go… for now. 

“Excited enough to spend tomorrow in bed picking out baby names??” 

Michael could not explain it but he was particularly excited about picking out their children’s names. While Charlotte bemoaned the process of having to find enough combinations of names they liked to name multiples, Michael found pursuing baby name books and the internet to be oddly fun. He already had a list on his notes app of every name he loved. 

“Never met a man this excited about naming babies.” 

“How many men you tried to name babies with??” he asked playfully, gently tickling her sides. 

“Stop, stop, stop,” she begged as she broke out into laughter. She tried to move but his strong ass legs kept her trapped. He continued his playful assault for a few moments before giving her a reprieve. “Only you, I promise.” 

“That’s what I thought,” he kissed her belly. 

“Can we wait till we know the genders, please?” she pleaded. “Without that, it’s too many potential combinations to think about.” 

“It’s crazy that your mama can keep the lyrics to every musical ever created in that big brain of hers but she can’t keep names straight,” Michael whispered to her belly, causing Charlotte to roll her eyes. 

“Once upon a time, your mama was a musical savant,” Charlotte bragged with a playful grin. “Now, she can barely remember her own name. Let alone 100 combos of first and middle names. But as soon as we have genders, yes… we can pick out names. Aka review your list.” 

At his jaw dropping, she shrugged. “Daddy’s kinda tech illiterate, doesn’t even know that his notes sync to his laptop. It’s ok, y’all will teach them.” She offered to the two babies in her belly that could not remotely hear a single of their playful insults to each other. 

Michael pursed his lips before nodding. “Fine. Once we know the genders. No gender reveal… I ain’t waiting that long.”

“Deal. I hate that shit anyway.”  

22 weeks

"So Michael... this one learned how to slow down yet?" Malcolm called from the other end of the table, Charlotte covering her face jokingly with a napkin.

"Not a chance in hell," Michael joked as he gestured for staff to refill everyone's glasses. "Remember, mocktail for her," he motioned to Charlotte at the other end of the table. "I see she didn't tell y'all how I found out she was pregnant?"

"Some of us are more interested the story of how she got pregnant?” Chris joked, his husband playfully swatting him on his arm.

“Right because that’s an appropriate story for dessert?? But… maybe call me to tomorrow,” Charlotte winked at him jokingly, causing the entire table to erupt in laughter. "Michael's literally never gonna let me live this one down, yall. I may or may not have passed out right before our press conference."

"And then, check this out. Told our director to give her a minute and she'd be ready. As if we hadn't just picked her up off the floor?"

"Soooo embarrassing," Charlotte laughed. "And totally ruined my cute onesie situation that I actually had planned."

Loud chatter and laughter filled the Jordan home at their long farm-style table at a dinner party with some of their friends. A few of Charlotte's co-stars from her last musical and friends from the Hamilton were in LA for work so naturally Charlotte used it as an excuse to host, much to Michael's chagrin. Malcolm, Chris, Lin, Renee, Leslie and most of their spouses were able to come. And though he thought it was too much stress for her, he could tell that she was having a ball.

"Charlie never learned when to sit down and relax though," Chris mused as they dug into dessert.

Charlotte took one bite of the perfect tiramisu she had stood on her feet for half the day making before discreetly pushing it away from her. When she tasted it earlier, she had to make Michael hide it so she did not eat the entire thing. And now? The taste was so sickeningly sweet that it made her want to vomit.

She had not had too many insane cravings or issues over the last few weeks but when her body was turned off by something, it felt as if it was in active revolt. All night, despite the ravings of everyone at the table, Charlotte merely took one or two bites of everything before wanting to toss it out the window. Her body did not want any of this fancy stuff.

She wanted In & Out. But the host could hardly sneak away for a burger and animal-style fries run. So she transformed into her usual outgoing self, so talkative and bubbly that no one even seemed to notice she was not eating.

Well... no one except a very perceptive actor seated across from her.

"So what are you most excited about?" Lin asked. Almost everyone at the table were parents.

Charlotte glanced down at Michael for a moment before sitting up straight. "I'm excited about a lot... but I think I'm just excited to get to know them. See and experience their personalities and uniqueness. Michael and I are insane," she chuckled. "So we're in for a real treat with these two."

Michael grinned. "Yea same. I have so many memories with my pops... I'm just excited to spend time with 'em, you know? Build all those core memories that they'll remember when they're our age."

"That's beautiful. You two are going to be amazing parents. Those two don't know how lucky they have it."

Charlotte's hand rested on her belly, rubbing it gently. "Thank you... and thank you for all the advice. All of you are my parenting role models so I'm keeping you all on speed dial."

Dinner progressed and by the time Charlotte hugged their last guest goodbye, she was ready to collapse into their bed. The only thing stopping her was the gnawing hunger and craving she felt. But they had spent so much money and energy on this party and it had been her idea. So she was not too keen on admitting to her husband that she was still starving.

"Thank you for indulging me and my friends. Everyone had fun." Charlotte stretched onto her tiptoes and kissed him on the lips in their foyer after they closed the door. He had been a trooper all night and during Charlotte's planning.

"You have fun?" Michael asked as he pulled her flush to his chest.

"I really did. Though the only other party I'll be hosting before these babies move out is the baby shower. Cause fuck I'm so tired," she moaned, leaning her head into his shoulder. "You were right."

"Gonna savor this moment cause I know I'll never hear those words again," he whispered against her massive curls as he pressed his lips onto the top of her head. "But you can't crash yet."

"Why nottttttt?" She whined like a child.

"Because you need to eat."

"We just had dinner?"

"No... I and everyone else had dinner. You pushed your food around and acted if I was one of these oblivious niggas. You need real food. So what do you want?"

Charlotte's heart turned into a puddle and then the water works started.

"Oh baby. Els, don't cry."

"No... it's just, you're so sweet to me. A-and I spent all our money on this p-party and t-then all the food m-made me want to die a-and now you're gonna s-spend more money on m-me... I d-don't deserve you."

Michael chuckled as he rubbed her back. "You didn't spend all our money. I think I can afford a second dinner for you, honey bee." He leaned back so he could look at her. His fingers whisked away all her falling tears. "So, what sounds good?"

"In & Out?" She asked with a smile. "OH NO! The tacos... a-at that taco truck we went to. Fuck what was the name??"

Michael steered her toward the garage as she ranted about how delicious the tacos at this place were as if they had not gotten food from there almost once week for the last 4 weeks.

"Tacos it is."

"Thanks babe." Charlotte paused, squeezing his hand.

"For what?"

"Taking such good care of me... and CJ and MJ."

Michael pecked her on the nose before stopping. "Who tf is CJ and MJ?"

"Our children???" she gestured down at her belly, her tone signaling her appall at him not knowing her made up baby names.

"What do they stand for?"

"Charlotte Jr and Michael Jr? Duh!"

Michael almost doubled over in laughter . "We ain't naming our kids that, Els." He made sure she was settled in the passenger's seat before he jogged to the driver's side and climbed in.

"You don't like it because you haven't let me tell you the vision!"

Michael let out an exasperated laugh before he nodded, sliding his hand onto her leg, rubbing her soft skin as he drove.

"Don't think the vision will change my opinion, baby. But thankfully, tomorrow, you'll probably forget both those ideas... hopefully," he whispered the last part.

"Just for that, I'm gonna write them in your official brainstorm list," she grabbed his phone from the console, Michael playfully swiping for it. She let out an evil laugh as she added her objectively insane name choices to his ever-growing list.

"Pregnant you is a menace."

"I thought you loved me in all forms?" she teased.

He eyed for a moment before acquiescing. Pregnant Charlotte was certainly different... a more dramatic, hormonal, sour yet sweet, chaotic version of the woman he loved. And he wouldn't trade her for the world.

"I do," he pressed a soft kiss to her ring finger before squeezing it. "Except when you're hangry so let's get you some tacos."

26 weeks

“Alright, an Oreo milkshake for you, my love,” Michael handed her a homemade milkshake, the young woman practically dancing in her seat on the couch with excitement. 

After bursting out into tears one night at 4 a.m. because there was no place open to get the coveted milkshake her body craved, Michael started making them from scratch to her exact specifications. He made sure that every week on their grocery run, her emergency milkshake supplies were restocked so she never went without. 

He positioned himself at the end of the couch and slid her feet into his lap.

“Thank you. This is the exact brain fuel I needed for baby names. I still think, we shouldn’t rule out -” 

Michael immediately shook his head, he knew exactly where she was going with this. “No, absolutely not. The Michael alphabet-middle-name Jordan complex dies with me, baby. Besides what would they be? Michael C. And Michael D. Jordan?? That’s insane. We ain’t the Foremans.” 

She rolled her eyes. “You’re so stupid,” she laughed. “Not even a junior?? For me?” 

“No juniors. They deserve their own names, their own reputations. And I don’t like the idea of naming one after me and not the other.” 

They found out a week prior that they were having twin boys, which was exciting and terrifying in a mixture of ways. They both genuinely had not had any preference, they had hoped it would be a boy and a girl so they could get the best of both worlds. But neither of them minded at all. 

She moaned, frustrated. “Ugh, you hate me. Fine. What if, compromise… We could do your initials? MBJ, it's a nod but not a junior and we could find B middle names for them both and you had some M names on your long ass list.”

“My thorough list,” he corrected. “And I… am not against that. I do like when families’ names have a theme. I do love the name Miles.” 

“Miles Bakari Jordan… not too shabby. I think it’s really nice. Let’s write that one down?” she instructed Michael who was in charge of their official notes app note that contained their final baby name choices. 

“What’s another one?” 

“Maddox is cute?” Charlotte tried as she scrolled through a baby forum. 

“Yea if he was a white boy. You know any niggas named Maddox?”

Charlotte opened her mouth to rebut, however, immediately closed it and acquiesced. “Touche.” 

“Mason?” 

“So everyone can say I stole a name from one of those Kardashians? Fuck that. Nextttttt!” Michael laughed as they continued scrolling. “Malcolm?” 

“Malcolm Jordan? That’s awful. Maybe you should let me lead this, babe?” Michael joked, seriously questioning his wife’s naming ability. 

Charlotte jokingly swatted at him with a pillow while she laughed. “I really hate you. Umm… Oh I love the name Malachi?” 

“Miles and Malachi, I like them together. What middle name though?” 

“Ugh this is why I hate this! You land on a good name then you gotta come up with another name!” She threw her head back dramatically. “There are too many options.” 

“Boys… you’re gonna see pretty immediately why your mama has two Oscars.” Michael lowered his voice to talk to her belly as if she could not hear him. 

“Ummm why their mama is an EGOT… put some respect on my name in front of Malachi and Miles, please?” She grinned. “See? It just rolls off the tongue. Wow, I’m so good at this,” she mused, giddy as she took a long sip of her drink. 

Sometimes she finished it within seconds of Michael handing it to her, inhaling it so quickly that Michael was genuinely concerned, and others she held onto it to “savor” it. Tonight seemed to be a “savor” night. 

“Yes, you are. I dunno… I kinda thought it could be cute if we did your middle name for the other? You know… carry on something of your name too. But Malachi Bennett Jordan is a mouthful.” 

Tears welled up in Charlotte’s eyes causing Michael to smile and rub her leg. 

“Els… what’s wrong??” 

“That’s j-just really sweet… UGH these fucking hormones,” she pouted, hating how the smallest things made her start sobbing like a weeping willow. How did her body even produce this many tears?? “That’s super sweet of you, baby.” She shifted so she could crawl across the cushion and kiss him. She decided to just settle in his arms instead of returning to her spot, a content exhale escaping her. “My dad had two sons to carry on his name, he’s all set. I think it’s gotta be shorter. What about… Brooks? Malachi Brooks Jordan?” 

“I like it.” 

“Can we add it to the official list?” 

“Yes but… let’s pick one more back up.” 

“Michaellllllllll…” Charlotte groaned. 

She could tell he just enjoyed talking about it, putting names to these children who they’d been referring to as “the babies” 100 times a day. It did make them more real in her head, hearing them test out future names. She decided to indulge him, she loved Michael’s enthusiasm about all of these mundane and random aspects of pregnancy. He was not content with just sitting on the sidelines, he was active in every decision and step. How to decorate the nursery, baby names, the changes in their development week to week, the changes in Charlotte’s body, researching and buying every gadget and baby item that he thought would keep his future princes safe and sound and happy. 

One day last week, Charlotte literally burst into tears as she listened to Michael ask a list of 100 safety questions about the stroller they planned to buy. He was so excited about being a father, active and present and it just warmed her heart at every turn. 

“Fine but I need another milkshake, please?” She flashed him her signature puppy dog eyes, which had him up and in the kitchen before she could say please again. 

Pregnancy did have some perks. 

Tag List: @certifiedlesbianbaddie @bangtanxmegan @reelwriter19 @prettyisasprettydoes1306 @hi888888sworld @msniaimani @destinio1 @lynaye1993 @chaoticevilbakugo @blackerthings @pipsqueak-98 @miyuhpapayuh @passionxwrites @gopaperless @roguekiki @tythaitie

***

A/N: My brain sort of ran off with itself with this one lolol I just needed the fluff lol Thanks for reading!

[truly-morgan]

[Barista SQH and hot regular MBJ]

MoShang | Scum Villain Self-Saving System Modern AU

18-02-2022

[#Moshang, modern, fluff and silly]

Barista Shang Qinghua who does late night shifts at the small cafe he works at. He wonders how the owner can afford to stay open until this late when there are so few clients that late at night.

But he won't complain since it does work with his college schedule and his broke student ass does need the money. It's not that hard too, his boss is even nice enough to let him do his school work as long as he does not neglect the clients coming in.

But tonight is a night where he forgot his bag and with even fewer people than usual.

Even his cucumber bro cannot come to hang out with him because the bastard got himself a date (even if Shen Yuan refuses to call it a date, it is).

He didn't even have the chance to see the hot regular who comes every Wednesday night. Sure the man was not talkative, but he was a good enough distraction for him.

After so long of no one came in sqh decided to pass the mop, doing it lazily so as to not finish his job too quickly.

Then his favourite song on the radio came up and after a last look around sqh decided to sing along, dance with the mop and use it as a mic.

If it was going to be this boring he would have some fun. It wasn't the first time that he would sing badly along the late-night radio songs.

He got so into it that he even started dancing around, doing clicher and cheezy idol dances. He was really into it now.

Then he was nearly scared to death when he turned around and saw someone had come in and was now standing near the door looking at him. He was even more horrified when he realised it was his hot crush.

He could feel his face burning when he saw him clap for his little show, making him wish the ground could swallow him up right now. He ran back to his counter, abandoning his mop on the ground, crouching down to hide.

He felt like he was gonna die of embarrassment right now.

He heard the familiar footstep coming to the counter, the man (Mobei-jun he learned, at least if the name given was really his name) waiting patiently on the other side of the counter.

Sqh had nowhere to run and he needed to do his job, so he had no choice but to stand up.

He could still feel his cheek burning from what just happened, yet he tried acting as if nothing had happened. "I-Iced coffee, same as usual?" He asked, not daring to look at the man directly.

"Hm" the man replied, "and a piece of strawberry cheesecake, to eat here" he added. This surprised sqh, the man never order anything aside from an iced coffee.

He quickly went to take care of his order, being a bit generous with the slice of cake.

When he brought everything to the man he was surprised when the plate was pushed back toward him on the table. "For you," the mbj said at his confused expression, offering him a smile "for the little show of earlier".

Sqh blushed again, unsure what to do. He didn't feel like the man was mocking him, yet he couldn't really believe he was flirting either.

Mbj patted the seat next to him, showing him to sit down too. Sqh hesitated a little before sitting down to eat. He was a bit hungry actually "You are really cute" mbj said after a while, making him nearly choke, not expecting it.

"I don't think my dancing is cute," he said quietly, only for the man to shake his head.

"It was, you are really cute" he repeated.

Then he didn't really add more, letting him eat his slice of cake. Only when he was sure he was done did mbj stood up to leave.

It's only once sqh was cleaning up after he left did he noticed a note written on a napkin with a phone number. He was shocked by it, then blushed. There was no way this was real. Yet underneath was written "text me later cutie -mbj".

He couldn't believe he had gotten his crush number after such an embarrassing moment, but he couldn't be more happy. He spent all night giggling to himself.

Extra: mbj most likely texted lbh with a afterwards, leaving his friend to guess what this meant

Original

[wangxianficfinder]

Crossovers and Fandom Fusions Pt.2 (only includes SVSSS/TGCF/WOH/Guardian)

(check pt.1 for other crossovers)

~*~

The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System

~*~

Hello, Neighbor!!! by Dragon_Scribe (M, 70k, bingqiu, LBH & WWX & SQQ, wangxian, SVSSS, canon divergence, demon WWX, found family, angst w/ happy ending, dimension travel, mystery, mind-control, love confessions)

🔒If Wishes Were Donkeys by NightOwl1 (M, 117k, WIP, WangXian, SVSSS, Time Travel Fix-It, Case Fic, Mpreg, Fluff and Humor, Dysfunctional Jiāng Family, Bad Parent YZY, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, Period-Typical Homophobia, Crossdressing, LWJ and WWX Have a Breeding Kink, It's All The System's Fault, Post-Canon, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Warning: JGS, Good Uncle LQR, LWJ and WWX Are LSZ's Parents, Inappropriate Humor, Family Feels)

Chunshan by alittleliar (M, 62k, WIP, SQQ/YQY, SQQ/LBH, WangXian, SVSSS, Angst and Tragedy, Blood and Gore, Body Horror, Unreliable Narrator, Mental Instability, Grief/Mourning, Flashbacks, Canon Divergence, Non-Consensual Somnophilia, Found Family Dynamics, Reincarnation, Immortality, trash grandma sj, Gods, terrible but trying parent figure sy) WWX is mentored in the Burial Mounds by dismembered fierce corpse SQQ

The Scum Villain's Demonic Blessing by Hamliet (M, 81k, WangXian, HuaLian, BingQiu, XuanXuan, XiCheng, ZhuiLing, FX/MQ, MBJ/SQH, NYY/MF, SVSSS/MDZS/TGCF, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Unplanned Pregnancy, Mpreg, Romance, Reconciliation, Crack Treated Seriously, Potential Spoilers) a curse leaves all the canon shous, as well as a number of supporting characters, pregnant. Warning for realistic portrayal of morning sickness, bloating, and other pregnancy symptoms; several readers commented with their own gestational war stories.

~*~

Tiān Guān Cì Fú/Heaven Official's Blessing

~*~

🧡 The Red Ribbon by Xiao_Hua (M, 21k, WangXian, HuaLian, Canon Divergence, Ghost City, a bit of beefleaf, Immortality, Cultivation Partners, Juniors, XL and HC find a child who happens to be WWX, Fluffy wangxian, WWX is a Supreme Ghost King, First Time, TGCF)

Back From The Dead by Suibian_613 (T, 44k, WIP, WangXian, XuanLi, HuaLian, XuanXuan, XinQing, Canon Divergence, Canonical Character Death, Supreme Ghost King WWX, TGCF)

echoes from across the void by Nilaic (G, 20k, wangxian, hualian, TGCF, adoption, YLLZ WWX, deaging, oblivious WWX, protective LWJ, BAMF WWX & LWJ, pining, dimension travel, WWX has PTSD, demonic cultivation, hurt/comfort, fluff & angst, families of choice, WIP)

let this soul be your whisper by merthurlin (T, 28k, hualian, wangxian, post TGCF canon, post first siege of burial mounds, canonical character death, canon divergence, found family)

Hua Xianle by Tiffany_Guinne (Not rated, 170k, hualian, wangxian, TGCF, canon divergence, not Jiang friendly, madam lan lives, WWX adopted by hualian, WWX with different name, overprotective hualian, hurt WWX, WIP)

Farmer's Almanac / 情雨濛濛 by Irrelevancy (T, 13k, YSH/WQ, WWX & WQ, hualian, wangxian, SL/XXC, TGCF, canon divergence, fix-it, humor, families of choice, sibling bonding, action/adventure, resurrection)

Atlas by etymologyplayground (M, 12k, wangxian, hualian, LWJ & HC, TGCF, getting together, friendship, grief/mourning, canon divergence, sexual content)

let these bones be the giver by merthurlin (G, 4k, JYL & XL, JYL & WWX, TGCF, bonding over food, jiang yanli's unexplored insecurity and anger issues)

For Whom the Bell Rings by DawnCloud (G, 24k, JYL & XL & HC, HuaLian, Yunmeng Siblings, Calamity JYL, Fix-it but not exactly, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, TGCF)

Where the Chaos Is by martyr_syndrome (E, 38k, hualian, wangxian, TGCF, post-canon, case fic, accidental voyeurism)

Demonic Cultivator's Blessing, or: Curse of the Bunny Gods by FayJay (E, wangxian, JC/NHS, TGCF, ascension, romantic comedy, matchmaking, genderflip, pregnancy)

Back From The Dead by Suibian_613 (T, 45k, wangxian, hualian, JYL/JZX, beefleaf, fengqing, TGCF, major character death, canon divergence, supreme ghost king WWX, canon-typical violence, BAMF WWX, WIP)

Song of Joy and Regrets by HelloKitten (Not Rated, 134k, wangxian, hualian, WIP, TGCF, Angst, Self-Harm, Child Abuse, characters watching their series, Time Travel Fix-it)

Get By with a Little Help (from My Friends) by SomeGoodSheith (T, 20k, hualian, wangxian, MXY/OMC, SL/XXC, TGCF, married hualian, married wangxian, hurt/comfort, reunions, multiple POV)

Black Flute Melody by English is my death (Lena013) (T, 4k, HuaHe, WWX & Everyone, Female HX, HX & HC Friendship, Short HX, WWX is a Calamity, WWX the Child of Two Calamities, hx and hc friends with privileges, BAMF WWX, Drama, Personality Breakdown, YLLZ WWX, Family Drama, Hurt WWX, Minor HuaLian, TGCF)

Intertwined by Tsukimiko_san (T, 4k, wangxian, hualian, major character death, canon divergence, no resurrection au, red string of fate, reincarnation au, sad w happy ending, ghost LWJ, TGCF)

Lan Jingyi and the Adventure of the Immortal Cultivator by litbynosun (T, 5k, JL & LJY & LSZ & OYZZ, crossover, TGCF, post-canon, canon-typical violence, minor injuries, ghosts, friendship)

The Remnants of our Struggle by Naamah_Beherit (G, 11k, hualian, WN & WWX, WN & WQ, WN & XL, crossover, TGCF, canonical character death, friendship, family, ghosts)

No paths are bound by CataclysmicEvent (E, 1.158k, hualian, fengqing, PM/SWD, beefleaf, LW/YSH, canon divergence, retelling, hurt/comfort, horror elements, internalized homophobia, major novel spoilers, graphic violence, torture, suicide attempt, implied/referenced suicide, slow burn, sexual content) Super long, super awesome, it follows the tgcf plot but spans the mdzs (and some svsss) lore and some of the plot too. The crossover bits are so worth it tbh

Narrative of Strength by MeltedIceAngel (T, 61k, WIP, WangXian, HuaLian, Canon Divergence, Adopt WWX, Found Family, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Protective XL, Protective HC, Adoption, Kidnapping, Attempted Kidnapping, Serious Injuries, Angst with a Happy Ending, TGCF)

if we could change it all by silver__butterflies (T, 37k, HauLian, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Crossover, Wēn Remnants Live, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Attempt at Humor, JYL Lives, JZX Lives, POV Multiple, Post-Canon for TGCF, Spoilers for both fandoms, Fix-It, Happy Ending, BAMF XL, Fluff, Found Family)

Just pray to me. I’ll answer. by skeletonofaplant (G, 28k, WIP, HuaLian, WangXian, Canon Compliant, Crossover, Post-Canon, TGCF, gratuitous use of the word husband, Identity Porn, Identity Reveal, 5+1 Things, (actually 4+1 but who’s counting?), Fluff, Humor, POV Alternating, Angst, But Only a Little Bit)

Not Only Gods Are Listening by dancing_pencil (Not Rated, 69k, HuaLian, WangXian, Post-Canon TGCF, MDZS Fix-it, Fix-It, Post-First Siege of the Burial Mounds, YLLZ WWX, Fix-It of Sorts, Crossover)

To heal and nurture by Aki_no_hikari (G, 11k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Memories, Married Couple, Domestic Fluff, Festivals, Healing, Trauma Recovery, Light Angst, but mostly this is wwx living all of his cottagecore fantasies because he deserves it, TGCF crossover) Wangxian, having retired to farm, take part in a nearby village harvest festival honoring Yushi Huang

Somewhere Sits an Empty Throne by Siamesa (E, 19k, WangXian, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, tgcf fusion, Gods & Goddesses, Ghosts, Romance, vengeance, Dark LWJ, Grief/Mourning, Explicit Sexual Content, Angst with a Happy Ending)

Crimson Spiderlilies and Silver Wraith Butterflies series by tinyfoxpeach (G/M, 1k, HC/WWX, TGCF crossover, Fluff, Morning Routines, Morning Cuddles calamity WWX, ghost WWX, POV Outsider Soft WWX, Soft HC, HC in Love, Established Relationship, canon divergence, angst, implied/referenced suicide & abuse, flashbacks, dark, YLLZ WWX)

Grim Grinning Ghosts by Theladyofravenclaw (G, 3k, Junior Centric, Ghost City, the juniors shenanigans, Gambling, slight mention of gore once they enter the city, but nothing very graphic)

~*~

Word Of Honor/Faraway Wanderers

~*~

What's in a name? by Anonymous (M, 3k, Canon Divergence, Not JC Friendly, WOH)

CH.1 of Tumbling Random Fandoms and Stuff by esama (M, 45k, WIP, WenZhou, Drabble/oneshot collection, WOH)

The Young Masters of Four Seasons Manor by gaotamao (G, 91k, WangXian, WenZhou, YeRong, Time Regression fix-it, WKX raises monstrous sons, Not Jiang Sect Friendly, No Golden Core Transfer, WOH)

🧡 A Song of Healing and Reunions by SilasSolarius (Not Rated, 6k, WangXian, WenZhou, XiangNing, WOH, YBY is LJY, Hurt WWX, Grief/Mourning, Presumed Dead Character Death, I'm So Sorry A-yuan, Healing, Nails of Seven Torments, Implied/Referenced Torture) (unfortunately this fic has been deleted, but you can find it on wayback here)

To Stop A Prince by fallen_ghost_star, GKoi (fallen_ghost_star) (E, 20k, WIP, WenZhou, WangXian, WOH, Canon Divergence, POV Multiple, Smut is gonna happen, trying for low angst)

Bad Liars series by (E, 28k, wenzhou, wangxian, WOH, post-canon, dark past, memories, developing friendships, trust issues, flirting, exhibitionism, jealousy, orgy, smut)

Our Scars Unveiled by cj_is_alright (M, 16k, WenZhou, WangXian, WOH, POV WKX, POV ZZS, WangXian and WenZhou becoming friends, Canon-Typical Use of Husband and Wife, Post-Canon Faraway Wanderers, Post-Canon, MDZS, Non-canon, Crossover, They are all overprotective of their respective husband, Fierce Corpses, Walking Corpses, Fierce Corpses show up in the Faraway Wanderers Universe, Drunk LWJ, Hurt WKX, Protective ZZS, Healed ZZS, WKX fights with a fan, they all have trauma, Implied/Referenced Sex, But only between the actual couples, the couples are just friends)

~*~

Guardian

~*~

The Human Realm Is Not Worth It by Ju_StADreamer (T, 150k, WIP, WangXian, WeiLan, BSSR/LY, Guardian, Time Travel Fix-It, Child!WWX, child!LWJ, Major character death in the first chapter, Friends to Lovers, Canon Divergence, Wise Child WWX, Shen Wei and Kunlan adopt WWX, No Yin Iron (it seemed important), Character Study, Angst Happy Ending, Not Cultivation World Friendly, Not Jiang friendly – but no bashing, I might as well say it: slight crossover with TMOPB, specific TW's in the chapters, Madam Lan's arc fix-it)

The Source of All Resentment by Aquamarinade (T, 41k, WIP, WeiLan, WangXian, Guardian, Crossover, AU, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Pining) Wei Wuxian approaches the mysterious subterranean Dixing Shen Sect seeking asylum for the Wen Remnants

i've finally found you again by HanguangMoon (G, 809, WangXian, Guardian AU, fusion au, LWJ and WWX are SW & ZYL) the MDZS characters are the Guardian characters reincarnated

~*~

[saysong91]

Hoy es el Aniversario de 'La Vida Secreta del Autor' 🎉🎉

☆ MobeiJun/ShangQinghua, SQH & Binghe, SQH & OG!SQQ, SQH & Cang Qiong

☆ A los 20 años, la vida de Shang Qinghua dio un vuelco: por fin comenzó a escribir Camino del Orgulloso Demonio inmortal, ganándose a un lector obstinado que busca enamorarle; asumió la responsabilidad de criar a su sobrino y perdió a la persona más importante de su vida. Pero la vida sigue y, por muy caótica que sea, está decidido a darle a Binghe la vida más feliz que pueda a pesar de lo que el destino les depare.

-o el fic en el que Shang Qinghua cría a su sobrino Binghe como propio y años después Mo Beijun vuelve a su vida. Nada podría salir mal.

☆ Tags:

AU Moderno, Angst, Fluff, SQH escritor y padre de Binghe, MBJ editor, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Char. Death, etc.

☆ Palabras: 336, 290 ☆ [ WIP: 35/?]

Leer en:

AO3 • Wattpad

Traducción al Inglés:

AO3

[breadandblankets]

20 questions writer meme.

thank you @crimsonrainseekingflower for tagging me!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

26

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

101,970

3. What fandoms do you write for?

MXTX (SVSSS, TGCF), Fallout, Batfam, Bungou Stray Dogs, and i just started writing for S & D Tier

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

the window to the soul (and other such fallacies): scumplane fixit/romance told through weekly tea breaks i fell in (to a burning ring of fire): moshang fast burn strangers to married in under 5 hours a conversation i just can't have tonight: moshangliu chronic pain au pt 1 extreme hurt very little comfort and all this devotion I never knew at all: tgcf he xuan gets Hugged!!!! Agenda!!!! this has baby ghost kings and cuddles and v strong XL til the morning when it's time for us to go: msl chronic pain au pt 3 shangliu dates extreme fluff very little hurt, except for mbj he's suffering

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes! usually!! i just like to let people know that i am appreciating their appreciation.

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

thats fucking Hard cause i put some of them svsss boys thru some Shit, probably life is a current which cannot be fought which is less a fic and more of an archived twitter thread in which SQQ gets angsty drafts of PIDW and are trying desperately to stop it only for it all to go horribly wrong and everyone dies! it ends with cumplane! cause im evil! i should reformat that into something readable tbh

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

besides my hugging ghost kings agenda uhhh probably my dear atlas (let me hold the sky for you) which is a tianlang-jun/yue qingyuan crushing (like the cuddling method)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

yep! i delete it

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

yes i do! any kind really, ive got everything from trans lesbian threeways to getting dommed by an actual literal computer tower (and a soft spot for tianyue which features a penis haver using a strap on)

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

only one! its ongoing and a tgcf/dc fusion in which jason todd comes back as a ghost and gets trained by HC and HX (with secret guest appearance from BWX if anyone is paying attention ;) ): so i can find someone to rely on (and run to them)

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

no? i dont think so

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope but i have had someone make a podfic!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

if you count twitter threads? or someone coming up with an idea and i expand on it? otherwise nope

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

impossible choice but uhhh idk maybe moshang? maybe?

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

in the morrows, good mourning a moshang serial killer/mortician au, unless i get some surge of inspiration its pretty much dead in the water (unless someone wants to finish it 🥺🙏)

16. What are your writing strengths?

dialogue/voices

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

whatever the fuck they're doing During the dialogue

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

i mean i do my best, i prefer to have it translated in line

19. First fandom you wrote for?

doctor who by hand in a notebook lmao

20. Favorite fic you've written?

recently ghost jason! other than that if someone would only want to be sweet and kind (nsfw)

Tagging: @livingmeatloaf @owldork1998 and anyone else who wants in!!!

[livingmeatloaf]

(for the fic writer asks! 💕)

3. What are some tropes or details that you think are very characteristic of your fics?

and

37. Promote one of your own “deep cut” fics (an underrated one, or one that never got as much traction as you think it deserves!). What do you like about it?

Questions for fic writers

3. Hmm! This one is always very hard for me! Self-reflecting on my own works is hard. I tend to write fluff, i think, and get very into the emotions of things. I know I use light to convey importance and mood. Also, 99% of my fics have the characters in bed or asleep at some point lol. I'll throw this back to my readers: any tropes/details you notice in my works a lot? Please let me know in the comments or reblogs, I'd love to learn of my patterns!

37. Bamboo Branch in the Northern Desert! My Mobei-Jun/Zhuzhi-Lang rarepair fic. I really like it, and you should too! (not you, alex, i know you like it lol) I like playing with worldbuilding, always, and exploring both a younger MBJ and ZZL and how they could have interacted. Also, Aro4Aro relationships are so rare, I just had to write one and I'm so happy how it turned out! Marriage of convenience was made for A4A relationships of every kind.

Link

[image ID: title block for Bamboo Branch in the Northern Desert on AO3. Rated M, m/m, complete, no archive warnings apply. Tags: Zhuzhi-Lang/Mobei-Jun, Zhúzhī-láng, Mòběi-jūn, Tiānláng-jūn, Shàng Qīnghuá, (briefly), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Aromantic Characters, Childhood Friends to Lovers, Aro4Aro relationship, Marriage of Convenience, Getting Together, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-Typical Discussions of Demon Diets, Snakes, Minor Sū Xīyán/Tiānláng-jūn, penpals, Queerplatonic Relationships, svsssrpweek2023.

Summary: Two of the most eligible bachelors in the entirety of the demon realm, heirs to the North and South, begin their friendship with an act of kindness at a gala. During the tumultuous adult years, they take a big move to secure their place in each others' lives (and get their uncles off their backs about at least this one thing).

Part 1 of Scum Villain Rare Pair Week 2023 series

Language: English, Words: 5,888, Chapters: 1/1, Collections: 1, Comments: 18, Kudos: 55, Bookmarks: 11, Hits: 298. End ID.]

[fanficbarbie]

all-american bitch ★ faceclaims

Liberty Washington

Ryan Destiny

Agent Jordan

Michael B. Jordan (himself: secret service au)

Ellis Washington

Marsai Martin

Agent Idris

Damson Idris (himself: secret service au)

Hudson Washington

Caleb McLaughlin

Agent Flynn

Rome Flynn (himself: secret service au)

[jkplayboybun]

So I’m really into Michael b. Jordan rn so I think I’m going to write some stories under these prompts [all will include smut, angst, and fluff]

MBJ x co-star actress reader

Docter!MBJ x Mental patient!reader

Adonis creed x Boxing champion!reader

Eric/N’Jadaka x Neo-Black panther civil right activist!reader

Imprisoned Prince N’jadaka x Goddess Sekhmet spirit avatar! Reader [arranged marriage]

-I’m just gone leave these here until I feel like actually writing one lol

[moshangfic]

Second Time's The Charm

Link to AO3

Author: Calamity Butterfly (Calamity_Butterfly)

E, 8788, 1/1

Relationships: Mobei-jun/Shang Qinghua, Luo Binghe/Shen Yuan|Shen Qingqiu

Blurb: sqh and mbj learn more about how the other’s anatomy and magic work so they can have better sex.

Summary:

Shang Qinghua and Mobei Jun's first time together is an unmitigated disaster. This will not do. Mobei Jun asks for help and gets an education. Shang Qinghua goes on some quests and remembers that he created this nonsense porn world. Their second time goes much better.

Second Time, Tribadism, Hand Jobs, Oral Sex, Face-Fucking, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Human/Monster Romance, Demon Sex, Size Difference, Size Kink, Teratophilia, Psychic Bond, Sex Magic, Demon culture, Exploration, Fix-It, moshang invented love, They love each other so much, Fluff and Smut, True Love, so soft, so horny, Mobei Jun is so good, BAMF Shàng Qīnghuá, Marriage Proposal, Mating Bond, Biting, Blood Drinking, Come Swallowing, Hair-pulling, mild bondage, Light BDSM, Purring Mobei Jun

[starcrossedxwriter]

Wicked Fantasies Part 7 (MBJ x OC)

Warnings: harassment, public sex, the usual BDSM warnings apply heavilyyyy lol

A/N: Umm this is a fun one! Mostly fluff with a little drama lol We're getting into the holiday spirit with a couple time jumps so enjoyyy!

***

“I have a surprise for you,” Michael whispered, chuckling as Raven tucked herself deeper into the covers. 

They had been out at a party until late and then Michael proceeded to have his way with her at his condo until the wee hours of the morning. Her body still ached from the suspension ropes he hung her from for over an hour. It was her first introduction into true restraints and bondage and she enjoyed it far more than she thought she would. And now, all she and her limbs wanted to do was burrow in her covers and sleep all day. 

“Is the surprise a hot bath?” she called, her words still muffled by the heavy duvet cover. 

“Nah.” 

“Ok well then I hate surprises,” she mumbled, causing Michael to laugh. 

“Come on, this is a fun one. I promise!” 

She groaned and dramatically flopped the covers from over her face and pouted. “I was a really good girl last night and this is my reward? Being woken up at ungodly hours?” 

Michael raised an eyebrow and glanced down at his Apple Watch. “It’s 10 am, baby.” 

Her heart fluttered at the word baby, her eyes casting downward as she tried to limit the smile that wanted to bloom on her lips. She still was not used to it yet. To the world and everyone around them, nothing had changed. But for them, everything had changed. They were a real couple, bonafide and no longer faking or pretending. There was a new intimacy to it that she had not expected. And freedom. It was so clear to her now how much both of them had been holding back, how muted what they felt for each other truly was before. Because now, they could both experience the full breadth of their love for each other, could express it and receive it. And it made both of them wonder if they had ever experienced true romantic love before each other. Because this was everything and so much more. 

Everything felt lighter and easier. And yet, Raven could not help but feel like there was a dark cloud looming over them, a deep-seeded fear that everything she felt would be taken away. Perhaps she was just worried that, even if they were telling the truth about their romance now, they had started off as a lie. It did not seem like the steadiest of foundations. However, she chose to brush those fears aside. They were just her doubts and insecurities talking. She had never felt for a man like she felt for Michael, never felt so loved by someone. It felt good and she realized she never knew true happiness until now. Sure, there had been times when she was happy. But pure uninhibited bliss? That was only a state Michael could bring out in her. 

“So what’s this big surprise?” She asked as she stretched her body long in the bed before sliding out. 

Her slippers shuffled against the floor as she made her way to his bathroom to get ready for the day. 

“Wouldn’t be a big surprise if I told you now, would it?” 

“I hate you,” she grumbled, though the smile on her face let him know that was a complete and utter lie. 

“You weren’t sayin’ that last night… in fact, I distinctly remember making you scream the exact opposite,” he mused as his fingers played with the delicate thin strap of her night gown as he moved it to the side to press delicate kisses against her warm skin. “Over and over and over again. Maybe I need to give you a refresher.” 

She smirked and decided to play the brat, excited for where the experience could take her. “Seems like the first lesson didn’t stick… not a very  effective teacher it seems, Mr. Jordan.” 

Michael chuckled. “You’re gon’ regret that shit. But lucky for you, we gotta get to the house soon so I ain’t got time to put you in your place. But tonight, that ass is mine.” 

Raven clenched her thighs together and grinned. Of course, he was not too foolish to not realize that was the exact outcome she wanted. 

The pair listened to music as they got dressed in comfortable clothes and drove over to Michael’s family’s house. Everyone was there, hot chocolate and breakfast waiting. The entire entry way was filled with bins and boxes of ornaments, decorations, and trees. 

“What’s all this?” 

Michael smiled. “Well ma don't let December 1 pass without ensuring the house is decorated so figured you could help us out this year. I remember you tellin’ me your grandma would let you decorate her tree and thought you might like it.” 

Raven felt everything inside her melt and her eyes well up with tears. He seemed to remember literally everything she told him. 

“Y-Yea I would like that,” she offered, her throat tight as she tried not to cry. 

“Don’t cry, Rae,” he laughed, pulling her into a hug. “It was supposed to make you happy.” 

“I am happy,” she whispered pitifully as her tears stained his sweater. 

“My cute crybaby,” he kissed her on the top of her head. “Ok, no tears on decorating day or moms’ll never let you live it down. Come on.” 

Raven laughed and wiped them away before following him into the kitchen. Everyone greeted her with hugs and smiles. All of them joked around and talked as they ate the delicious breakfast Michael’s mom prepared. Raven felt as if she had gained 10 pounds since spending more time at Michael’s house.

“Ok baby girl,” Michael gestured toward the many decorations in his foyer. “You get to be creative director. We got four trees.” 

Raven’s eyes bugged out of her head. “Four trees??” 

“One in here, one in the living room, one upstairs and then one in the basement.” 

Raven let out a breathy chuckle as she took in his matter of fact tone, as if to say everyone had enough space for four trees. 

She studied the available decorations before pulling all of them out and sectioning them off. And before she knew it, Christmas music blared on the speakers and the troops went to work, decorating all four trees. Michael and Raven were in charge of the second largest one in his family room, Raven needing a ladder to decorate the full thing. 

The pair had a ball decorating, Michael thoroughly amused at Raven’s strong opinions on how to fluff out a fake tree. She had a professional eye for detail that he had not expected as she worked. But there was a playfulness to all of it, a joy that made him thankful he went this route instead of his usual. She sang loudly with the music playing, knowing every word to every song that came on. And her entire body practically bounced around as they finished their tree and she went to go help with the others. 

By the time they finished dinner and stowed away all the extra decorations and cleaned up, they were exhausted. Everyone else had gone to bed, leaving Michael and Raven on his couch with cups of hot chocolate, spiked to Michael’s preference, and a movie playing in the background. 

Raven could barely look at the movie though as her eyes kept traveling to the two trees that were within eyesight and all the random Christmas decorations they had spread across his house. She felt as if she had stepped into a winter wonderland. 

“You did a great job as creative director,” he whispered as he watched her eyes study the tree Raven was in charge of. “Still mad at this surprise?” 

It was beautiful, decorated in soft colors of white, rose, and gold with small white lights. It was not the pristine and perfectly symmetrical tree he usually had in his living room, towering and professionally decorated to the point that it could have been in a magazine. No, every aspect of the 11 ft tree was done painstakingly, in Michael’s opinion, by hand. But something about it was more beautiful than any other Christmas tree he had ever had as an adult. It was crafted with love and attention and care, it was homey and perfect. 

She smiled. “No, you were right… It was a fun one. But I know you usually hire someone to do it.” 

“Who told you that?” 

“Your dad accidentally let it slip,” she chuckled. “It’s not as good as a real decorator could do. Not as… refined or perfect,” she scoffed, bowing her head, her own insecurities seeping in. That was her too… not refined enough or good enough to be on the arm of someone like him, to be in his life in this way. He could call her his girlfriend but her doubt about whether she deserved the designation still lingered like weeds.

His finger lifted her eyes back to his. “It’s perfect… exactly what the house needed but didn’t realize.” 

She raised an eyebrow. “Don’t think we’re talkin’ about trees anymore.” 

“Don’t think we ever were,” he winked at her. 

Silence fell over them as they cuddled on the couch. Michael stared down at her, wondering if this was finally his chance. There was so much he still wanted to know about her, so much she revealed but still kept from him. He understood it but he wanted to consume every little thing there was to know about her, even the things that were hard to share. He wanted to help her carry her baggage or help her unpack it and set it down where she could. 

And there was one thing, one story, that she kept from him as much as she could. The one major thing about her life he still did not have the answer to but desperately wanted it.

“You ever gon’ tell me?” He asked quietly as Raven shifted so she was leaning her back against his chest. 

“Tell you what?” She threw him a confused glance. He knew everything worth knowing about her. 

“Why you stopped writing? You said you’d tell me one day.” 

Her face fell. She was not sure where she thought the conversation was going to go but it was not there. She supposed she was not going to be able to keep it a secret forever, particularly not when she revealed it to the whole dinner table at Thanksgiving by accident.

“Not that interesting of a story, I’m afraid.” She tried to downplay it as she shifted uncomfortably. And it wasn’t, half the women she knew had a story like hers, varying degrees of awfulness but the story was unfortunately common.

“Then tell me.” At her silence, he amended. “You don’t have to tell me anything, Rae. I just… want to know everything about you and if you’re up for sharing, I wanna hear it.” 

She sat up and turned to face him, her nails tapping against the ceramic mug as she brought her legs beneath her. 

“Just your typical ‘men ain’t shit’ story.” At his confused glance, she elaborated. “The first editor I had at my publisher was a woman and she was amazing. Worked with her on my first book and it was great. By the time it came out, we were starting to edit and refine the second and I had signed my contract for it. And… she had a baby and decided to be a stay at home mom. My new editor, this guy… he was good, great at his job. Nice enough to be unsuspecting and unassuming. But I could tell… well, I could tell he was attracted to me? Or liked me, you know? But I ignored it, figured as long as he didn’t try anything, it wouldn’t be a problem. One night, we were working late on his edits for the book and he… made a pass at me.” 

Michael’s eyes immediately darkened as if he knew exactly where the story was headed. She could immediately feel a shift in his whole demeanor, his outrage wafted off of him. And something about it was incredibly sexy… that he was so angry for her. 

She smiled. “Relax… you can put Killmonger back in his cage,” she teased with a soft smile. “He didn’t do that. I said no a-and he pushed, but I held firm. I’m not above using my body to get what I want… that much is obvious but I like for it to be my choice, not some asshole taking it away from me. Anyway, finally, he accepted that no meant no so we called it a night and I went home. All he had done was make me uncomfortable, he hadn’t hurt me or anything, so I figured he would just apologize and we’d both move on. A week later, my agent called and said that they weren’t gonna move forward with my book. I was no longer a fit for their publishing house.” 

Michael could still hear the pain and frustration that had been caused in her voice, despite her best efforts to keep the tone light. 

“The contract I signed after I submitted the draft gave them distribution rights for three years so I got a year and some change to go. I tried to think of new ideas, you know, write other stuff in the meantime but he blacklisted me from damn near every publishing house worth anything. So my agent dropped me. And then I was… just too tired to write anything after that. Like he had just taken all of life for it out of me?” She paused for a moment before continuing. “I was hoping to use the time to save up to eventually self publish the second one when I can but my family’s made that difficult,” she chuckled. “So yea… doing my 3 year bid and then I’ll be free. It won’t make me the same amount of money, but there’s freedom in self-publishing I guess. Being your own boss.” 

“I’m sorry. No one deserves that.” He figured it was something along those lines but it did not make it any easier to hear. 

She shrugged. “No, they don’t. But what can I say? I’m a magnet for shitty people.” Her tone attempted to lighten the mood but it fell flat. “Or… I dunno… too trusting of people who haven’t earned it,” she mused. “But if I wasn’t so trusting, I wouldn’t be here… with you. And I would’ve hated to miss out on this.” 

“I’d like to believe God would’ve helped us find our way to each other without you having to go through trauma and concussions,” he pushed her hair behind her ear. 

“Yea maybe. But without all that, I wouldn’t be the woman you love.” 

“How do you do that?” Michael asked quietly. 

“What?” 

“Find the silver lining in everything? One bad breakup had me showin’ my entire ass for years and you… you’ve seen the worst people have to offer. How do you even trust people after all this?” 

Raven smiled and shifted so she could straddle his hips and sit in his lap. “It’s not easy… and some days, it feels like it’s not worth it. But… you remember Monique, that dancer I told you about? Well, my first night at the club was a fuckin’ disaster. I was 18, hella green and hella naive. I made like nothing in tips cause I sucked.” Michael loved how she laughed with her whole body as she reminisced on her memories. “And this drunk asshole tried to  follow me out to my car and tried to get me to go home with him. Monique rolled up like a knight in shining armor and punched him square in the face. She gave me half her tips for the night and the next day, offered to teach me some moves and some fighting moves in case that ever happened again. The point is… For every terrible person I’ve come across that wanted to do me harm, I’ve run into someone who reminded that there’s more good out there than I know… as fuckin’ cliche as that sounds. So I just hold onto that. Just don’t… don’t ever want to be jaded? Let someone have the power to steal the inherent qualities that make me… me? No one should have that much power, you know?”

“One of the many things I love about you,” he whispered, tugging on her arm so she was in his lap. 

Hearing the word love on his lips made her heart flutter every single time. Deep down in her soul she felt it in every way. 

She rested her hands on his chest. “One of the ways? I’m that amazing??” She joked, causing him to shake his head. 

“Yea. You are that amazing. How about we take our drinks upstairs and I can tell you all the ways?” He leaned in and nipped at her earlobe with his teeth causing an ache between her legs to grow. 

“I’d rather you show me.” 

“That’s a given, baby.” 

***

Michael spied behind a bookshelf as Raven interacted with the young students filling the plush seating of the library’s gathering space. His heart wanted to burst as she talked to the students. He knew she only fell into this job as a result of a shitty situation but she was making the best of it. And he could not help but think that perhaps this was truly her calling in addition to writing. The kids seemed to love her and she seemed to love them back, all of their faces in bright smiles. 

And for the first time, he found himself wondering what she would be like as a mom. And what their kids would be like. Michael always wanted kids but he figured it would not be in the cards for him any time soon. However, Raven made him want to think about that, and want to think about a future. And now, he saw those additional grandkids his mom wanted so badly as clear as day.

He counted, the club had almost 50 kids in it. They all looked like they ranged in age from middle school aged to seniors in high school.

“I got something for y’all,” she reached behind her and pulled out a couple of boxes of neatly wrapped gift bags. “It isn’t much but… what’s our last book club meeting before the holidays without a gift??” 

The kids cheered as they all leapt out of their seats. Even he was curious as to what the gift could be. She had not even mentioned it to him. 

He could tell they were personalized in some way as she handed them out one by one, checking each gift tag to make sure each kid got the right gift. She instructed the kids to wait to rip into them. Though it was clear that was a chore for most of them. Once the last kid, who Michael recognized as Jamal who he had met once before, had his in hand, stuffing paper started to fly. 

Each kid pulled out a glittering sliver book embosser, a different book, and a handwritten card from Raven. 

“What is it?” One of the girls in the class asked as she pushed her wide framed glasses up higher on her nose. 

“You know those stickers that go on Oprah’s book club books?” All the kids nodded. “It’s like that but with your names and a bit more fun. It’s like a stamp you can put in the first page of your books. Y’all are all starting your own library collections, should have something that makes them a bit more unique. And the books are ones I think each of you would like. And the card is just a note from me ahead of the new year.” 

“It’s kinda old school but cool. Like something vintage,” another girl offered as she tested out the embosser. 

“Yea it’s like a typewriter or some shit. That’s dope, that’s dope,” Jamal remarked as he tested his out on the book in front of him. 

Michael had to stifle his own laughter so as not to give himself away as Raven facepalmed herself and laughed.

“Like a typewriter. Wow. How old do y’all think I am??” 

“You really want us to answer that?” 

She shook her head immediately. “You know what… Point taken. Well I hope y’all like them and they aren’t too too old-school,” she offered with a smile as the group started to mutter excitedly to themselves as they tested out their new gadgets on their books. 

“It isn’t much but just wanted to do something small to say Merry Christmas.” She glanced at the clock. “Oh I didn’t even see the time. Aight, we gotta wrap up, I’m sure some of your parents’ve been waiting outside for a while.” At their groans, she merely shook her head. “We are well past our hour and y’all aren’t gonna get me in trouble with your parents.” 

She ushered the younger kids and some siblings to the door, each of their parents greeting her and chatting for a few moments before they walked their kids out to their cards or toward the street.

At that point, only a small group of older kids remained. “Alright, you know the drill - text me when you get home and stay in your groups, please.” 

“We ain’t babies.” 

“Yea and we all live like 5 minutes from here,” the girl with glasses remarked.

“I know y’all are basically grown. But humor me please. If one of you got hurt or lost, it’d take literal years off my life. You’re really doing it for my sanity over anything else,” she reasoned.  

Raven got along with the kids so well because she was an adult they could relate to and trust but even she had to put on the hat of responsible adult occasionally, much to their collective chagrin. And that meant ensuring every kid made it the few blocks, bus ride, or into the car to get home. 

“Yes, Ms. T.” All of their disgruntled murmurs filled the library as they headed out the door in small groups depending on where they lived. Thankfully, they were all friends so she knew they’d look out for each other.

“You can come outta hiding now,” she called, seemingly to no one in particular. 

“Busted?” Michael asked as he emerged from the shelves to stare at her, an amused expression painted on her face. 

“Yep… caught a glimpse of you scurrying behind that bookshelf. Better be glad the kids didn’t see you. You’re more than one of their celebrity crushes. They would’ve been all over you for a picture or a story or a reel or whatever they do on social these days.” 

Michael let out a barking laugh. “You sound like an old lady.” 

“I am an old lady… proudly,” she laughed. “And they know it too.” 

“Those were sweet gifts you got them.” 

She smiled. “Thanks. Despite well… everything, Christmas is my favorite time of the year. Everyone’s so caught up in the spirit and giving. It wasn’t much but I hoped it would put a smile on one of two of their faces. Did you hear them call me old school?? Super offensive,” she chuckled. 

“Hella offensive.” 

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Language, Mr. Jordan,” she winked at him playfully. 

“You gonna discipline me, Ms. Turner?” He asked, closing the space between them, his breath tickling the skin on her neck as he leaned in to whisper in her ear.

Raven felt her whole body flush with heat. Fuck. For some foolish reason, she had worried the spark between them would fade once they settled into the normalcy and mundaneness of a real relationship. However, it had been the exact opposite. Somehow, everything he did only heightened her emotions and desire for him. She thought it was overwhelming before? Well, now it was all consuming and blinding. 

“Maybe you should take me home and find out?” She whispered. 

“What if I want to find out here?” 

“Then I’d have to remind you that this is a public library… with cameras everywhere.” 

He glanced around. “Come on, I bet you know one spot that ain’t got cameras, baby girl. I vaguely remember you saying you wanted to live out some fantasies. You gonna tell me sex in public ain’t one of them?” 

Her eyes darkened with lust. She knew he knew that he had her. It was most certainly one, one of the more sinful ones she would admit. But it lacked practicality. 

“This isn’t just in public, babe. This is my job,” she reminded him, her resolve growing weaker with every word. And he knew it. 

“That makes it even more fun. Come on, baby. You know you want me to fuck you senseless in one of these shelves, want me to make you beg to come right here.” 

Fucking hate him, she thought to herself. Her panties were soaked.

She grabbed his hand and led him up the stairs to the second floor, to a small far corner that she knew had no cameras in the vicinity. It also was ominously dark as some of the overhead lights had gone out earlier that week. She knew the library was utterly deserted and there was absolutely no chance of them getting caught, but still it made her nervous. But she supposed that was the entire point. 

“Can’t believe we’re doing this…” she mumbled, more to herself than Michael. Not that having sex at work or in public had not been on her list of things to one day do. She did not think it would be this particular job. 

“Relax and enjoy it,” he whispered in her ear before he pushed her forward, forcing her upper body against the cold wooden table in the corner. 

She hissed slightly as the cold material touched her bare arms. She could already tell what this was going to be: quick and dirty… and her favorite: rough. His touch always had a gentleness to it, which she appreciated. However, she loved it when he was rough, when he left a mark to remind her whose exactly she was.

“You gon’ be quiet for me?” 

“Yes.” 

She yelped as a hard smack fell across her ass as he pushed her skirt up to her waist. 

“Yes what?” 

“Yes sir.” 

“Good girl. But if that was any indication, don’t think you’re gonna keep quiet so…” 

Before Raven could even react, Michael ripped her panties clean from her body and stuffed them into her mouth as a makeshift gag. The quickness of it, the bite of the material against her skin, and the mere act of being forced to taste herself made her moan. But it worked, the sound was muffled. 

“That’s much better. And don’t let them fall out or I’ll light that ass up, understand?” 

She nodded fervently. Her body shuddered as he wiped a finger over her clit.

“So wet for me.” He sucked her juices off his finger and moaned lightly. “You taste so good, baby girl.”

She wanted to say thank you or beg but she couldn’t, not with her panties muffling her voice. 

She let out a guttural moan as he filled her in one stroke, the angle of the low table allowing him to get deep. One hand pushed her back deeper into the table as she squirmed. His strokes were deep and guttural, each one ending with jolt to her g spot. 

He was not making love to her, he was not gentle. This was pure fucking, fast and furious and uninhibited and she loved it. Everything in her wanted to scream but she could not. But her muffled low moans filled the small space as he settled into a rhythm. 

“You gon’ cum on this dick, you disgusting slut??” 

She could only force her head up enough to nod slightly before falling back against the table. She did not even feel the pain of her thighs banging into the table with every thrust because she was so focused on him. The power of his thighs slamming against hers, the pressure of one had at the base of her neck while the other bit into the meat of her hip. 

Where they were became irrelevant, the nervousness she felt about that fell away as every sense in her body focused on him and only him and the pleasure he so graciously provided her. 

Her eyes screwed shut as waves of pleasure hit her with the force of a train. Usually she had time to warm up and prepare herself but not today. Today, she was merely a vessel for him to get off and she loved every second of it. 

“Fuck… that’s it baby. Cum on this dick.” Michael was in heaven as her pussy clenched around him. He usually could last far longer than this but his body seemed to understand the point of a quickie. And so it did not take long for him to feel himself reaching the peak. 

He groaned and held onto her tightly as he filled her with his cum, part of him wanting to collapse next to her. He leaned over her for a few moments to catch his breath before staggering back from her as he pulled his briefs and pants back up and righted himself. 

Raven propped herself up on her elbows after letting her panties fall from her mouth. She glanced back at him with an incredulous look on her face as if she was still shocked that they just did that. Which made them both burst out into laughter. 

“Well that was… definitely one for the books,” she remarked as she sat up and turned around. She leaned against the table, her panties bunched up in her hand, she gestured toward them. “That was a nice addition, Mr. Jordan. Seems like you punished me more than I did you though.” 

“Eh you can punish me later, how about that?” He kissed her on the forehead before fishing her panties out of her hand and pushing them into his pocket with a wink. “Think I’ll keep those for the rest of the night. You can’t put ‘em back on.”

“Whose there??” An older man’s voice rang out causing both of them to scurry to fully right their clothing.

Raven cleared her throat as Michael helped her adjust her top and she emerged from the bookshelves. 

“I-It’s just me, Mr. Robinson!”

She waved at the elderly black man who was clearly maintenance staff.

“Ms. Turner! Figured it was you. Whatchu doin’ here so late? Book club ended a while ago?” 

Raven smiled and nodded. She grabbed Michael and pulled him out of the shelves. “My boyfriend came to pick me up and got distracted giving him a tour.  This is Michael,” she gestured at the star, the older man’s eyes growing big. “This is Mr. Robinson.” 

“How you doin’ man? I’m a big fan!” He offered, shaking Michael’s hand. “Cynthia called earlier and said some lights up here were out so I just came to fix ‘em before tomorrow.” 

“Thank you, we really appreciate that. Well, it’s all yours. We were just looking at books and joking around, we’ll get out of your way.” She jerked her head toward the door, gesturing for Michael to follow her. However, when she reached the steps, she turned back. “Oh and Mr. Robinson?” 

The man seemed to have a knowing look on his face. “Didn’t see anyone here when I came through, you were just finishin’ up as I was comin’ in.” He winked at her before waving them on their way. 

They made quick work of grabbing Raven’s bag and materials before scurrying out the door, the pair both busting out into laughter as they climbed into Michael’s SUV. 

“That was a close one,” she remarked. “Ok that was fun but definitely no more job sex.”

“Don’t pretend like you didn’t enjoy it,” he teased.

She gently shoved him back into his seat as she chuckled. “Shut upppppp. Whew I’m exhausted, can’t wait to knock out.” 

Michael patted his thigh, Raven laying down across the seat so she could sleep. It was a bit of a trek to his house from her neighborhood so Raven closed her eyes and enjoyed the soft music that played as Allen drove them home. 

“Do you miss it?” 

“Hm?” Raven asked, needing further clarification of what he was asking. 

“Do you miss writing? Or does this… the kids fill that void?” 

Raven thought about it for a moment, realizing she had never really let herself think too much about it or miss it that much. “Umm… yea, I try not to… try not to think about it. But I miss it a lot. It was my dream and I love these kids… don’t get me wrong. They are amazing and I have so much fun with them. But it doesn’t fill the void? Just makes the void a bit more bearable.” 

His hand ran through her blow out for a few moments before nodding and allowing silence to fall over them. Soon her gentle snores filled the car as Michael thought long and hard about what she said. He reached into his pocket, careful not to jolt the sleeping woman beneath him and opened his text thread with Alex. 

Michael: hey, need two favors

Alex: Don’t you always? 

Michael: ha ha. Need you to find me a contact at Hatchett & Perkins Publishing house? Like in legal or licensing or somethin

Alex: Let me guess… this favor is not so you can write a memoir? 

Michael: of course not. 

Alex: Give me till tomorrow and I’ll send you a name & email. Favor #2?

Michael: You got any friends that rep authors?

Alex: Yep. 

Michael: Find me one that reps fantasy. Preferably black women if you know them

Alex: Done. 

Michael let his phone fall onto his other thigh before he leaned back and smiled to himself. He was about to give her the Christmas of a lifetime. 

***

Christmas Day

Raven stretched lazily, the smell of cinnamon rolls wafting up to Michael’s bedroom through the cracked bedroom door. She lazily rolled over, surprised to find his spot empty. She groped in the bed for her phone, squinting to read the time. 8 am. 

Too early, she huffed as she threw the covers back over her head. They had been up past midnight partaking in the Jordans’ Christmas Eve traditions. They drank, watched a Christmas movie - this year was Michael’s turn to choose and he chose Jim Carey’s the Grinch much to Raven’s excitement - and opened one present each. 

There was a mountain of them under the tree. She had spent days helping Michael wrap them all. He had intended to have them sent out to be professionally wrapped but Raven put a stop to that nearly immediately. Similar to tree decorating, she thought there was something impersonal about having a professional do it. So she spent an entire Saturday wrapping all of his presents for his family, he hid hers from her much to her chagrin, and she had a ball doing it. His dining table looked like a disaster when she was done but each one looked perfect, his girl using different color wrapping paper for each member of the family. 

Raven had truly improved the whole Christmas holiday for the entire household, reminding him that just because money could buy some conveniences did not mean it should. He also just loved her childlike excitement and joy around the season that seemed endless. She was constantly humming a Christmas song under her breath, her singing voice was not half bad though she did not agree.

She never much cared for Christmas herself. She loved the spirit and energy it brought for others but there was nothing special about it for her. No traditions or joyous memories to hold on to. But Michael went out of his way to help her create some with his family and she loved him dearly for it. 

She had dozed off again when a familiar voice woke her up. 

“Come on sleepyhead. It’s present time,” she heard a singsongy voice call out that made her groan. “Five seconds or I’ll tackle you.” 

“You wouldn’t dare!” She called out, her voice muffled under the thick comforter. 

“Five.” 

“Four.” 

“Three…” 

“Two…” 

Raven let out a shriek as she felt Michael’s heavy body land on her. His fingers attempted to tickle her sides, forcing laughter and her face to emerge from the covers. 

“Fine, fine. I yield! I yield! I yield!” She cried out. 

At her words, he gripped her hips and flipped them over so she was straddling his waist. He grabbed a Santa hat he discarded on the bed and plopped into her head. “Merry Christmas.” 

“Merry Christmas,” she leaned down and kissed him on the lips. 

“Get dressed, we’re opening presents at 9.” 

She nodded. “Alrighty. I’ll just start breakfast while y’all do that.” 

“You’re opening presents too.” 

“You gave me mine last night?” And it was gorgeous, a set of diamond earrings that she was honestly afraid to ever wear.

“You thought I only got you one present??” 

She laughed, not understanding. “Well, I only got you one present!”

“That’s fine. Hell, you could just put a bow on yourself and I would be happy. I got everything I could ever need or want. But you have presents under the tree from everyone and everyone has a present from you and us. Get dressed.” 

At her shocked expression, Michael figured that she was not used to getting many, if any gifts. However, he decided to keep the mood light and playful. 

“You surprised? You been naughty this year or somethin’? Expectin’ a lump of coal?” 

She offered him a sly grin. “Oh I’ve been real naughty. But somethin’ tells me that being naughty got me more presents from Santa than being nice would’ve.” 

“You damn right, girl.” 

She let out a cackle and rolled her eyes before sliding out of bed to get dressed. Before she knew it, the entire family was surrounded by an explosion of wrapping paper and stacks of gifts. 

Raven loved all of her gifts from Michael’s family. They gave her a lot of books and gadgets for writers and readers but she loved all of them. She imagined that was all they really knew about her but she appreciated that they put effort and thought into it. 

“Ok, baby girl. Last one from me,” Michael handed her a box with a neat bow around it. The rest of the family had dispersed to get dressed for the day and for brunch, leaving the couple in the living room surrounded by everyone’s presents. 

“Baby…” she let out a playful whine. Most of her gifts had come for Michael and while they were all sweet and thoughtful, she knew they had cost him an arm and a leg. Another first edition book, a gorgeous Chloe tote bag for her to take to work, and more jewelry than she knew what to do with. It made her gift feel measly in comparison but she had done her best. “You already got me so much. Don’t need anything else.” 

He shook his head. “Well, this is the gift that matters.” 

She paused. “Well I have yours upstairs… I just wanted to give it to you when we were alone. Wanna go up there and exchange?” 

He nodded, both of them heading up to his room with bright grins on their faces. She sat her gift down on the bed while she went into her stuff and pulled out a small book. 

She held it close to her chest, taking a deep breath. “It’s not much… I d-didn’t know what to get a man who has well… everything a person could want. But I thought, well, maybe you’d like this. O-or at least you’d give me an A for effort,” she chuckled. “But if you hate it, I totally understand. You don’t gotta pretend if you don’t like it.” 

Michael raised an eyebrow and laughed, closing the space between them. “Why don’t you let me see it before you decide that I don’t like it? Whatever it is, I’m sure I’ll love it.” 

She nodded and held out the small book to him. It looked like a professionally printed book, with a beautiful but simple black and gold cover. 

The title read: The Fall by Raven Turner 

Michael opened the first page, which read: 

It’s not much but you were the first person in a long time to make me want to pick up my figurative pen again. And this was the result: a story dedicated to every moment of the greatest fall of my life. I love you. 

Raven

“You wrote me a book?” He asked quietly as he examined it in his hands. 

She nodded. “Y-You like it?” 

He rushed forward and pulled her into his arms, kissing her deeply.  “I more than like it. This is the best gift anyone’s ever gotten me!” 

He peppered her face with kisses that made her giggle. “You sure? My other option was like a watch or something…”

He laughed. “Total waste of money. This is more valuable to me than 100 Rolexes. Thank you. I’ll read it tonight.” 

Nothing would have taken the smile off her face. 

“Now it’s your turn,” he urged as he sat his gift on his bedside table. 

Raven sat on his bed as she gently ripped the bow off and opened the box to find an envelope inside. It was odd, Raven could not possibly understand what the gift could be. 

She ripped open the envelope to reveal a plane ticket and hotel reservation to a resort in Thailand. 

“Y-You’re serious?? Thailand??” 

“Wanted to ring in our first New Years together somewhere special.” 

“Babe… this is…” 

“Exactly what you deserve. I have a feeling next year is gonna be your best year yet and I think we should usher it in with some style.” He had more than just a feeling, as long as his real surprise was wrapped up by their trip, it would surely be her best year yet. 

She laughed, wiping her tears away. “This is most certainly style. Thank you. I love it.” 

“I’m glad you do cause we leave tomorrow night.” 

Her mouth dropped open. “W-what?? Babe I gotta get my hair done… a wax, my nails! These aren’t vacation nails…” she glanced down at her beautiful but very Christmas themed nail set.

“You think I’d book you a trip to Thailand and not take care of everything?” His face scrunched up in a faux annoyance that made her chuckle. “You’re in for a day of pampering tomorrow while Jason picks out pieces and has his team pack for you. I plan on having you naked for most of the next two weeks so you ain’t gonna need much clothes.” 

“And work?” 

“You’d be surprised what a handsome face and nice smile will get you,” he remarked with a shrug. 

She stood and wrapped her arms around him, kissing him. “What did I do to deserve you?” 

“You’re you. That’s all it takes.” 

She smiled and kissed him again. She glanced at the bed, lust curling in her belly. 

“How long before your family comes looking for us?” 

She shrieked and laughed as he gently pushed her down on his bed. 

“Long enough for me to make you cum at least twice.” 

***

Raven was thankful their bungalow at this resort was fairly distant from the others as Michael seemed committed to making her scream over and over and over again for the last five days. She had seen very little of the resort aside from when they emerged for dinner. They had a private pool and private access to the beach. 

Michael had not been lying when he said he planned to have her naked for most of the trip. All she could do was laugh when she realized the only panties packed for her had been part of very sexy and elaborate lingerie sets that would not count as clothes for anyone with eyes. When she was not in a bathing suit or an outfit for dinner, she was in lingerie that did not stay on her body for long. 

Michael quite literally ravished her from sun up to sun down on every surface in their suite, in and by the pool, underneath the waterfall shower in their giant bathroom, and in the sand on their private beach. Though, neither of them did that one again due to the uncontrollable and annoying nature of sand. 

But every moment of it was pure bliss. She loved how he switched, often at a moment’s notice, from treating her like a grand prize he won to a convenient hole for him to fuck. It was not uncommon for him, while they were mid conversation about something utterly random by the pool or over lunch, to bend her over the nearest surface and fuck her senseless simply because he felt like it. Their games did not diminish but seemed to amplify the more their relationship blossomed. 

Today, their game was orgasm denial. It was New Year’s Eve and Michael practically ignored her most of the day. After several days of being woken up with his head between her legs bringing her to orgasm, she was almost saddened to be woken up with a mere call for breakfast. 

The only time he touched her was during breakfast, as he - without a single word - slid his favorite vibrating toy into her pussy. She expected him to turn it on and bring her to orgasm right there, but he did no such thing. Instead, he told her of the tour of the nearby islands they were going to go on after breakfast. 

From that moment forward, all of his touches were chaste at best and decidedly frustrating to his girlfriend, much to his satisfaction. He could feel her eyes boring into the side of his face as if willing him to turn on the remote in his pocket as their tour guide jetted them around on a boat ride along the gorgeous blue water. 

It was difficult to ignore her for him too but he loved how eager she was, how the more he pretended he had not put the vibrator in her, the more aware she was of its presence. He watched her intently, how she tried to pay attention to the tour guide as she droned on and on about history, how her body squirmed in her seat with every platonic touch he offered, how her shoulders fell in disappointment every time those platonic touches did not turn into more. 

The boat ride was three hours of pure torture and he knew if he touched her, she would be dripping wet underneath her very revealing bathing suit and cover up. 

As they returned to their resort and stood up to get off the boat, Michael turned the vibrator on its full setting, Raven letting out a groan and her knees buckling beneath her. 

She almost fell completely to the floor of the boat but Michael skillfully caught her and feigned concern for her. 

“You ok, baby?” He glanced back at the tour guide before discreetly cutting the vibrator off. “Think the heat just got to her. Let me get you inside, love.” 

Raven was so consumed with the short-lived but amazing pleasure that all she could do was nod. She wanted to curse at him, scream at him. 

He held onto her tightly, keeping her flush to his side, as if he was helping a sick person until they made it back to their secluded bungalow. And by that time, Raven was fuming. 

“What the fuck, Bakari! In front of that lady as I was getting off the boat?? After you ignored me all morning??” She was not actually angry at him, she was just so fucking horny that she was angry. 

Michael grabbed her by the arm and put his hand around the base of her neck as he held her in a rough grip that made her thighs clench together. 

“If you want to cum at all again before 2023, I’d shut the fuck up. Understand?” he warned, his voice so strong and dominant that her mouth immediately shut.

Fuck. Admittedly, 2023 was only 12 more hours away, at least in Thailand. But she did not think she could wait 12 more hours. She was most certainly not God’s strongest soldier. 

“Y-Yes sir.” 

He grabbed her hand and led her outside to their private pool. “Sit,” he gestured toward one lounge chair that faced the pool. 

She sat down immediately, surprised when he disappeared back into their room, returning with several ropes. 

Fuck, she thought to herself again. Whatever he was about to do, she knew it would be extremely fun for him and a sort of delicious torturous fun for her. 

“Lay back.” 

She laid down against the warm fabric of the chair. He adjusted it so she was leaning back. He grabbed both of her hands and raised them above her head, tying them to the top of the lounge chair. Instinctively, she tried to move them but his knots were tight.

Then she watched as he did the same with each ankle, tying them to either side of the lounge chair so her legs were spread open. 

And then much to her surprise, he shed his clothes and slid in the pool. Her eyes filled with pure lust as she took in the droplets of water cascading down his perfect chiseled chest. She’d never get used to him. 

“Seems like you keep forgettin’ whose runnin’ this shit. So maybe this’ll teach you.” 

She did not fully understand what he meant until she felt the vibrator turn on, this time at its lowest setting. Her hips rolled as much as she could with her body restrained. She bit her lip to stop the moans from escaping, part of her not wanting to give him the satisfaction as she knew he was going to drag this out as long as possible. 

“You can try to keep quiet if you want to, baby. Honestly that’ll just make the show more entertaining for me.” 

And a show it was. Raven could only imagine how she looked to him as he leaned against the opposite edge of the pool and controlled her pleasure from afar. He talked, telling her about his upcoming projects for 2023, how he was so excited for his directorial debut of Creed 3. At first, with the toy on its lowest setting, she found it easier to ignore and engage in a conversation with him. 

However, as he steadily increased the intensity, her questions and responses were more broken by moans and groans that she could not hide. 

“How many books are in that series of yours?”

“Supposed to b- SHIT!” She cried out as he increased it to the highest setting. “Fuckkkkk,” she moaned as her hips started humping the air to increase the pleasure as she came close to her first orgasm of the day. However, as soon as she got to the edge, he cut it off, robbing her of it. 

“Michael!” She called out in frustration. 

“10.” 

“10 what??”

“Spankings. 5 for not answering my question and 5 for not addressing me properly.” 

She desperately wanted to roll her eyes. This nigga. 

“Three… the series is three books.” 

“Good girl.” 

The cycle and their conversation continued. Michael asked her more random questions about writing and her writing process and expected full answers as he brought her to the edge of an orgasm but took them away five more times. He gave her ample time to calm down in between each one but each time made the climb more intense and made the lack of an orgasm more painful.

And all the while, he sat unmoving like a statue across from her, watching as she moaned, begged, pleaded, and writhed around against her restraints. 

“You wanna cum, don’t you, baby?” He asked, moving for the first time to wade over to her. 

She was in tears as she nodded. “P-Please, d-daddy. I n-need to cum. I c-can’t take… much more. Please.” 

He lifted himself out of the water, Raven’s eyes studying how his biceps flexed at the swift motion. 

He grabbed her chin to force her to look at him. “You’ll take as much as I tell you. Besides, do you deserve pleasure before you’ve been punished?” 

She groaned. She hated him so much but she loved him so much that she would indeed take as much as he told her to. 

“N-no, no I don’t.” 

“That’s right. Only good girls get to orgasm. Are you gonna take your punishment like a good girl?” 

She nodded desperately. “Y-yes, I promise.” 

With that, he untied her and helped her up. He made her crawl behind him to their bedroom. He helped her onto the bed. 

“You know what to do.” 

Indeed, she did. Raven quickly discarded her bathing suit and climbed onto the bed and assumed his favorite position for both pleasure and punishment. Her face pressed against their comforter as she placed the deepest arch she could in her back. 

“Good girl, you want my hand or the belt?” 

That was an easy choice in her mind but she appreciated him letting her choose. “Your hand, please,” she asked innocently.

She knew it was both of their preference. Something about feeling the extent of his strength with every lash, seeing the red marks on her ass in the shape of his palm, made every punishment well worth it. She also knew Michael preferred it too. 

“Count ‘em out or I start over.” 

She groaned. This was the hardest part, focusing on each one enough to remember the number. 

She shrieked as he hit her the first time. She was not gonna be able to sit comfortably for the rest of their vacation. 

“One.” 

By the time she hit 15, she was in tears but she would have begged him not to stop. 

“Ten more, baby. And you’re doing so good…” he grabbed the remote he had discarded next to them and turn it on to its highest setting. “You can cum whenever you want.” 

Raven felt like her whole body was in flames as he rained down the last ten blows while the vibrator did the work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost against her g-spot. She tried to grab a pillow to bury her face in as her screams reached a fever pitch that she imagined could be heard across their resort but Michael grabbed a fist of her braids and forced her head up. 

“Nah I wanna hear you.” 

She could not even register the last two spankings as she blissfully felt every part of her body, down to the cellular level, become overwhelmed with mind-numbing, life altering pleasure. Her entire body collapsed forward onto the bed, her legs unable to hold her lower body up. 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she mumbled as she felt the vibrator turn off and started to come down. 

Michael smiled as he took in her form, he had utterly depleted her as she laid there, her entire body covered in a thin layer of sweat. 

He climbed onto the bed and pulled her into his arms, rubbing her back soothingly as she laid there, her brain not fully functioning or cognizant of his presence. 

Raven used the little bit of energy she had to settle into his arms, burying her head into his neck. She appreciated his commitment to aftercare, particularly when their sessions were super intense. Oftentimes, they were just so intense, they rubbed Raven raw emotionally and left her feeling vulnerable. And when they were merely fake dating, she had to often ignore those needs because she was afraid to ask him for more. He always checked in and ran her a bath or gave her a massage, often brought her food to ensure she was ok before he went to his guest room to sleep.  

But now, she could snuggle up against him and feel close to him, feel his love and receive his praise while she recovered. And she had not realized just how much she was missing. 

“You ok?” He asked. “That was intense.” 

“I’m excellent. And still horny but I don’t think my legs work to move,” she moaned. 

“Well, rest. I’ll wake up when it’s time to get ready for dinner.” 

He watched her for a while before he set an alarm and dozed off himself. 

***

“Figured we could go watch the fireworks on the beach. They told me the good ones start around 11:30… so in a bit.” 

Raven smiled as she continued eating. They had slept most of the day away after their session and she was starving. Michael had a private dinner scheduled for them in their suite, which she appreciated. She still got dolled up in a flowery two piece crop top and skirt but it was nice to have dinner in their own space. 

“So my mom asks this every New Years Eve… what do you want out of 2023?”

Raven’s fork paused in mid air as she thought on the question. What did she want out of the new year? She had no idea. 

“Umm… whew, I dunno. I’ve just been counting down the last couple years truth be told. Kinda felt lost and all over the place without my career? Didn’t really think I had much to look forward to? But…” 

“But…” 

“But now I feel like I don’t want everything to just pass me by? Like even if I’m not free to do what I love just yet, I wanna feel… happy? I wanna feel good and enjoy life.” She shrugged. “It’s kinda stupid.” 

He held his hand out for her to take it and squeezed, his thumb rubbing her hand. “That’s far from stupid. I have a surprise for you.” 

He took a deep breath and reached under the table to grab a box. 

She smiled and shook her head. “This trip wasn’t a surprise enough??” 

“Nah. And this is really just a late Christmas gift. Legal shit delayed it a couple days… but it seems fitting. Here’s to a 2023 of happiness and freedom.” 

He held the box out to her, it exactly resembled the one he had given her with their surprise trip to Thailand inside only this one had a large stack of paperwork in it. 

“What’s this??” She pulled the heavy stack, her eyes growing wide as she thumbed through them, skimming them quickly. “I-Is this what I think it is?” 

“If you think it’s the rights to your book, which are now yours to do with whatever you want, then yes. If you were thinkin’ it was somethin’ else…” 

Her mouth dropped open. Her breath came out more as a strangled sob than anything else as she continued reading. 

“This is…” she laughed nervously. “This is a joke right? Y-you didn’t… I know this had to have cost like… someone’s yearly salary money.” She stood and shook her head. “Y-You have to let me pay you back for that. It’ll take me like a fuckin’ decade,” she admitted. “But you can’t…” 

Michael gestured for him to come to her. He kept her flush to his lap as her entire body trembled from the pure shock. He had expected this reaction and was prepared. But he had not done what he did and paid what he did lightly. It was worth every single frustrating conversation and dollar spent.

“Yes I can… and I did. Getting rid of the last piece of dead weight you were dragging around was worth every dime. You deserve to tell your stories and they took that from you. So I took it back and am giving it to you. One signature,” he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen and held it to her. “And they are all yours.” 

A tear fell on the papers before Raven tossed them down to the ground and threw herself into Michael’s arms as she sobbed into his neck. He wrapped his arms around her tightly as he held her.

“I love you… so much.” She whispered through her sobs. “T-this is the greatest thing anyone’s ever done for m-me.” 

His palm wiped away the tears streaming down her face as he kissed her. 

“It’s nothing.” 

She shook her head. “No, it’s literally everything… I don’t deserve you,” she whispered, shaking her head. 

“Yea you do. And all the other good things in this world. I’ll spend every day making sure you know it.”

They finished their dessert with Raven still on his lap, the young woman too shocked to really speak or offer much to the conversation. She could not believe it, could not believe him. She knew it would still be a long road to self-publish and figure all of that out but now? Now she had options, she could figure it out without waiting for the timer to hit zero. 

And he had done that for her. 

“Come on, fireworks are about to start.” 

Raven nodded and smiled. “Give me 5 minutes? Gonna put these somewhere safe,” she grabbed the scattered papers off the floor. “And fix my makeup. Can’t have you kissing me at midnight with eyeliner running down my face. That’d be a tragic start to the year.” 

“I’ll be by the pool. Don’t take too long.”

He watched her walk away and smiled before walking outside to the balcony. The fireworks were already in full swing and he could hear music and laughter from the main beach of the resort. 

It was the perfect end to a perfect night. Well, almost. A buzzing in his pocket redirected his attention. Tasha’s name scrolled across his phone. 

“This girl,” he mumbled. He knew her well enough to know if he did not answer she would simply call back. 

Michael glanced over his shoulder and sighed as he swiped across his phone. 

“Hey,” he offered coldly. The truth was he had forgotten everything about Tasha, had not thought about her once since her name graced his screen on Raven’s birthday. 

He did not hate her or offer her ill will, he just had no interest in seeing or speaking to her again. 

“Hey baby. Happy New Year.” 

“Happy New Year.” Michael’s tone was short and clipped, praying he could get her off the phone before Raven came back from the bathroom to find him. 

“Wanted to see if the New Year was gonna bring my favorite customer back to me?” 

“Look Tash…”

“It’s been a few months, Mike. You promised.”

Michael rolled his eyes. He had let her get far too comfortable, so comfortable that she thought he’d always be there. Which seemed like a base level foolish assumption given her line of work. But either way, he had moved on. Raven was his present and his future. He had no interest in anyone else. But this was the weight he was dragging around behind him, he quickly realized. And every day that he did not tell Tasha that truth and let her believe there was something there for them, was a disservice to her, Raven, and himself. 

“I know what I said but shit changed. I love her, Tash.” 

A wave of anger hit him as he heard the woman scoff, which was filled with disbelief. 

“Her?? You love her??” 

“Yes, her. I love her and even though it started off as somethin’ not real, it’s real to us both now and she’s everything I want.” He sighed. “Look, you are a great girl, I enjoyed our time together but I can’t see you anymore. Ever.” 

“You serious right now??” He could feel her rage through the phone but that did not deter him. Raven was everything for him and nothing Tasha could say would change that. 

“Dead serious. I know this ain’t what you wanted to hear but it’s over between us. I’m sorry.” 

She was seething. “Fuck you, Michael! You can’t just drop me outta fuckin’ no where! What am I supposed to fuckin’ do??” 

He bowed his head. Her reaction was not out of the realm of possibility, he just had not considered it at all, had not considered that he would have to “break up” with her officially. But he did not regret nor was he phased by her anger. That part of his life - whoring and using any and every woman who would let him - was over and in the past. 

“Find another client to replace me. I can’t be the first client to move on.” 

There was a long pause. “Nah you ain’t the first. But you’re the first to fall in love with a fuckin’ hooker and try to pass it off as a real relationship. Imagine the money TMZ would give me for that story.” 

Michael’s mouth dropped open. “You’re kidding right?” 

“I ain’t’ fuckin’ laughin. You can leave me for that country ass fake bumpkin, you can put her in designer clothes and call her your girlfriend but unfortunately for you, I know what she really is. A whore. And while you might think you can wave a wand and make her a housewife, everyone else? They’ll fuckin’ tear her apart. You really want that?” 

Michael couldn’t believe this shit. In all his years of being famous and having money, he had never had someone try to blackmail him. Michael clenched his eyes shut. “How much?” 

“There we go. Glad we could come to an agreement. $10k for now. I expect it as soon as you get back to LA. And then we can figure out an arrangement that works for both of us. Happy New Year, baby.” 

And with that, the phone went dead. Michael clenched it in his hand in frustration as he turned and shook his head. He quickly deleted the call from his call log to ensure Raven did not accidentally see it and sent Alex a text. 

Mike: We have a BIG problem

“Wow, those are gorgeous!” 

Michael slid his phone in his pocket as Raven emerged and stood next to him, her make up pristine and her body now clad in a very sexy ocean blue lingerie set. Michael forced a smile onto his face as he grabbed her ass and squeezed. 

“Not as gorgeous as you.” 

“We got five minutes till midnight and then I figured we could create some fireworks of our own?” 

“I like the sound of that…” Michael mused. 

He knew he needed to tell Raven about Tasha but he did not have the heart to do it right then. She was so happy, so happy that her whole body seemed to radiate with it. He refused to let anything diminish or take that feeling away. And he refused to let another selfish person steal her joy and relaxation while they were on vacation. He had a week to figure out a plan and get Tasha out of his life once and for all. And he had every intention of doing so and telling Raven once it was all said and done. She was finally happy and she deserved to stay that way. This was exclusively his mess, he would get himself out of it. 

“Oh you never told me,” Raven said as they sat down and stuck their feet in the water while the fireworks continued to boom loudly around them, painting the sky in bright colors. 

“What?” 

“What you want out of 2023?” 

Michael glanced down at her and the bright smile on her face. “I think I got everything I want for 2023. I got you, about to finish the biggest run of my career. I guess I just… want to make sure I don’t lose it all?”

She gently shoved him with her shoulder and chuckled. “Well, you aren’t gonna lose me.” 

“That a promise?” 

“Yes it is.” 

Off in the distance, they could hear the faint countdown from the giant crowd at the beach. 

Five… four… three… two…

“Happy New Year, Rae.” 

“Happy New Year, baby.” 

They shared a deep kiss under the fireworks before Michael swooped her up into his arms and carried her to bed, their room becoming a fireworks show for two. 

Tag List: @readinghere2023 @blackerthings @prettyisasprettydoes1306 @physicxal @purplehairgawdess @miyuhpapayuh @rueruesclues @geemamii @certifiedlesbianbaddie @pipsqueak-98 @nyifly22 @destinio1 @twocentaur @gopaperless @musicisme333 @roguekiki @majesticbrownjawn @taurusqueen83 @mysteryuz @miamormilan @itsknor-thedeep @naj-ay444 @mads-grace4 @nayaesworld @kholdkill @msniaimani @nccu-rnc @apenasumlug4r

***

A/N: the babies are in relationship blisssssss. And how perfect is Michael? Getting her book back for her. Also I tried to do some research on how all that works and it is really confusing so any real authors reading - don't hate me if I got it wrong LOL it's fiction! Well, as we all knew it would, Tasha has come back to claim her man again... what do we think? Should he have told Raven? Or should he wait till they get home? Or should he just deal with Tasha on his own? Anndddd this is the last update for this story for like a month - so so sorry to leave it like that LOL love yall though! Hope you enjoyed it!

[randomprose]

when they've been together long enough and are already very comfortable with each other, MBJ just busts out his goofy side whenever he thinks no one is looking except SQH and just does stuff that surprises SQH like smiling, winking, poking his tongue out at him, making subtle funny faces like going crossed-eyed and scrunching his face at SQH (cutely, with his brows drawn and his nose scrunched up).

MBJ succeeds every time in catching SQH off guard. SQH can't believe his eyes but his King definitely winked at him right?? he definitely did!! 

once, SQH confronted MBJ about it and he expected his King to deny it but instead, MBJ just outright admits it. SQH is confused?? wtf??? but MBJ just says, voice low and face suddenly serious, "no one will believe you"

(imagine that B99 episode where holt told peralta he hoolahoops)

SQH: are you making fun of me my King? MBJ: not at all, Qinghua *smiles* SQH: ohmygod you are!! you— MBJ: Qinghua, the meeting is about to start

SQH just narrows his eyes at him before turning away completely missing MBJ smothering a smile on his palm. it's so fun to tease SQH. it’s quickly becoming one of MBJ’s favorite things to do.

the last straw is when SQH caught MBJ reading one of his manuscripts, an attempt at humor, and he catches MBJ in the middle of a laugh. a soft huff followed by a low rumbling chuckle. he couldn’t even properly appreciate the visuals of his King laughing before an indignant sounds comes out of him on instinct.

MBJ's face straightens immediately when he hears SQH squawk and call him out. 

SQH: but I saw you my King! i heard you! i saw you! you were laughing at my story! wow does that mean i'm funny? wait, of course i am! i made you laugh! MBJ: and what is Qinghua going to do about it? SQH: you're so—i just—i...this one will—

SQH doesn't know. he didn't think this far ahead. but MBJ is staring at him with eyes shining with amusement and lips upturned at the corners in a smile and—

oh god, he's already so handsome in his resting murderface of course he's going to be unspeakably gorgeous when he smiles.

MBJ: well, Qinghua?

and oh he really is so fucking hot when he taunts SQH like this it's so unfair!!!

SQH: this husband is—this one is gonna— MBJ: what, Qinghua? this King is waiting SQH: this!

SQH kisses MBJ deep and revels in the way the smile drops off MBJ's lips in shock. but it was short-lived as SQH feels his husband grinning against his lips once again and drawing him into one of the filthiest kiss they've shared to date.

at this point, SQH doesn't even know what he got so worked up about. all he knows now is that he's being kissed within an inch of his life and it is glorious. 

when they finally part, SQH is sobered by the soft smile still on MBJ's lips, small and unnoticeable to anyone but SQH as it is.

SQH: my King, do you know? you look the most beautiful when you smile and just downright breathtaking when you laugh. allow this humble one the honor of making you smile and laugh all the time. for the rest of our lives, ah? MBJ: Qinghua, you fool. this King could only find a reason to smile and laugh because of you. you are the only one that evokes such joy in this King.

SQH is struck. they’ve been together for a long time and married for almost half of it but fuck! what the fuck! SQH is always still at a loss for words when MBJ gets like this. what the fuck is he even supposed to say to that?! my King! please be careful of your words! this husband is but a weak man, ah!

SQH: o-oh, that's good. that’s great, my King, but please be careful of your words as this husband is—wait. is that because you find me funny? do you only see me as your personal jester, my King? are you just laughing at me? because that's just—

MBJ kisses SQH again just to shut him up.

[agaxso]

a. but... what if... lbh and sqq go on a mission/trip and lbh is sprayed with the opposite of an aphrodisiac, neither of them notice until, a week or so later sqq is worried that lbh isn't doing puppy eyes to bang him.

eventually sqq figures out whats going on and, for once, papapa isn't the cure but snuggling and sqq telling lbh sweet things to his ears

[killmongerkink]

11:37 pm - Part 2.

Summary: You learn about your favorite customer a little more.

Pairing: Erik ‘Killmonger’ Stevens X Black!Reader

Warning: Just a lil fluff.

Length: 3k.

BTW: I wasn’t really planning on making this a series, but why not. I don't really like how I ended this, but it was getting pretty long and I didn't want to drag it out. The next part will feature you and Erik hanging out more and maybe a little smut .. depends on how I’m feeling lol. Let me know if you'd like to be on a tag list for my future stories. Enjoy!

MASTERLIST

"You're awfully excited today. Is there a reason you're in such a good mood darling?" Your co-worker, an older woman named Janette, asked you.

You feigned ignorance, shrugging your shoulders as you turned and set your book bag down on the chair. It was finally Friday, around 5:45 and your shift didn't officially start until 6. You were a little early today, which was a rare occurrence, but you just couldn't wait to clock in.  

You'd woke up on the right side of the bed this morning and spent the majority of your day catching up on some reading for your summer sociology class. After that, you decided to clean up your Uncle's apartment that you were staying at. Last semester when you were deciding how you were going to spend your summer, you had decided to leave your stomping grounds for something new. You loved Cali, but you found yourself quickly growing tired of the same routine with the same people. When your Uncle offered you to spend your break in one of his rentals, you jumped at the opportunity. It was New York for crying out loud, of course you'd be down. Although your days were spent doing schoolwork and ringing up customers instead of walking through Manhattan with your fancy Starbucks drink, you were still happy to be here. Sadly, there were only 3 weeks left until you had to go home and you were finding yourself getting more and more sad as the days rolled by. You were going to miss Janette, your uncle and him.

Since the first time you both had spoken, you and the handsome stranger had been talking more and more. You learned basic information like his name, that he'd recently graduated from MIT, that one of his favorite movies was Belly and a bit about his childhood. Nothing crazy, just that he played basketball 24/7 and had dreams of going pro. 

You paused and sighed. Why were you thinking about him so much? During the past few days, you found yourself wondering what he was doing and where he was randomly. When you were up, was he already up? When you were doing homework, was he working? Or was he hanging out with friends? When you blinked, was he blinking at the same time? You couldn't help but ask yourself these dumb questions. He was literally running through your mind non-stop. 

"Child, I've been on this earth for 53 years. I know a glow when I see one. Just make sure to enjoy whoever or whatever is making you happy while you can." A sad smile graced her face, causing you to grab her hand a give it a little squeeze. Janette confided in you a few weeks after you started working here about her husband’s passing. They had gotten into a fight, which led to her kicking him out for the night and little did she know that would be the last time she would see him. Apparently, some dope boys thought he had money and tried to rob him. When he wouldn't give them what they wanted, it led to a fight and one of the boys shooting him. It was honestly a tragedy and you'd catch Janette reading over the small clipping of the newspaper article every now and then that she kept hidden in her purse.

With a nod of her head, you watched her blink back her tears as she squeezed your hand back.

"Remember what I said, you hear?"

***

The night was going by pretty fast. You barely had time to get any studying done due to the influx of customers paying for gas or random snacks and goods. You were currently explaining the differences between two sets of condoms in depth to a man who looked way too old to be asking such a question, but you weren't one to judge. 

"So, this is the Trojan Sensitivity BareSkin Premium condoms and this is the Ultra-Thin for Ultra Sensitivity Premium condoms. They pretty much do the same thing, except as you see .. this one is extra sensitive."

"They're both sensitive?" The man mumbled, his eyes darting from you to the box quickly as his hand stayed clenched on the counter.

"Yes, but this one is ultra-sensitive and thinner. The other one isn't, see?" You gave him an awkward smile and pointed to the box.

The ringing signaling that someone had entered alerted you, but you didn't have the opportunity to welcome them as the man in front of you rambled on about how he didn't know which one to get. Honestly, you could care less and wished he would just hurry up and pick one. You had spent more enough time talking about condoms than you would've liked and the look he was giving you was starting to make you feel uncomfortable. 

"Which-" He cleared his throat, chuckling. "Which one would you would use? I mean, not like that. Like, if you had to pick which one you'd want your partner to use.. which one would you pick?" 

His question was of genuine interest and you were seriously debating on just telling him to get out and take his business elsewhere, but this was a potential sale and you didn't want to lose out on it.

"You could just get both. You know, that way you can .. try them out for yourself. Want me to ring them up for you?" Barely giving him enough time to answer, you scanned both boxes in lightning speed. "Your total is $33.48 sir, will you be using cash or credit?"

"Have you used these before? Did they feel good?"

The rough clearing of a throat caused the man and you to look up. Your mouth hung open slightly as you stared at Erik. Did he get finer since the last time you'd seen him? His dreads were out and all over the place, but in a cute messy way. The words 'Lost Tribe' joined with the map of Africa were showcased in white and popped against his black hoodie, while a pair of low sweat pants covered his lower half. Yeah .. you were going to need him to never wear those around you again, not unless you want to be distracted every five seconds. He was staring angrily at the man in front of you and you couldn't blame him, but did he have to look so fucking sexy all mad like that?

"Hurry up nigga, people got shit to do."

The flustered man shuffled closer to the counter and pulled out some crumpled bills, not even attempting to unfold them which made you even more annoyed. You grabbed them, counting them out quickly, before cashing them in and placing his change and bag on the counter, purposely avoiding any chances of touching him. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but the heavy sigh from the man behind him stopped him in his tracks.

"Have a good day, come again." The professional worker in you couldn't help but say.

"Or don't." 

You cut your eyes towards him, earning a shrug from his shoulders before the both of you watched as the man hastily grabbed his belongings and damn near rushed out of the store. Some change dropped out of his hand, but he didn't bother looking back to pick it up. Once he was gone you released a breath, suddenly yearning for a hot bath and your bed. Your day had started out good, great even and now you just really wanted it to end. It had been a while since you had to deal with a local creep. 

You straightened back up, adjusting your knock-off polo tee and stayed quiet as he placed his usual donuts and Gatorade down on the table. Everything was fine when started to scan his items, until he added another addition just as you were about to total his amount.

Two snickers bar.

You couldn't help but smile, not even attempting to hide your grin as you scanned and added them to the small plastic bag. Of course he didn't want his change, so you just closed the register back after receiving his money and scooted the bag over to him. You both still hadn't exchanged any words, but it was a comfortable silence. He didn't reach for his bag for a few seconds, instead just deciding to stand there with his hands in his pockets. A part of you wanted to question what was wrong, but you didn't bother and decided to just watch him. Seconds later, one of the snickers bar was sitting in front of you. 

"You trynna take a break?" He asked.

"I can't ... it's always-" The sound of two customers, a father and daughter from the looks of it, entered. The girl ran off towards the chips section while the older man who looked half past dead, sluggishly walked towards the energy drinks. Not even 30 seconds later, a group of teenagers entered loudly. ".. busy as you can see. I'm the only one here." 

He nodded his head, patting the counter a couple times as if to say a silent "okay" and you could've sworn you saw a look of disappointment on his face. Ha, you doubted it. Why would he be disappointed? Or ... maybe he was? Let's be real, who wouldn't want to hang out with you? Shit, you'd be disappointed if you couldn't hang out with someone like you. Too busy with your mental pep talk, you missed most of what he had said and caught him staring at you.

"Want me to get you off?"

"Huh?" You scrunched your eyebrows together, were you hearing him right? Were you losing your mind right now?

"I asked when do you get off."

"Oh .. like in an hour. If you want, we can hang out .. if you're not busy of course. I mean it's Friday night, you probably have things to do, but if you don't' ... we could do something. Or not! I mean, it's not really a big deal or anything."

God, you were so embarrassed. What were you doing? Why couldn't you have just kept your mouth shut. Asking him out on a Friday night? Bitch, who were you? You'd never been one to make the first move when it came to guys. Rejecting rather than getting rejected was more of your thing. You ignored the stares of the other patrons shuffling around the store and nervously watched as he looked at you with an amused expression. All that shit talking you were doing in your head earlier was out the door, you were so lame. He was probably laughing at you in his head right now.

With a lick of his lips, he nodded his head. "I'll see you in an hour then."

***

You nervously picked the small piece of sausage off your pizza, popping it into your mouth quickly. You hated eating in front of guys, especially guys you liked. Who wanted to look like a hungry slob in front of someone so fine? You had asked Erik what was the most interesting thing he'd done at MIT and while he was busy going on about that, you were struggling on how you wanted to eat your pizza. Should you fold it? Should you eat it flat? You didn't want grease all on your lips, so should you break it off in pieces instead? That was actually how you really liked to eat it, but who did that? Only weirdos. Only you. You couldn't believe you were really stressing out over something so insignificant, but your insecurities wouldn't let you live.

Erik pulled you out from another of your infamous self-talks and scooted the plastic plate closer to you. Looking up, you watched as he kept his gaze on you as he chewed his food, his tongue darting out slightly to lick at the few specs of crumbs that garnered on his lips. This man was going to be the death of you.

"You always this quiet?" He inquired.

"No, I was just listening to you talk."

"I stopped talking over three minutes ago." 

Caught red-handed, you finally began to eat and no longer cared how you looked. You needed to busy yourself by doing something. You picked up your slice, taking a good chunk out of it as you racked your brain for a response. A part of you was disappointed at how self-conscious you were around him. Why couldn't you just be chill and relaxed like your girls back home? Your girls that were always getting asked for their numbers. Your girls that had a new date every Friday, which usually led to you getting an earful about how good or bad the dick was Saturday night. It wasn't jealously per-say, you just wished you could be like that. Outgoing, blunt, confident with a hint of cocky. Maybe then would you actually have a life instead of staying in all the time. You sneaked a look at Erik and started to wonder why he was even hanging out with you. He looked like the type of guy that would go for one of your friends, not you. 

You shrugged. "What? I was just trying to process your words. I don't understand all that smart mumbo jumbo stuff you're talking about. I barely made it through physics and pre-Cal when I was a sophomore."

You figured you said something right when you heard him chuckle before mumbling something about your "slick ass mouth".

As the conversation finally started to flow, you felt yourself relax. Erik was witty and funny, in a smart ass kind of way. Knowing you weren't from Harlem, he made sure to let you know about all the hotspots when it came to clubs and food, even assisting you with folding your pizza since he couldn't sit back and watch you disrespect the pizza like that .. his words exactly. He even suggested a few good museums that you could visit. Now that made you laugh. He didn't look like the kind of guy to actually enjoy spending a day at the museum, but you were quickly learning not to judge a book by its cover.

"What's so funny?"

You were tempted to say nothing, but it was obvious he knew something was up so you decided to just be honest. 

"You're just different from what I expected you to be. On the outside, you look like the kind of guy that would fuck up a girl’s life and credit, yet every time you open your mouth ... I don't know. You just surprise me. I never suspected you to be the museum-going, woke engineer that you are. Your exterior doesn't match your interior.” 

"Your exterior doesn't match your interior." He repeated, almost like he was trying to digest your words. "I like that. Does yours match? I mean, you come off all shy and shit. You steady looking all innocent and sweet whenever I see you. You know what they say about those types."

"What? That we're all undercover freaks or something?"

"Something like that." 

The tone of his voice awoke the butterflies in your stomach and you kept your eyes averted from his. Somehow, he always seemed to make something sound so suggestive, not that you minded. It was a nice contrast to the way guys usually talked to you. Not that you were looking for every male in a 5-mile radius to run up to you and start talking provocatively, but it was nice to be flirted with. It made you feel sexy, it made you feel wanted. 

Thinking about it, the shy girl stereotype was true in all honesty and if he wanted to find out for himself, you were down to show him.

After your meal, he offered to walk you home and of course you denied. One, you were a big girl and knew the way. Two, you didn't want him going out of his way to walk you to your place. And three, what if he turned out to be some psycho series killer? Your parents always taught you never to let anyone know you address unless you trusted them, yet here you were two seconds away from letting some guy you just met take you home.

"It's late ma. I ain't letting you walk alone when it's this dark outside, especially not dressed like that."

"What's wrong with my outfit?" Slightly offended, you looked down at yourself. A dark blue collared shirt, khaki work pants and some vans. It wasn't cute by any means, but you did just come from work after all. Seeing your shape caused you to suddenly start to feel self-conscious. You had just eaten and now your food baby was making your shirt look even more unflattering than before, it also didn't help that you already had gut before the food. 'You should've said you weren't hungry!', you screamed in your head. The light color of your fitted pants also did nothing to hide the dips and dimples in your thighs, how embarrassing.

"Nothing, but niggas here ain't like the dudes you used to back home. They gonna try some shit if you alone, but if you roll with me then they'll know better."

"But they might think you're my boyfriend or something." And what if someone he knew ended up seeing you two? He wouldn't want that. How embarrassing would that be? You could hear the comments now - "Erik's with the fat girl from the gas station!".

"And what's wrong with that?" He tilted his head to the side and gave you a look, almost as if he was daring you to say something smart. 

"N-nothing."

"That's what I thought." Erik took your book bag off your shoulder in one smooth motion, putting it over his own as he wrapped his other arm around your shoulder, forcing you to walk next to him. A small gasp left your lips as he pulled you into him, his body heat spreading throughout your own and damn did he smell good. Now you knew why girls always talked about stealing their boyfriend’s hoodies. You wondered what you did in your past life to get a guy this good-looking to give you attention, or maybe you were giving him too much credit. So what he looked good? There were a million other guys who probably looked the same or better, but that did nothing to stop your heart from racing.

This man was trouble.