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[kiirisute]

who else has spent too much on genshin 😭

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Always Ever Only You Part 35 | Rooster x Reader

Summary: You arrive home to your husband and a visual representation of how much he loves you. Your house is filled with treats to make you smile, and the attic has been ripped apart to start accommodating your new addition. The way Bradley loves you and the baby makes everything even more exciting. But as much as things are changing, they are also staying the same. 

Warnings: Swearing, pregnancy topics, angst, fluff, smut, oral sex

Length: 5700 words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female Reader

This was written to accompany my series Is It Working For You? along with a bunch of my one-shots and other series, but it can be read on its own! Check my masterlist for the reading order. Always Ever Only You masterlist. Gorgeous banner by @mak-32

When you woke up, you were afraid you were still on the flight home to San Diego. You desperately wanted to stop throwing up. Your ribs were starting to ache from it, and your back was sore from hunching over the toilet. But the unique smell of a new car filled your nose as you opened your eyes, and you knew you were in the red Bronco. 

"Roo?" you groaned, reaching for him but accidentally hitting the vase full of flowers that was for some reason in the cup holder instead.

"We're home," he replied right away as he pulled into the driveway. "I'm with you, and we're home."

You whimpered in response as you saw the front window of the craftsman glowing with a cozy orange light. The week in Annapolis had been one of the longest of your life, but you were home. And Tramp was here, and so was your own bed and your bathtub.

Bradley knew you were crying again before you did, and he swiped at your tears as soon as he turned the engine off. "It's okay, Sweetheart. Let's go inside." You made some sort of pitiful sounding noise, and a few seconds later, Bradley was carrying you up to the porch. "I'll go back out for your stuff. Are you hungry? I think you should try to drink more ginger ale or maybe a seltzer or gatorade."

You just gasped as he took you inside; every surface was covered in unlit candles and yellow flowers. Even in just the soft glow from the lamp on the end table, everything looked exceptionally romantic. "Bradley." 

He kissed your cheek and continued toward the kitchen while Tramp followed along whimpering for you. But the kitchen was more of the same. Your husband must have gone grocery shopping without you, because there was a little box of pastries and different snacks and more flowers lining the counter. He set you down and held your face gently in his hands. "What can I get you to drink?"

Your lip quivered as you looked up into his brown eyes. "You made everything so romantic."

He sighed and kissed your forehead softly. Then his lips found your nose and then your cheek before ending up on yours. "What can I say, Baby Girl? I missed you. Both of you. A lot."

You thought back to the way you were begging for him and his cock when you talked to him on the phone, but right now you could barely stand up after the horrible flight home. "I don't think I can be romantic right now. I feel disgusting."

He smiled against your lips. "This is peak romance to me. Yeah, I was going to light some candles and feed you some snacks and let you take the lead, but all I really wanted all week was you. Here. At home. With me."

You kissed him deeply, and then let your cheek come to rest on his chest while your stomach churned softly. "I love it. The flowers are beautiful. And can you leave the candles out until tomorrow?"

He nodded and kissed your ear. "I won't put them away yet. Now can you tell me what you want to drink? I just want to dote on you and the nugget all weekend."

You smiled and whispered, "Gatorade." Next thing you knew, there were several chilled bottles lined up on the counter for you to choose from. Bradley opened the orange one and put the rest away, and then you saw the refrigerator door. He had hung up the ultrasound photos in the shape of a heart, and you couldn't stop smiling. He went to the pastry box and broke off part of a croissant and held it out for you to nibble on. When you nodded he fed you more until you shook your head.

Then he helped you into the shower, and it took almost no convincing to get him to join you. "I want you with me," you said, and he started taking his shirt off. A minute later, there was a discarded pile of clothing on the floor, but the two of you were under the steamy spray. You washed his hair for him even though your body felt physically exhausted, and he melted into your touch. "You really missed me, huh?" you joked softly.

His eyes were closed, and he grunted softly before he said, "I miss you when you go out to brunch while I play golf. I miss you when I don't see you for eight hours at work. I miss you when you spend seven hundred hours at Costco without me. But this week was unbearable, Sweetheart. Let's not do it again."

When he didn't even mention being deployed for weeks and weeks on end, you relaxed a little more. You pressed your lips together as his big hands settled on your belly. "The nugget is already calmer with you around," you informed him. "The baby definitely prefers you."

He kissed you and rinsed off all the soap and shampoo. "Yeah, well the nugget and I are about to have a conversation once we get in bed."

You brushed your teeth and removed your contacts, and Bradley already had his UVA shirt ready for you. A couple minutes later, you were in bed with your fingers tangled in his damp hair while he pushed the shirt up so he could kiss your belly. 

"What did I tell you about being nicer to Mommy?" His lips found your belly button, and his breath was warm on your skin as he said, "She's the best fucking thing in the world."

"Don't teach the baby bad words," you mumbled as you set your glasses aside.

He kissed along to your dainty rooster tattoo and traced it with the tip of his nose. "Nah, that's what Aunt Natasha is for," he said, and you giggled as he kissed you everywhere. 

"Roo?" you asked with a yawn.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you for taking care of me."

"It's literally my favorite thing to do."

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

Bradley didn't realize just how poorly he had been sleeping until he ended up staying in bed with you until almost noon on Saturday, finally feeling refreshed. When you woke up and immediately reached for him, he scooped you up in his arms and rolled you onto your back. 

"I'm hungry," you whispered as your stomach started growling loudly while he kissed you.

"Hi, Hungry. I'm Bradley," he replied with a smirk as his fingers brushed along your belly.

Your eyes lit up with mirth as you gasped. "Oh my god! That was your first dad joke!"

He chuckled against your neck. "I'm going to be so fucking good at this shit."

"The nugget already likes you better," you whispered as he started to kiss his way down your chest over the shirt. Bradley paused with his hand tucked beneath the fabric, fingers stroking your side softly as he looked at you.

"You said that yesterday, too. I don't like it when you say that."

When you swallowed hard and turned your face away, you whispered, "I swear it's true."

"No," he said sharply. "This is just because the first trimester is filled with so many changes in your hormones. After the nugget is born, he or she is going to take one look at you and realize they have the most perfect Mommy. I've already written about it in my Nugget Notebook."

He nodded his chin toward the pink and blue notebook on his nightstand, and you asked, "What else did you write about?"

He hummed and pressed his lips to your rooster tattoo, earning a little squirm from you. "I wrote a little about Grandma Carole and Grampy Goose. I talked about how you and I met, and how I fell in love with you. I told the nugget I never really thought about having kids before I met their mommy."

"Roo," you sighed softly as he brushed his mustache along your soft skin, his cheek coming to rest on your hip.

Your stomach rumbled softly as he asked, "Want me to make you some peanut butter toast and some hot tea for breakfast?"

Slowly yet intentionally, you started to slide your legs apart along the fitted sheet where Bradley was laying halfway on top of them. He propped himself up and met your gaze as you said, "In a couple minutes."

He kissed your tattoo again as he tried not to grin. "Hmm. Anything you think you might want before that, Sweetheart?"

You bit your lip and turned your head to the side as he placed his palm on the top of your thigh. Bradley listened to the deep intake of your breath before you let it out slowly and asked, "Will you go down on me?"

He had his lips pressed to your pussy before you finished the sentence, both hands on the backs of your thighs as he spread your legs wide enough to accommodate his broad shoulders. "Gorgeous," he whispered, his mustache feather light against your slick slit as you squirmed and whimpered his name, pressing yourself up for more. 

With a smile, Bradley parted you with his tongue, taking the time to remind you just how much he missed you. "Thought about you all week long, Baby Girl," he said after pulling your clit briefly between his lips. He plucked you a few more times as you moaned. "You're perfect," he promised, teasing your opening with his fingertip. "I missed you."

Then he took the time to taste every bit of you, his tongue swiping down to your ass as you begged him for more. He spread your wetness all over and when he made his way back up to focus on your clit, your fingers were in his hair. "I missed you, too," you managed before your voice broke softly as he sucked on you. "I was so horny all week, but nothing is as good as you."

Bradley smirked and sucked a little harder, leading you directly to your orgasm, showing you just how much better he was than your toys or your own hands. Reminding you that you'd never have it this good anywhere else. When you started to thrust against his face, he let his hands slide up to your waist. 

He waited until you were coming on his tongue and crying out before rubbing his nose along your clit and grunting, "I wanna fuck you."

You yanked so hard on his hair, he saw stars for a second, but he took your lead and kissed your mouth as he pushed his cock inside you. You were so wet and tight, he knew he'd only last a few thrusts, especially with the way you were squeezing him as your orgasm started to taper off. And then he was right there with you as you licked his mouth clean of your decadent taste and let your fingers snag in his messy hair. 

"Fuck," he grunted, driving into you with a few final thrusts before he filled you up with his cum. You looked so perfectly sated beneath him as you licked your own lips and gazed up at him.

When he stopped moving, his hips finally settling against yours, you looked a little bashful as you said, "I think I needed you before I needed breakfast." Your stomach was growling a little louder now, and Bradley knew he needed to get some toast in your belly to keep the baby happy. 

"Well," he rasped, "this was my breakfast, and I'll have it again for lunch and dinner if you let me." He slid away from you and stood next to your side of the bed, his head still a little fuzzy as he glanced down at his soft, glistening cock. With your legs still spread wide, he could see his cum working its way out of your tight pussy as you chewed on your lip dreamily. "Come on, Baby Girl," he crooned, reaching for you and guiding both of you into the kitchen. "I'll take care of all of your appetites."

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

You were practically shaking with happiness as you nibbled on a crunchy piece of toast slathered with a thick layer of peanut butter and sprinkled with chocolate chips. Your entire kitchen was decorated with the yellow flowers that Bradley got, and you noticed the refrigerator was randomly filled with steaks. 

"What's this for?" you asked him as he made himself some coffee. "It looks like you spend two hundred bucks on steaks?"

"I did," he confirmed, still completely naked from your activities a little while ago. "You really seemed to enjoy that dinner you had in Annapolis. I just thought you might want to try to replicate it here," he said a bit bashfully. "I mean, I could try to help you cook them if you want." You smiled, knowing full well he was more hesitant to admit he spent too much money on food that you'd have to cook for yourself than he was to parade around with nothing on.

"You're the best," you told him, tucking yourself against his chest and admiring the flowers on the island as he sipped his coffee. Then your gaze caught on a thin strip of drywall that was propped up next to the stairs. "Where did that come from?"

"Hmm?" Bradley hummed casually, his lips pressed to the top of your head.

"Is that drywall?"

"Oh. Uh... yes. I must have missed that piece when I was throwing all of it away."

You looked up at him, concern written on your face. "What do you mean by all of it?"

He kissed your nose a few times and said, "Now don't get upset, okay? It's not good for the nugget."

"Bradley."

He swallowed and said, "I got a little bored and anxious while the two of you were gone, and I kind of dismantled the attic."

"What?" You took off toward the stairs. When Bradley bought the Craftsman, you'd been with him every step of the way. You both looked at the house together, and you were there when he closed on it. He had his arm draped over your shoulders the first time he walked inside once he owned the place. You and he both knew the attic would eventually need an overhaul to grow from a sad little workspace into a usable bedroom or two. But now you were afraid to see what he did in your absence.

"Sweetheart, wait," he called out, wrapping his arms around you from behind before you could even put your foot on the first step. He kissed your cheek and said, "There could be a nail or something sharp on the floor that I missed when I cleaned up. Please, put some shoes on first."

You jammed your feet into your combat boots which were next to the front door, and Bradley did the same with his. Then he followed you upstairs, still in all of his naked glory, and watched you look around at the complete demolition job he did to the space. There was no flooring, no drywall, nothing.

"There used to be a half wall right here," you said, waving your arms. "I thought we were going to call a contractor."

"I did," he confirmed, standing there with his hands on his hips, kind of shrugging. "After I took everything down to the studs. But maybe they'll cut out some of the cost for the demolition since I already did it?" he muttered as his cheeks grew a little pink. "I just got excited about the idea of your parents having their own space when they visit, you know? And maybe one day, the nugget can have their bedroom up here. After they grow out of the nursery downstairs."

"Roo," you moaned, launching yourself into his arms. He welcomed you there as you whispered, "I'm sorry you were anxious enough while I was gone that you had the urge to completely dismantle the space up here." His sparse chest hair felt coarse against your face, but it was soothing to you anyway. "But I'm excited about this space. And I'm happy you called a contractor. And also, you look sinfully sexy in nothing but your boots, and I'm really horny again already."

"Oh," he rasped, and you could feel him reacting to you almost immediately. "Well, what do you know... so am I."

Then you and your husband had sex in the attic for the first time.

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

After a lovely steak dinner on Saturday night, which Bradley dutifully helped you make, you took a bath in your luxurious tub. He made sure the water wasn't too hot for the nugget, and then you lured him into the bath with you. All of the candles you'd noticed yesterday were now glowing, and a cluster of them had found their way to the bathroom counter. 

"I liked tonight's dinner a lot better than the one I had with Commander Patterson," you whispered as Bradley ran his soapy hands along your shoulders and kissed your ear.

"Trust me, Sweetheart, if I ever run into Derek, he's getting what he has coming to him."

You gasped. "How do you know his name is Derek?"

"I have my ways," he murmured, letting his fingers trail down along your body beneath the water. After you remained silent, wondering how on earth he had that information, he added, "You let it slip over the phone."

"Did I?" you asked. But you shouldn't have been too surprised. You kept forgetting little things here and there. Your hormones were hitting you hard in a variety of ways, and you'd just about had enough of it. 

"Mmhmm. If he ever comes to Top Gun, it's on."

You knew he was at least partially serious, so you didn't bring it up again. Instead, you let Bradley pull you out of the tub when you started to shiver, and he helped you get ready for bed. "I didn't throw up once today," you said with a smile as you curled up with your cheek on his chest. "The nugget always behaves when you're around."

Bradley kissed the top of your head and cradled your body against his. "If the nugget doesn't start to shape up, I'll have a little discussion with him or her." 

Just as he reached for the lamp on his nightstand, you asked him softly, "Will you read a little bit to me from the Nugget Notebook?"

You weren't sure if his musings were even really meant for you, but he agreed and picked up the pink and blue notebook from next to the bed, leaving the light on in the process. Bradley cleared his throat and started to read. His written words were enough to make you melt, and the deep rasp of his voice comforted you like nothing else could. 

"I hate to break it to you, little nugget, but you're related to some of the coolest people I ever met in my life. Sounds great, doesn't it? I suppose it is. The only downside is the fact that you won't get to meet them for yourself. But that's where I come in, so don't worry about it too much. 

Let's start with your Grandma Carole. Now she had a real talent for always knowing how to cheer people up. Even when she was having a hard day herself, she still saved a smile and a kiss just for me. She was one of the sweetest people around. She was smart, funny and honest, too. But I think if there's one thing of hers that I'd like to pass down to you, it would be Carole's sweetness.

Next we have your Grampy Goose. Don't worry, his name wasn't really Goose. It was Nick. Now this is going to be a little harder for me to write about, simply because I didn't get very much time with him myself, but I know for a fact that Goose could bring a smile to even the most serious faces."

You dozed off, dreaming about a world in which you got to meet your husband's parents. Where you could take your child to spend time with them. Get to know them without visiting the cemetery in Virginia. 

When you woke up, it was to the sound of your alarm while Bradley had you wrapped up with his long arms and his legs. "Roo," you muttered, but he held on.

"Don't want you to go to brunch," he whispered. "Stay in bed."

Goosebumps rose along your arms as you thought about spending the entire day snuggled up with him like this. "I need to go see Cam and Maria," you mumbled. Your stomach growled so you added, "And eat avocado toast."

Bradley groaned and rolled away from you. "At least you're hungry. Go have fun with your friends."

"Do you want me to bring anything back for you?"

He snorted as you climbed out of bed. "Yeah. You and the nugget. ASAP."

You pushed his hair back from his forehead and kissed him there. "God, you're sweet. Just like Carole. The nugget will inherit that trait, too."

You watched your husband blush as he snuggled under the blanket and tracked you with his eyes as you got ready to go out. Your stomach was feeling pretty good, but you knew you were tempting fate if you decided to wait to eat something at the restaurant. You made yourself a piece of toast and finished it before you climbed into your red Bronco and headed out to your usual spot while Bradley lounged in bed.

After you parked, you saw some texts from Jake asking how you were feeling and also asking if you and Bradley could watch Jeremiah one night. That sounded like a good sign that things had worked out okay between him and Uncle Bernie. When you saw Cat at work tomorrow, that would be the first thing you asked her, but for now you typed back to Jake. You didn't think Bradley would mind if you agreed to watch Jer. Frankly, the two of you could use the practice.

"Hey!" Cam called out as soon as you walked inside. "Hurry up, I'm starving."

You rolled your eyes as you made your way over to the table and scooted into the seat next to him. "You're always hungry," you mumbled as he handed you a menu even though you both knew exactly what you'd be ordering. "Where's Maria?"

"Late," Cam grumbled. "If she brings Bob with her again, I'll be so annoyed. I need a hot aviator in my life."

And that's when you saw her through the side window. You smacked Cam's bicep and silently pointed to where Maria was standing out on the sidewalk, snaking her arm up around Bob's neck. They were talking. They were just talking. Until they weren't. Bob leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. Then it was over, and you were kind of shocked as Maria made her way inside the restaurant. 

"They're fucking," Cam whispered harshly, smacking your thigh repeatedly under the table as she made her way over like absoltuely nothing just happened out on the sidewalk.

"I can't believe they are hooking up," you hissed, grabbing his hand and shoving it back to his lap just as Maria strolled over to the table.

"Morning," she practically sang. "How was Annapolis?"

"I went to Waffle House," you blurted out like a weirdo. "And a cemetery."

She laughed and picked up her menu. "I was more interested in how your presentation went, but I do love a good Waffle House breakfast."

You and Cam were both silent for a few beats before he quickly and loudly asked, "How long have you been fucking Bob?"

She was looking back and forth between the two of you with her mouth hanging open. "Well... listen... it's not my fault he's so funny and sweet and smells so good!"

That was proof enough for you, but she was practically gushing with details, and you couldn't wait to get home and tell Bradley.

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

"Maria and Bob are sleeping together! In the same bed! And having sex!" you announced as soon as you walked in the front door. "Oh, and Cam and Maria say hi."

Bradley looked up from the notebook where he was sitting on the couch and said, "Yeah, I forgot to tell you about that."

"How did you know?"

As you settled on the couch with your head resting on his thigh, Bradley let his hand come up to your belly. "I ran into Bob one morning last week, and it couldn't have been more obvious, Baby Girl."

You yawned and snuggled in. "You should have told me," you scolded softly. "I saw them kissing. It was the sweetest thing in the world."

Bradley stroked your soft skin as you started to doze. "Nah. You're the sweetest thing in the world." A smile curled along your lips as he juggled the Nugget Notebook to his other thigh and continued to write, this time about how much he loved you.

He let you sleep until you woke on your own and suggested the two of you take a beach walk with Tramp. You were gorgeous, practically glowing in the August sunlight, and that's when Bradley realized it was two years ago almost to the day since the first time he saw you. Since he met the woman who changed his life. You were currently talking about work as you held his hand and smiled as you pulled him along the sand, but he dug his heels in until you came to a stop.

"Roo?" you asked, looking up at him as Tramp pulled on the leash in his other hand. 

Two years. He'd spent over a dozen years before that going through the same routine every day but essentially gaining nothing in the process. Work and women and hitting the bar. Shit. Then you had him tearing his life down to the studs just like the attic the first time he laid eyes on you. All he wanted to do was make himself good enough so you'd keep looking at him and smiling at him just like you were right now.

"What's wrong?" you asked, reaching up to touch the scars on his cheek. Your hand was gentle and soft, and he covered it with his own so you'd keep it right where it was. He had a family again. Something he'd given up on until he met you, but then you made impossible things seem possible again. You loved him in spite of himself, or maybe because of himself. You took the loneliness away.

"Nothing's wrong, Sweetheart," he promised, mesmerized by the sunlight on your face. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for you. Of course that's when you pulled your hand free from his cheek, made a miserable face and ran for the trash can at the beach path entrance. Bradley rubbed your back as you threw up and moaned about how much the nugget didn't like avocados. 

Then he took you home and attempted to replicate the steak dinner again after you took another nap. He thought he did a pretty decent job with minimal help. The two of you shared a plate, and you sat on his lap while Tramp begged for some scraps. "You ready to go back to work tomorrow?" he asked as you ate some garlic mashed potatoes that weren't quite as creamy as when you made them.

"No," you groaned. "I just want to sleep. But I'm sure Bickel will want to meet so we can fill him in on everything from Annapolis."

He kissed your cheek and whispered, "Maybe we can drive in together tomorrow? Just to spend a little extra time together in the morning?"

You dropped your fork and wrapped your arms around his neck. "You're so sweet, Roo. I can't handle it right now when I'm this horny!"

His eyes went wide as you reached for the front of his shorts. "Holy hell," he groaned, setting his own fork down as you touched him. "I might have to visit you at lunchtime tomorrow, yeah?"

"Please," you whined, your voice just making him harder. 

Bradley would never get enough of you. The fact that you demanded a quickie during dinner before returning to your food made his head spin. The fact that you sat on the piano bench with him when you were both done eating while he played a few songs for the nugget made him smile. The fact that you and he were going to be parents left him breathless. 

The ride to work in the red Bronco the next morning consisted of some serious hand holding while you drank a can of ginger ale while he drove. "I can't wait for the next appointment with Dr. Morris," he whispered as he kissed your knuckles. "I want some more ultrasound photos."

You laughed as you looked up at both visors which were practically covered with the little baby pictures. "You didn't get enough last time?"

"We need more," he said firmly. "We can tell your parents pretty soon, and then we can tell everyone else. I want to hand the photos out like cigars."

You were still laughing as he parked in the garage on base, and you walked into the building holding hands. He had fifteen minutes until his work hours technically started, and he didn't really care who saw. Bradley kissed you next to the elevators with everything he had, letting you taste his mouth while he worshipped yours. "Go wow Bickel, Baby Girl. I'll come find you at lunchtime, okay?"

You nodded, and Bradley patted your ass as you finally got in the elevator to take you up to your lab. On the way to the locker room, he ran into Jake and Cat who appeared to be doing what you and he had been doing by the elevators. Bradley tried to sneak quietly past, but Cat saw him and pulled away from Jake who whined in response. 

"Morning," Cat said to Bradley as she walked away from Jake with a satisfied little smile. 

"Wow," Jake drawled as he watched her disappear around the corner. "Thanks for ruining the best part of my day, Bradshaw."

He chuckled as Jake followed him into the locker room. "It's not like you won't see her later."

"I won't," Jake whined. "Not alone anyway. She and I are taking Jeremiah to the movies with Hondo."

Bradley pulled a clean flight suit from this locker and started to get undressed. "So things went well between you and Uncle Bernie last week?"

Jake hummed as he yanked his own shirt off. "You could say that. We've come to a bit of an understanding. I understand that he's protective of Cat, and he understands that I'm not fucking going anywhere."

Bradley thought back to just a few months ago when Hondo was running Jake ragged with countless push ups and sprints. "Next thing I know, you'll be asking her and Jeremiah to move in with you."

"Oh, I already did that," Jake replied easily as he zipped his flight suit over his undershirt. "Yesterday."

Bradley stood there in his compression shorts and tank top. "And?" he asked, gesturing for more information. He loved being on the cutting edge of these things ahead of you, and he knew for a fact that Cat was like a steel trap in comparison to loose-lipped Jake. 

Jake shrugged with some annoyance on his face. "She said it's too soon. Then she told me how much she loves me. Then she gave me a blowjob. And now this morning she's making out with me like she can't stand to be apart. So... I don't really know what's up. But I've got plenty of space for both of them at my place, unlike at Hondo's." 

When Jake slammed his locker door, Bradley felt apologetic for putting a damper on his good mood. "You haven't been together for very long," he said cautiously. 

Jake rolled his eyes as he sat to put his boots on. "Longer than you and Angel were together before you bought her a house."

Oof. He was actually right about that one. "Yeah, but there's a kid involved, you know?"

Jake stood and smirked. "You've got one of those now, too."

Bradley looked around with wide eyes. "Keep it fucking quiet," he hissed, but Jake just laughed. 

"The only person with razor sharp hearing is Nat, and if she can hear me all the way from the ladies' room, then good for her," he replied. "See you in the hangar."

Bradley stood there for a few extra seconds in silence before finally pulling on his flight suit. Then he dug around in his locker until he found the ultrasound picture he'd tucked away and gave it a little kiss. The last thing he did before locking everything away was send you a text.

I already miss you. We should have just stayed in bed.

And then he was off to start another week up in the air. He got to the hangar before he ran into anyone else, and he already had his helmet in his hands when Maverick found him and gave him an envelope. Bradley took one look at the raised seal, and his heart plummeted to his feet. 

"No," he rasped, his dark eyes meeting those of his dad's best friend who just nodded at him before apologizing and walking away. "Fuck!" Bradley practically shouted before dropping his helmet to the ground and raking his fingers through his hair. He vaguely made out Nat's voice as he started to rip into the envelope with a level of fury he never felt before, because he never had both a wife and a baby on the way before. 

He skimmed the page before crumpling the paper in his fist and stared at the ground. His breaths were coming quick and shallow. His skin was crawling. He picked his helmet up and made his way toward his Super Hornet without a glance back toward the buildings.

When he eventually found you in your office at lunchtime, he had to watch your smile slowly fade away only to be replaced by sobs and tear filled eyes. 

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

That's a wrap on this series!! Omg, what a ride these two went on! I have a feeling the next one will be even wilder. Please stay tuned for some one-shots featuring Roo, Baby Girl, and the nugget. Then we will pick up later in her pregnancy with a brand new series!!!!! Thanks for all the love, reblogs and comments. They brighten my day and keep me motivated. Big thanks to @mak-32 and @beyondthesefourwalls

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@ughthisisntright

@bellaireland1981

@sagittarius-flowerchild

@mygyn

@yuckosworld

[aimbutmiss]

Shanks woke up way too early that day, having barely slept from excitement. He was practically bouncing on his bed as he waited for his cabinmate to wake up, but Buggy was pretty much out cold. His patience was running thin as he watched his friend breath in and out in his state of deep sleep. What did Buggy get him as a gift, he wondered. He did disappear for a bit at the last island they stopped by... Just thinking about it made him giddy.

Buggy finally stirred out of sleep, yawning as he stretched his arms. Shanks immediately jumped on him, not able to control his excitement.

"Good morning, Bugs!"

Buggy rubbed his eyes groggily. "You're too loud so damn early..."

"It's not early at all! And sorry, heh." Shanks finally lowered his voice. He waited for his friend to say something, but he just pushed him away and got up.

"You stink." was all Buggy said as he made his way to the bathroom.

So, no immediate birthday wishes. That was fine. Buggy was never a morning person, and he was still sleepy and grumpy. He'd come to after washing his face.

Except, he didn't. No one else did either. It was like any regular day on the ship, and no one wished him a happy birthday.

Shanks went on his day like usual, doing his chores except with a big frown. He tried peppering in hints about the special occasion in his conversations, but no one seemed to pick up on it. As the day went on, his sadness grew and grew. Did no one care about him enough to remember his birthday? He was turning 14, yet all the excitement of it died in him. Roger cared every year to throw parties for him and Buggy, why would he suddenly forget? It didn't make any sense. And even if no one remembered, he always believed Buggy would. But here he was, going about his day like usual and ignoring him.

Shanks had never felt so unwanted and unloved before.

Towards the evening, Rayleigh came into the cellar as Shanks was cleaning up. He made a move to leave but Rayleigh halted him with a touch.

"You can't leave yet. I have something to tell you."

Shanks' eyes grew bigger and he bit his lips in excitement. This was it! Of course, Rayleigh would remember. The man loved to act tough but he was a big softie on the inside.

"You missed a spot. Mop it better."

...

"Okay..."

Shanks felt tears sting in his eyes as he turned around to mop the floor. The sound of Rayleigh's steps as he went up the stairs blurred in the background. Maybe he had always been a stupid chore boy to them. No one cared. And maybe, Buggy really meant it when he said he was a bother... He sniffled as the wet mop dragged on the wooden surface.

He wanted to run away, but he had no where to go to in the middle of the ocean. God, he hated this. He really didn't want to pity himself, but the tears weren't stopping. He heard footsteps and turned around to see Buggy at the entrance.

"Oi, idiot-" He stopped when he saw Shanks' teary face. "What's wrong?"

Shanks angrily wiped away his tears and turned away to hide his face. "It's nothing. Just leave me alone."

"Don't give me that, you asshole!" Buggy stomped over angrily and... held his face? He gently wiped away the tears with a swipe of his thumb.

"What are you doing?" Shanks asked between sniffles.

"Giving you time to cool off, so you don't embarrass yourself when we go up."

Shanks' brows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Everyone's waiting for you, so just calm down and breathe. You wouldn't want them to know you were crying, right?"

Shanks took a second to do as his better half said, still not quite understanding but feeling better with Buggy by his side. Once his face was less red and the teartracks were nowhere to be seen, Buggy held his hand and led him up the stairs. A big commotion happened when they emerged from the door.

"SURPRISEEEE!!!"

Shanks looked around in confusion, the sound of confetti popping startling him. There was a big, red cake in the middle of the deck with everyone huddled around it. The huge banner hung between the polls read "Happy Birthday Shanks!"

Roger made his way over to Shanks and gave him a big, squeezing hug. "My boy's a man now! Can't believe you've grown this much. 14, huh? How time flies."

He pulled away with a smile but it dropped immediately once he realised the boy in his arms was crying. "What's wrong, boy?!"

Rayleigh watched the panicked captain with a pained expression, sighing with crossed arms. "I don't think the surprise party was a clever idea like you thought, Captain."

After the misunderstanding was cleared, the party commenced in full speed. Music was playing, gifts were being exchanged, Shanks even got to blow the candles and make a wish. He wished for the same thing he did every year, looking over at Buggy and closing his eyes before blowing out the flame.

Later down the evening, Buggy approached Shanks, who was shoving cake in his mouth like his life depended on it.

"I can't believe you cried again after I tried so hard to not embarrass you."

Shanks turned to Buggy with a smile and frosting covering his face. "I don't care about that! I was just so relieved... I really thought you had forgotten."

Buggy shook his head. "As if I ever could, you dumbass."

He pushed a small, red box into his hands. Shanks eagerly opened it to find a small friendship bracelet, matching the one his friend was wearing. He immediately put it on with a smile. "Thank you, Buggy!"

Buggy rubbed his nape as red spread across his cheeks. "It's nothing big, but a lot of my budget went into the other thing so I didn't have many options..."

"Other thing?"

Buggy motioned to the box again, which was empty except for a piece of paper. Shanks turned to him in confusion.

"It's my Vivre Card."

Shanks stared at him in pure surprise, his eyes widened like saucers. "Seriously?!"

"Yes, seriously." Buggy smiled shyly. "I still can't believe you genuinely thought I forgot... I'll never leave you alone, especially not on your birthday. And if I do, you can always find me with this."

Shanks got teary eyed once again, staring at his friend with vulnerable eyes. "Really, never? You promise?"

"Oh my God, don't you dare cry again!" Buggy yelled, but didn't waste one more second to reply. "I promise."

It had been 25 years since then. Now Shanks, age 39, sat alone in a corner of his ship, somehow having managed to ran away from the party his crew threw for him. He stared at the Vivre Card on his palm, motioning somewhere far into the horizon, wondering where his friend was and how he was doing.

Never, huh...

Oh, how he wished Buggy had kept his promise, and he didn't lack the guts to follow him.

Maybe next year, he thought to himself, like he did year after year.

[impactedfates]

Yay requests are now open! So can I request a reader who is yanqing's sibling who plays sympathetic immersia (video game equivalent in Luofu) Genshin that Guinafein introduces them to it, even JY knew the game's hype and reader is immersed with the game's scenery, music and archon quests Reader also would blush every time they see genshin fanart of Wanderer or Xiao. Yanqing and JY would notice how they would look down and grin widely in their phone screen. Also the early AR shenanigans like unlocking dragonspine, trying to ice bridge to Inazuma and getting yeeted by a hilichurl and ofc the infamous dendro slime attacking when exploring Liyue. Overall, reader plays it and YQ is curious and JY is interested

★ A/N: If that were me they would hear me screaming at night when I get my various different characters (esp Kaveh and Zhongli) I hope you like this anon :>

☆ Genre/Trope: Platonic + Fluff

★ Format: Mini Scenarios (Separate)

☆ Warnings: None (I think?)

★ Extra: Reader is older then Yanqing // Readers job is whatever you want their job as // Father JY :D

Jing Yuan's heard of the game before however it wasn't until he heard you yelling in delight over a 5* you had gotten that he found out you were one of the many people that also has a delight in playing the game.

He's amused to see how much you like certain characters and how you, in your words, "simp" for others. In fact, I honestly think you probably did the "My parents rate Genshin Characters" trend with him. He ranked most of the characters very highly honestly. (He especially liked Cyno along with some of the sleepy characters like Lisa, Layla and Sayu)

Honestly he's very amused by all your reactions throughout the game, the audible gasps you may do when something surprises you, the loud cursing when you're fighting an enemy and the cries when you lose your 50/50 (maybe if you ask nice enough he'll give you his credit card)

I'd think he wishes to try out the game himself, however with the fact he's busy with General duties he doesn't get much time to really play. However he does get all the characters he wants with just a swipe of his card, however he's stuck at level 45 as a) no time to really continue and b) he honestly seems like the type to not bother with the ascension mission and in fact wants it to build up till he knows he's AR 60. THEN he'll actually do it.

Overall, he doesn't mind that you play it and enjoys it himself when he can. However don't expect him to be so willing to give you his card so you can get the Genesis Crystals to get the characters you want.

(Also I see his team consisting of off-field dps like Xiangling and Furina so he can just sit back and relax as they do the fighting and he doesn't need to lift a finger much)

I feel like Yanqing was already a player. Like he joined when it was first released but he didn't really play much. He'd log in once or twice a week then not log in for months. It's not that he isn't interested, he is. It's just he has things he enjoys more.

When he finds out you play it then he might be more inclined to try harder at it, so the two of you can do some sibling bonding time and play. Depending on AR levels between the two of you, he's either asking you to help defeat bosses when he still cannot after the nth time or you both can cry as you die to the electro hypostasis.

I feel like his luck is like, amazing as well. Like he got Keqing on the beginner banner and managed to get a good 5* weapon for her on the standard. And he's always won his 50/50s

However his luck cannot be transferred to how his artifact luck is. It takes his weeks upon weeks to get ONE decent artifact for his new 5* Ayaka.

He still doesn't play much but his game time has increased a lot more and he can understand why you like it so much...however he cannot understand why you seem to like certain characters and beg him to get you merch of them for your birthday.

He definitely struggled in DragonSpine and thought pyro and cryo characters were immune to sheer cold.

Overall, he understands a lot where you're coming from when it comes to gameplay and lore but when it comes to you simping over certain characters then he can't help but feel confused, and if he particularly dislikes a character you simp for. Perhaps disgusted (jokingly and lovingly of course)

(I'm unsure what his team would be, but he'd be a mono sword team imo)

Honestly, with my personal experiences with Genshin. I thankfully did not struggle with DragonSpine (not as much as other people did)

.

.

.

However, I will say that I probably should've started building sooner. I only started once I hit about AR 56 and finished most of the Inazuma quest (don't ask me how I survived, idk either lmao)

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

Every Little Thing *He* Does is Magic, Chapter 1

Pairing: Platonic Steven Grant x Reader (for now)

Rating: T

Word count: ~1,250

Story Summary: The events of Every Little Thing She Does is Magic, retold from Reader's perspective after the fact to her best friend.

Tags/Warnings: Companion fic, canon Divergent since Steven still works for the British Museum post-canon, No Jake Lockley, developing friendship, spoilers for ELTSDiM

A/N: Reader wanted to publicly lust over Steven. I don't make the rules. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Once I get this caught up to the present timeline in ELTSDiM, I will be posting the chapters concurrently (or as concurrent as possible, anyway).

Y/F/N Y/L/N sighed as she unlocked the door to her apartment and walked inside.

She shut the door and hung her bag on the hook before setting her keys in the bowl on the side table in the hall. Thank goodness this place came furnished.

She had just walked into the kitchen when her phone rang with a FaceTime request.

Y/N grinned and swiped to answer. “Hey, Ames.”

“Tell me everything,” Amy, Y/N’s best friend since college, said in reply. “How was your first day as director of the British Museum?”

Y/N let out a light laugh. “It was interesting, to say the least. I just walked in the door, so give me a second to pour myself a glass of wine and I'll tell you all about it.”

She opened a cabinet and grabbed a wine glass before setting it on the counter. “I still can't believe I actually got the job.”

“I can,” Amy replied. “You single-handedly turned the university’s museum from a struggling, run-down relic into one of the most prestigious in the country in less than 5 years. You deserved this, girl.”

Y/N took a bottle of wine out of her refrigerator and poured herself a glass. “Thanks, Ames. That means a lot.”

She put the bottle back in the refrigerator then picked up her glass and moved to the sofa. “Okay, so… first thing I did when I got there was meet my assistant, Helen, who's this kinda older lady but seems pretty cool. Then I met the board of trustees, then I took a little break and was able to wander around the museum a bit.”

“You went straight to the Egyptian exhibit, didn't you?” Amy asked.

Y/N grinned. “How’d you guess?”

“Well let's see, you took every single Egyptology class you could in college, you were Dr. Reynolds’s only choice for T.A., and your doctoral thesis was on the excavation of King Tut’s tomb and whether or not it had been done ethically.”

Y/N laughed. “Okay, fair. Anyway, while I was in there, this guy came up to me and started talking --”

Amy gasped. “Wait, you met a guy? Why didn't you lead with that? Tell me more!”

Y/N shook her head with a grin. Amy, who had gone on to become a best-selling writer after college, was a hopeless romantic and had seemingly made it her life’s mission to ensure that Y/N was just as happy as she and her husband Blake were. “Okay, so there I was, looking at the statue of Mekhit, when this really attractive British guy comes up and tells me that the sign on it is wrong.”

“Was it?”

“Yeah, it actually was. The placard said it was Menhit, who is a completely different goddess. Anyway, so the guy starts explaining the difference between the two, but not in like, a mansplainy way or anything, and he was so adorably cute and excited about it that I just stood there and listened to him talk.”

“Did you get his number?”

Y/N shook her head. 

“What? Why not?”

Y/N took a sip of her wine before answering. “So we're vibing, right? Then I make a joke about accidentally praying to the wrong god because of a spelling error when suddenly the guy says, ‘oh yeah, I've been trying to get my bosses to fix this one for months now. Took them ages to fix the banner depicting the Ennead’.”

Amy's face fell. “Oh, you're shitting me.”

Y/N shook her head. “Nope. I shit you not.”

“He works there?”

“Yep. His name is Steven and he works in the gift shop.”

“Hold up, he's not even a tour guide?”

“Nope, he’s just really knowledgeable about Egyptian history. Trust me, I was just as shocked when I figured that out.”

“So then what happened?”

“Then he asked me if he could show me his favorite exhibit and took me to see Hathor.”

Amy groaned. “Ugh, that would have been so romantic had he not been an employee.”

“I know.” Y/N shook her head. “Anyway, he was telling me about how cool Hathor is when we were interrupted by this woman who I figured must've been another employee, because as soon as Steven tried to make a break for it she started in on him about ‘not bothering the museum visitors’ and how he ‘wasn’t a bloody tour guide’ and how his job is to ‘sell rubbish to whiny brats and their caretakers’, then said that the new museum director was ‘some poncy American’ when Steven asked her who it was -- all while still within earshot of me, mind you.”

Amy made a face. “Ugh, she sounds like a real piece of work. Who the hell even does that?”

Y/N took another sip of wine. “I know, right?”

“Oh, honey, I'm sorry.”

Y/N shrugged. “It's just as well. Steven had no idea who I was at the time either, and honestly, now that I think about it I'm not even sure he even had been flirting with me.”

“Still, though, that sucks.”

“It actually turned out okay, because when I got back to my office I had Helen pull Steven’s employee information file and girl, he was SO overqualified to be working in a museum gift shop.” Y/N grinned. “You remember how I told you that the tours were boring and that the first thing I wanted to do was to try to update them but the position for the head of programming and tours was vacant?”

Amy nodded. “Yeah.”

“Well, guess who's now the new Visitor Engagement Specialist?”

Amy shook her head with a light laugh. “Look at you, making lemonade out of lemons.”

“And not only that, but it turns out that the woman that had been rude to Steven was the gift shop manager, so after I talked to Steven again this afternoon and offered him the Visitor Engagement Specialist position I called her to my office for a little ‘chat’. Oh, Ames, you should've seen the look of sheer panic when she sauntered into my office, saw me standing there, and realized that she had both berated a subordinate and shit-talked me basically to my face.”

Amy nodded in approval. “Slay, queen, slay.”

Y/N shook her head. “Because it was my first day and I didn't want to have to fire someone right off the bat I reminded her of the museum’s policy on bullying and harassment and gave her a warning instead.”

“That's very diplomatic of you.”

“Anyway, I'm meeting with Steven on Friday to discuss his ideas for revamping the tours, and since we're getting some new artifacts in on Thursday I asked him to also sit in on my meeting with the curatorial staff while we discuss placement.”

Amy wiggled her eyebrows. “Hey, at least you'll have some eye candy.”

Y/N laughed and shook her head. “Not even gonna think about that since there's no point.”

“Ah well, at least you tried.” Amy glanced down at the corner of her screen. “I gotta run -- I have a Zoom meeting with my editor in 5 minutes.”

Y/N nodded. “Okay, I'll talk to you again soon. Give Blake my love.”

“Will do. Bye!”

Y/N tapped at her phone to end the call and smiled. Despite getting off on the wrong foot with Donna, all in all her first day as director of the British Museum had turned out pretty well. I think I'm going to like it there.

[imawreck]

Demands

Pairing: Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier x Original Character

Summary: Banner delves deeper into his research about Snow’s genetic alterations, and Bucky gets some time to share a moment with Snow.

Warnings: None, just some little tiny angst if you squint.

Word Count: 3,129

Snow-

Doctor Banner glided a device attached to the arm of a white machine over my bruised and battered abdomen, displaying the image of my healing insides. Each time he scanned over me the image became less muddled and showed a more healed wound.

He spoke with a light flitter of wonder in his voice, "Months of recovery in a matter of hours. It's astonishing."

I pulled myself up as gently as I could, my body ached from the events of the day and my energy was draining quickly from the wound healing on my side. It takes a lot out of me to heal this fast, especially if I'm willing it to stitch together faster. My body is working on overdrive to right the injury, meaning all of my resources are put towards healing while depleting my energy nearly enough to knock me out on the spot. I tugged the gap in my suit back over the area. "It's tiring." I winced as I pushed myself to the edge of the table.

Banner sent me a wary glance, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, healing like this just takes lots of energy I don't have right now. I need some rest." I gave him a subtle smile. I'm sure I looked awful all covered in blood and sweat. I felt awful, but he gave me a kind smile in return none the less.

Just as I was about to make the trek off the table and up to my rooms, a body came jogging through the door. His blue eyes were searching and worried, and when they landed on me a sigh escaped him. I shot Bucky a wry smile, "I told you I'd be back."

A smile grew on his face too, but quickly dropped a little as he made his way over to the table I sat on. Banner continued to actively ignore us and focus hard on the x-rays in front of him. Bucky's finger swiped delicately over my cheek as his eyes traveled over me. A pinch of pain rose from the contact. "You're bruised... " I could tell he wanted to say more as he swiped his fingers over some dried blood clinging to my arm.

I shook my head, gently patting my healing side, "Don't worry about it, I'm alright. The bruises will leave once this is gone."

He frowned at that, "Steve said it was pretty bad out there. Everyone looked exhausted."

I stared at the floor as memories of the fight flashed behind my eyes. "He's right, it was bad. The soldiers were strong, and the team was struggling against them. Steve was afraid, I could smell his fear in the air."

Both Banner and Bucky looked at me strangely at that. Bucky's frown deepened, "You could smell his fear?"

"Yeah, I can tell when people are afraid. I can smell other things too, but fear is the strongest. Something to do with pheromones or something like that." I looked at Bucky, giving him a lopsided grimace, "I think Steve is afraid of me."

Bucky shook his head almost automatically. "No, Steve isn't afraid of you. I'm sure he's not."

"It's okay, it doesn't bother me if he is. He has every right to be." I shrugged, wincing.

Bucky's hand twitched up at my pain but dropped back after a moment. "You should get some rest. I'll help you back to your room." He slipped his flesh arm under one of my own and half lifted me, half dragged me off of the table and onto my feet. He was patient as we made our way towards the doors.

Banner had wandered over to a notebook in the corner and had begun to write vigorously across its pages. He spoke after us, "Snow, I would like to run some more tests when you are fully recovered. I want to look into some more of your genetic enhancements."

I couldn't help the anxious frown that flashed across my face, too exhausted to control my outward appearances any longer. Bucky seemed to notice my discontent and paused, turning just enough for Banner to see his face. "I think you've tested her enough for now, don't you?"

Doctor Banner stuttered at this, "I-I'm sorry, you're right. Don't worry about it Snow, it can wait." He sent me a nervous smile before Bucky tugged us back into motion.

Even with one arm, Bucky was surprisingly strong. He managed to haul my tired limp form all the way down the hall, through the elevator, and down another hall to make it to my door. By the time we had made it, I was barely warding off sleep. My body was shutting down in efforts to keep functioning along with healing. He pressed the door open with his shoulder, gently pushing me in first and following as I stumbled forward. Bucky's grip was strong but in a gentle manner as he maneuvered me onto the plush mattress and adjusted the covers.

Through the haze of my mind, I managed to get out a couple words of thanks before I drifted off into the darkness tugging at my eyelids.

_____

Bucky-

For someone who could manage to throw a 260-pound man around like a rag doll, Snow sure was light. Even with one arm out of commission I could easily carry her body weight against me all the way to her room. She was barely holding on to her consciousness, obviously drained from whatever was going on with her body. Snow fought for a moment longer and her voice was light and filled with kindness, "Thank you, Winter."

My heart panged at the name, but I didn't have it in me to correct her. She had drifted off right afterwards, her face relaxed and her lashes brushed against her cheeks. I was reminded once more of how beautiful she was. Her hair was getting longer, naturally white and a little curly if you looked at her long enough. Her brows were slim and dark, contrasting her light hair and complexion. She had a little tan despite the lack of sun in the mountains where they’d kept her for so long, and her features were soft, nothing like what I had initially thought when I first saw her in that room. Back then she looked sharp as a knife, her whole body was a weapon. Now, up close, it seems that wasn't the case at all.

I found my hand on her face in the midst of my thoughts, brushing away a stray piece of hair behind her ear. I stepped back from the side of her bed, dragging myself away from her and trying to figure out the hurricane of jumbled emotions I had been juggling for so long. It wasn't any use, but I felt like if I sorted it out then maybe I could...

What am I saying? I'm not worth that. I don't deserve that. She doesn't even see me as anything more than a mission.

I closed my eyes and gripped the door, clicking it closed behind me.

_____

Banner-

I studied the x-rays of Snow's healing wound in utter amazement. Her healing abilities were fascinating and absolutely world altering if applied in the right ways. I had shown them to Tony the day I had gotten the results. He was as equally as amazed as I was.

He had given me the job of studying her physical qualities and her genetic mutations to better understand her abilities for both her and the avengers in case of an emergency. Steve had come in later, after Bucky had taken her back to her rooms, with a handful of what looked like claws. Which turns out they were. He explained to me that she had... grown them, and used them in battle before they had simply fallen off when she had finished fighting. He had tossed them onto the table for me to study before he left, and they were nearly as amazing as her x-rays.

Her blood, I had found, was untraceable due to the mixed work Hydra had done to her, which made it more difficult to break down how she made her body do the things it did. I had to find the baseline, her actual DNA, in the mess of all the other strands jumbled around it.

The nails were still mostly the same genetic makeup as the average human, but they resembled animal claws much like a large cat would have. She had physically altered the way her nails grew and how fast with her regenerative healing, strengthening them far more than the average persons to make them durable for battle. It was incredible.

The next day, Tony ordered Snow to the lab with me for another checkup. She came in with a bowl of cereal in hand, explaining that after major damage is received, she has to make up for the resources used up to heal it and I quickly jotted it down in my notes. Bucky watched from the other side of the glass doors with a wrinkle in his brow as I scanned her once more to make sure she was fully healed. Which she was. Completely, not even a scar left to tell the story. I sent her off after I was finished and watched as they walked into Tony's lab next door.

I turned away, looking back up at the screen in front of me, wondering if I could find and recreate her regenerative quality for... something else. I sat at my desk, staring at my notes, and got to work.

_____

Bucky-

Snow busied herself around Tony's lab collecting several tools in order for her to fix my arm. She ordered me to sit in the singular office chair Tony kept in the room and rolled over a short metal table right next to it presumably for her to work on my arm as we sat. I plopped down in the chair and watched her pick up a couple more items, juggling them in her arms before making her way over and dropping them on the table beside me.

She heaved her shoulders in a huff, "Alright, if you'll set it on the table, I'll see what I can do." She smiled warmly and my stomach flipped.

I nodded, using my good arm to lift the useless chunk of metal onto the table for her to examine. She wasted no time taking note of the multiple bent plates and a few internal joints that shouldn't have been sticking out in between the gaps. I watched as she took a screwdriver and popped off the plates to take a look at the inside, setting the sections off to the side of the table and labeling them accordingly. She seemed to move in a way that told me she had done this more than once before. Her body was fluid in her movements and her hand scrawled out her labels without her batting an eye in their direction.

I swallowed a lump in my throat I hadn't realized was there. "You used to do this a lot, didn't you?"

She looked up from the pair of wires she held between her fingers, blinking a few times. "I told you I used to work on your arm, didn't I? I used to fix you up all the time after you came back from missions. You were always getting this thing banged up."

Of course, I thought, mentally cursing myself. I went quiet for a while, letting her work in silence.

Her brows furrowed after a while, and she paused with one of the plates held in her hand. "Do you... Do you ever remember anything? You don't have to tell me if you're not comfortable, I know how precious memories are." The distant look that passed over her face was hard to miss.

I thought hard on whether I should tell her about the memories I've had with her in them. The brief flash of sheets and pages flickered in my mind before heat crawled up my neck.

All the fragments I have had with her involved felt so intimate. I wasn't sure how well I could discern them from dreams. "I have broken memories, it's just pieces of a picture I can't put together."

Snow had hung onto every word I said, her whole body leaning forward at my confession. She was quiet for a moment, studying the piece of metal in her hand before getting up and walking over to some sort of scanner Tony had. She busied herself scanning the metal plate of my arm and a machine beside her whirred to life, spitting out hot metal and molding it into thin layers. She spoke as the machine worked, turning her head to look at me over her shoulder. "Did you remember something when we took the trip to the mall? The bookstore, I mean."

Another flicker of her hand in my metal one, gently folding and unfolding my fingers over hers. I nodded, unable to find my voice.

She nodded along with me, turning back to the machine as it completed an identical copy of the plate she had scanned, free of any damage. She let it cool before picking it up and setting it on the table with the others. Her fingers wrapped around the next plate, and she repeated the same action with it as she did the other, making brand new plates to replace the old ones.

While the machine got to work, she returned to her seat next to me and continued to fiddle with the internal parts of my arm. "That was the second to last time I got to see you before they put me in Cryo."

She hadn't looked up when she spoke, instead keeping her hands busy putting the plates back into their order. Her nimble fingers worked at something in my forearm as I stared at her face, waiting for her to continue.

"You had come to my quarters right after a mission in the middle of the night. Nearly scared the hell out of me when I woke up to the door creaking open." She smiled lightly, "You always wore this expression on your face, all tough business, but then you would look at me and smile." Her hair fell in front of her face, and she ran her hand through it only for the strands to fall again.

"You had made it a habit of showing up at my personal quarters instead of waiting for Commander to call me in the following day to check on you. I always knew there was a risk that we would get caught, but you and I both didn't seem all that bothered by it at the time." Her smile dropped as she clicked a plate into place, neatly folding a pair of wires behind it. "I had been reading that same book you gifted to me. It was something left behind from my father as a parting gift, and you had asked me to read it to you." She seemed to think upon the memory with great fondness. Her shoulders relaxed when she spoke of it and her eyes seemed alive at the thought.

I furrowed my brows as I remembered it too, her voice reading words from old pages. I could almost feel the pressure of her fingers against my palm. "I remember that. I remember you reading."

Her smile grew just a little and her eyes met mine just for a moment before she gave her attention back to my arm. "I had to make you leave later, you had fallen asleep on my bed. I didn't want you to get in trouble, so it wasn't too long. The sun hadn't even risen yet, but you were expected back."

I remembered her hand on my face, the warmth of it against my skin. "I told you I didn't want to leave."

Her eyes snapped up at that, wide and a little wary. "You did." I felt the last plate snap into place and my arm whirred back to life under her fingers. She smiled triumphantly, "All fixed up. Can you move everything okay?"

I clenched and unclenched my fist, bending my arm at the elbow and rolling my shoulder. Everything worked perfectly. “Wow, I'm impressed."

She gave me a sly smile, resting her hands against her hips in a defiant way, "I told you I could, I rival the Tony Stark. He said so himself."

Her grin grew at her statement, and I had to laugh at her ridiculously proud posture. I sat up in the chair, smiling at her. I was going to ask further about the memory, but Tony came around the corner wearing a business suit and a serious expression. I frowned, standing up next to Snow as she turned to see him.

"Hey, Tony," a flash of worry crossed Snow’s features, "What's wrong?"

He sighed, "The feds and I have been trying to interrogate Strucker all night, but he won't give in. He refuses to give us any information unless he can speak to you."

I stilled at this and watched as the information visibly affected her, stiffening her posture and wiping her face of all the happiness she had shown previously. Her gaze steeled and her fists clenched, "I thought he was going to be in a cell by now."

Tony raised his hand to swipe it down his face, "I know, so did I, but we need any information he has about the other Hydra pockets. We have to get rid of Hydra and we can't do that without leads."

Snow cursed under her breath, "What do you want me to do?"

"All you have to do is go in there and talk to him, cater to him just enough to get anything you can out of him and that's it. We can ship him off and that will be the last time you will ever have to see him."

I frowned at the fact he was asking this of her and didn't seem to understand the amount of stress he had just placed on her shoulders. "Tony-"

"I'll do it, but if he tries anything, I can't promise he will live past today. Do you understand?" Her voice was icy, and I was almost certain that even if Tony didn't agree with her statement, he knew he didn't have much room to argue.

He bobbed his head, "Crystal. Please come with me."

She turned to me, apology written across her face, "I'll see you later, Bucky."

I could only watch as she walked with Tony out of the room throwing one last wavering smile over her shoulder.

Tags<3

@blackbirdwitch22 / @cjand10 / @imdoingathingmom

[mc-cos-charm]

This one will be a short thing so don't expect much.

GENSHIN AU: SAGAU (a cult in later chap?)

"THE ONE WHO WOKE UP IN A DREAM"

Pronunciation of you: You, them/their, neutral.

Characters; 'you' for now , Klee , Amber . ???

Warning : self-harm , blood (please if you are not comfortable do not read) gore

3rd p.o.v

It isn't really that much of a big deal when it comes to doing your work and finishing it quickly. It just naturally happened that your phone was near you and is begging for you to play and entertain yourself rather than lousy work.

Your p.o.v

I picked up my phone that is near me , the wallpaper showed my favorite things. Apps I downloaded out of sheer boredom , swiping before seeing the GENSHIN app. It's like a daily thing to do , open GENSHIN . Log in . Do the dailies . Burn every raisin. Rage on artifacts that are not even half decent . Admire the characters I love, and or co-op with other players who will sometimes kick me out after they are done... Wait the last one is actually sad..

Just that and I have primos to pull on the latest banner, though I got qiqi while pulling on the event banner.

I yawn for a moment before looking at my work that is clearly not even half done.

'I'll do that later , just a few more seconds..'

3rd p.o.v

That is what you thought after falling asleep and seeing yourself in a rather....

peaceful place?

The warm sun , the smooth grass , the air that isn't polluted , well that is certainly new after being immune to industrial air but anyway , this is rather...

PANICKING SITUATION— I mean , you didn't do your work who knows when that'll be due...

Looking left and then right. Only the wind knows where you are.

Your p.o.v

'should there be a character that will say imposter like any other SAGAU right?'

I thought to myself before wandering off. The sky is cloudless and the sounds that surround me are only birds , nature and the nearby body of water.

"what does every imposter slash creator always do here again?" I mumbled out, grasping any fanfics and stories I had read over Tumblr, AO3 , quotav and Wattpad..

"right... What am I even wearing?",

it's not really an armor or anything that could save me if ever a character suddenly came and attacked me. It's just simple clothes.

I sat on a nearby tree , a huge one at that with the tree comes the anemo statue.

'Monsdadt'

"it would really help if I could have any clue on what I'm supposed to do..but right now , I'm just very confused"

I said before looking up . I could see how the leaves sway in a gentle manner , it creates some small gaps letting small lights in..

it's pretty, if you think about it .

it looks like the gaps create stars that you could only watch in daylight.

"ah wait , in things like this blood is important!"

I mumbled before pricking my finger , the blood was red and then it turned white? And then shimmer lightly before it became gold.

"yeah.. ill be hunted , bad." ,

it isn't much but , it's not like I have any energy to run, I mean.. I'm too tired..

If they want to kilL me then just do it so that there won't be any problem or if they want I'll gladly do it myself.

That was what I was thinking before seeing a shadow loom and stare at me

"hello? Are you lost?" A blond haired little girl said.

"I guess..." I answered reluctantly.

It's not that I'm lost , it's just that I'm quite tired for some reason. It's the feeling that the world itself is eating every ounce of my energy and forces me to sleep and be tired.

"well you're in luck! Because the best knight is right in front of you! My name is klee , nice to meet you" Klee said gleefully , looking at me with curiosity.

"I'm glad to fina– I'm glad to meet you klee , my name is '—————' ..." I said as I smiled at klee . The feeling of being sucked in an unknown reason is still making itself known to me. Does that even make sense? To me.. no , definitely not. What kind of monologue is that even?

"uhm... Sorry? May I know your name again?" Klee said , she somehow didn't recognize what you looked like but you are not a local from what you're wearing right now.

"oh , it's alright.. no need to apologize. My name is '————±±' , is it hard to pronounce?" I asked Klee who is looking more confused at me

"are you saying your name? Because all klee hears are just long tiiiinggg , like that and nothing more..." Klee said as she begins to look even more confused and troubled .

Will this be a problem in the future? Maybe ? But who knows?

"ah... I don't know.." I answered truthfully, even . I don't know what's going on .

"KLEE!!" A lady came in red , with a bow in her hand.

"come here! Right now Klee , quick!" The lady said before grabbing klee's arm gently yet firmly.

"excuse me.. but may I know—" , before realizing what's going on there was a painful throb in my head causing me to silence myself.

BLOOD ...

Pitter , patter , blood dropping into the ground.

There was someone else who aimed an arrow in my direction and cruelly shot me in the head.

It hurt ... IT HURTS ... MAKE IT STOP.

a low glow imitates around me before disappearing Infront of everyone.

Much to the ladies horror. Who would have thought that someone would aim and shoot at a stranger In front of them no less.

It was fast.

Everything happened too quickly and amber could only thank barbatos that she put her hand on klee's eyes before everything happened.

Alright .

That's a wrap up everyone , go to sleep now. It's 11:37 pm.

Though let me know if you guys want to continue this..

And could I have a favor with you , reader.

What will be your fake name or an alias ? You guys need a certain nickname to continue on this.

Let me know in the comments (⁠.⁠ ⁠❛⁠ ⁠ᴗ⁠ ⁠❛⁠.⁠)

, thank you for reading .

[justabigoldnerd]

Figured it was high time to make a banner for this one too 😆 This is my cat Clarice! I had to crop this one quite a bit to fit the banner size, so I'll add the original after the excerpt for those who want to see it 💕

Rules: post a kiss from any of your OCs/WIPs. Any kiss, from familial, pecks on the cheek, kisses on the forehead, to full blown steamy make-outs

This was my first experimental fic 🥺💕 "Perspective", the same fic written from each character's POV.

"A Rather Frightening Thing"

Taking a chance, he shifted his hand slightly and laced their fingers together. Illya, brow furrowed, looked at their hands, then back to Solo. The silence that passed between them was palpable. Solo's heart pounded in his chest. He hoped he hadn't made the wrong move. He didn't want to lose one of his only friends. "Tell me if I'm wrong. Tell me to stop," he breathed, then used his free hand to pull Illya to him by the back of his neck. Solo gingerly pressed an exploratory kiss to his lips. He tasted like honey and freshly fallen snow. Goosebumps snaked their way down his arms and Illya's stubble scratched his face. Illya dropped his hand and Solo's heart dropped, suddenly terrified that he'd made the wrong choice. But then he felt hands on the sides of his face, fingers buried in his hair, and Illya kissed him back. Solo swayed forward, relaxing into the motion.  They had to part for air after a while and they pressed their foreheads together, breathing heavily. "You don't have to be ashamed, Illya," Solo whispered. "Ya net, dorogoy. I am sorry," Illya's voice was strained, and Solo became aware of the taste of salt. He opened his eyes to see a tear-stained face. Solo used his thumbs to swipe away the treacherous streams and kissed him again. "Don't apologize. It's a rather frightening thing."

"I Am Scared Of Nothing"

Then his partner did the unthinkable. He turned his hand just enough to lace their fingers together. Illya furrowed his brow. Why? How? His eyes lingered at their hands, then flicked back to Solo's face. Solo looked absolutely petrified. Of him? Did Solo really think he would hurt him? "Tell me if I'm wrong," Solo breathed, and Illya suddenly became aware that he wasn't looking at his eyes anymore, "Tell me to stop." I could never. If Illya thought Solo holding his hand was unthinkable, what he did next was absolutely mind-blowing. Solo's free hand snaked up his shoulder and cradled the back of his neck, pulling him impossibly close, then kissing him. Napoleon Solo, the famed womanizer, delicately captured Illya's lips with his own. He tasted like coffee and petrichor. Illya could survive on Solo's mouth alone. He dropped Solo's hand, only to grasp his face, burying his fingers in his hair as he kissed him back. Solo rose up to meet him, making Illya's heart soar. Bottled up emotions exploded out of him all at once. Fear, love, guilt, want, shame, devotion. It all spilled down his face in blasphemous salt water rivers. They parted for air, foreheads pressed together. "You don't have to be ashamed, Illya," Solo breathed. A sharp coil wound itself around Illya's heart. He never meant to make Solo think he was ashamed of him. "Ya net, dorogoy. I am sorry," he shuddered, fighting back a sob that threatened to wrack him. Only Solo could make Illya Kuryakin, previously the KGB's most ruthless agent, feel emotions so deeply. Illya felt Solo wipe away the tears that had dared to fall. He kissed him again and whispered, "Don't apologize. It's a rather frightening thing." Utterly terrifying are the words Illya would have used. "I am scared of nothing," is what he said instead, trying to growl the words like a threat, but failing miserably.

Gonna alternate between leaving an Open Tag and tagging folks so people aren't tagged for this game every Friday for the next 40+ Fridays 😀

Clarice, the full image!

[tamelee]

i gotta say that wattpad sns fics kinda hit different

i might be biased because i read my first sns fics on wattpad but they lowkey kinda just capture my attention plus the reader comments on random sentences lmao

where do you think is the best place to read sns ff?

Hi @mxhirus ! Oh I have a confession to make... I've never read SNS fics outside of ao3. It's definitely ao3 for me, but that may be biased from me as well>< I got scolded by my friend because my opinion on y/n fics isn't great, so she sent me a few from Tokyorev to read on Wattpad. Well, my opinion didn't change after reading them. I have thoughts on this... But I'll digress... Reading on Wattpad is annoying, I don't like it. Do you pay for it? These advertisements in between are obnoxious. If you don't 'save' the story then forget finding it again because it's literally gone when the stupid app logs you out every time for no reason. Sometimes it doesn't swipe correctly and it sends you a chapter back, but before you can correct that mistake, you first have to sit through a bunch of advertisements again omg. (Unless you of course pay which is a question that pops up every chapter too -.-) And they're loooooong as well D: Or ugh, those banners that literally cover the text, hello??? None of this is an issue on ao3. The little side-comments... I guess it's nice to read in between? I'm not sure if I'd feel the same as a writer though. There was one fic where the writer made a decision and there were a bunch of comments saying how they were going to quit reading and bashing them. It's a bit of a double-edged sword I think.

[ghostboneswrites2]

Doe Eyes - CH10 - Terminus

Chapter List

Warnings: Terminus stuff

Banners credited on the masterlist!

      Rick sat trembling against the car, still shaken up from the events of the night before. None of you had slept, save for Carl, who was asleep in the car in Michonne's lap.

        You and Daryl were off in the trees. You were cleaning his wounds with your moonshine and his red rag he always carried. 

        "Can't believe you still had that." He commented, referring to the booze.

        "Figured it'd come in handy." You told him. He winced a little as you touched a particularly tender spot. "Sorry, just trying to get this cut cleaned up."

        "It's alright." He said. 

        "Are you okay?" You asked him.

        "Will be. Always am." He shrugged.

        "Yeah, we all find ways to be okay, but.. Are you okay after everything, I mean?" You asked. He gave you a questioning look, like he always did when he pushed his brows together and squinted his eyes. "I mean, the prison, then Beth... You guys were close."

        "We'll find her." He told you. "Especially now that we got Rick and Michonne."

        "Yeah." You nodded with a sad smile. "Shitty way to reunite, if you ask me."

        He huffed and nodded.

        "I agree." 

        "So, how are we gonna find her?" You wondered.

        "Don't know yet but we ain't givin' up."

        "You think those Terminus people got her?" You asked.

        "Don't know. What kind of sanctuary would kidnap a girl off the street like that?"

        "Maybe they thought she needed help." You suggested.

        "Mm." He nodded. "Might be worth a shot." Silence befell the two of you as you finished dabbing his wounds. When you handed his rag back and went to close up the moonshine, he stopped you, hand around your wrist. It was much more gentle this time than when he grabbed your face that night by the train track. You looked at him with confusion, and he just stared back at you with an unreadable expression. Then, he sat up straighter, dipped the rag in the moonshine, and wiped your face.

        "I'm not hurt." You told him.

        "You're dirty." He said, as he wiped the grime away. You watched his eyes as they seemed to trail over every feature of your face, following his rag as he swiped it ever so gently over your skin.

        When he finished you both packed up and stood.

        "Guess smellin' like moonshine is better than whatever gnarly stench I'm probably putting off, nowadays." You joked with a little smirk before the two of you headed back to the others.

----

        The five of you set off, following the tracks toward Terminus. It was mostly silent. Michonne caught up to Rick and they started a soft, quiet conversation.

        Carl fell back to where you were, and Daryl trailed right behind you.         

        "Hey, kid." You nudged his shoulder with a smile. "It's good to see you again." He didn't smile back, but he nodded. "You holdin' up okay?" You asked.

        "Yeah." He said, with a deep breath. "We're close to Terminus now. Everything will be better."

        He seemed to be assuring himself more than anyone.

        "You know, shit stains like those guys, they'll always be around. Even before the world went to hell, they were around doing terrible things. But, it's up to people like us to stay good, you know? I mean, maybe we have to do bad things sometimes to survive, but as long as we try, even just a little, to stay good, then we are good. And, if we stay good, and others like us stay good, then the world stays good, even with the bad in it." You said.

        He looked up at you, finally giving in to a little half smile, and he nodded.

        "Yeah." He said.

        Daryl listened from behind the two of you, watching the back of your head as you walked. Maybe you weren't soft and sweet like Beth, but you were still good. You were fit to survive in the world, but you weren't rotten because of it. He always looked at Beth like a soft fruit, just waiting to be eaten or turned sour. You, though, you were more like a well protected fruit. Hard on the outside but still sweet on the inside. It would take a lot to break you open or spoil the things that made you good.

        You all stopped when you came across another Terminus sign buried in some leaves. It must have fallen off the post or something.

        "We're getting close." Rick said.

        "Be there before sundown." Daryl agreed.

        "Now we head through the woods. We don't know who they are." Rick suggested.

        "Alright." Daryl agreed, and you all veered off the tracks into the trees. Eventually you made it to their fences. 

        "We all spread out, watch for a while, see what we see, and get ready. We all stay close." Rick said. Nobody protested and everyone went to find a spot to watch from. "You don't want to stick with me?" He asked Carl as he went to step away w ith everyone else.

        "It's alright." Carl said as he walked away with Michonne.

        You followed behind Daryl in another direction, staying low and quiet, mimicking his steps as he tread carefully over the twigs and leaves.

        You both noticed Rick burying a bag of guns. He looked up at Daryl. "Just in case." He said.

        As a team, you infiltrated the fences, and silently ran through into a building. There was some kind of recording over an intercom. "Those who arrive, survive." It said. "Follow the map to the point where all lines intersect. There are maps at the crossings to help guide you with your journey."

        You all followed the voice, Daryl first, you behind him, then Rick, Carl, and Michonne. You came to a room where people seemed to be working at different stations, and a woman sat with a headset on, speaking into a microphone. "Those who arrive, survive."

        "Hello." Rick said, marching forward to approach her. "Hello." He said again, catching the attention of everyone else in the room. You all stood in a single file line, observing everyone around you.

        "Well, I bet Albert is on perimeter watch." A man in a gray jacket sighed. He seemed irritated at your presence. He approached slowly. "You here to rob us?"

        "No." Rick shook his head. "We wanted to see you before you saw us."

        "Makes sense." The man said, with a sarcastic kind of humor behind it. "Usually we do this where the tracks meet." He explained, clearing his throat and spreading his arms to motion to the room around him. "Welcome to Terminus. I'm Gareth. Looks like you've been on the road for a good bit."

        "We have." Rick nodded. "Rick. That's Carl, Daryl, (y/n), and Michonne."

        Garth threw up an awkward wave at you all. 

        "You're nervous, I get it. We were all the same way." He said, stepping closer. "We came here for sanctuary. That what you're here for?"

        "Yes." Rick said.

        "Good. You found it. Hey, Alex!" Gareth called to another guy, who stepped forward. "This isn't as pretty as the front. We got nothing to hide, but, the welcome wagon is a whole lot nicer. Alex will take you, ask you a few questions. Uh, but first, we need to see everyone's weapons. If you could just lay them down in front of you."

        You all looked back and forth to each other, silently questioning what you should do. Rick eventually nodded, signifying it was okay to obey, so you did. 

        "Alright." Rick said, kneeling down and unloading his weapons.

        "I'm sure you understand." Gareth said.

        "Yes I do." Rick confirmed.

        Once you all laid your weapons down, Alex claim to pat you all down, starting with Daryl.

        "Hate to see the other guy." He said, referring to Daryl's black eye.

        "Yes, you would." Rick told him.

        "They deserve it?" He asked, moving on to carl.

        "Yes." Carl replied sternly.

        "Just so you know, we aren't those kinds of people, but we aren't stupid, either. And you shouldn't be stupid enough to try anything stupid." Gareth explained. "As long as everyone's clear on that we shouldn't have any problems. Just solutions. Okay?"

        Alex went through and handed everyone's weapons back, except Daryl who grabbed his crossbow before Alex could touch it. "Follow me." He said, and you did.

        "How long's this place been here?" Daryl asked as you all followed Alex outside.

        "Since almost the beginning." He answered. "When all the camps got overrun, people started finding this place. Think it was instinct, you know. Follow a path. Some folks were headed to the coast, others out west, or up north, but, they all wound up here."

        He had led you to an outdoor area with a garden, a food stand, and lots of picnic tables set up around. 

        "Hi." A woman greeted. She was tending the little stand. "Heard you came in the back door. Smart. You'll fit right in here."

        She was grilling some kind of steak or something. It had a real nice char to it. Your mouth started to water. You couldn't even remember your last meal. Probably that rabbit that got Len killed.

        "Hey, Mary, would you fix each of these new folks a plate for me?" Alex asked her.

        "Why do you do it?" Michonne asked. "Why do you let people in?"

        "The more people that become a part of us, we get stronger." He answered simply, grabbing plates from Mary and passing them out. "That's why we put up the signs and let people in. "It's how we survive. Here." He said, holding a plate out to Rick, who didn't seem so willing to take it. You were following Rick's gaze as Alex spoke, and you thought you might have been picking up on the same things. A guy in riot gear, just like the prison had. A lady in a poncho that you recognized from somewhere. Then, you looked down at Alex's pants and noticed a watch chain. Rick must of noticed it too because he slapped the plate out of Alex's hand and snatched the watch, holding a gun to Alex's head. 

        You all raised your weapons, all of which were guns except you with your crowbar. 

        "Where the hell did you get this watch?" Rick asked. Alex didn't answer.

Masterlist

[loadedberetta]

Faded Red !gameTess x GN Reader

rating: M/18+

summary: Domestic Tess with a hint of angsty tension. The morning of when the first game begins, before Tess shows up at Joel's.

warnings: canon-typical violence mentioned; established relationship; partial nudity; sprinklings of angst; allusions to sex; small spoilers for the beginning of the first game

word count: ~960

find me on ao3 // MASTERLIST

banner by me

Let me reiterate, interact only if you're over 18. Proceed beyond this point with caution. Every work of mine has a general warning.

a/n: trying my wings. for My Woman™ Tess Servopoulos; lmk if I missed anything about GN reader

You startled awake as the door of your room opened with a deft click.

Tess' head poked in, soon followed by her nimble body in a light step. Not noticing her absence in bed sooner, you remorsefully looked up at her.

- Mornin-- - you choked on your words as you caught sight of her clothes (which were fresh for once); they were crumpled, and more importantly, splattered with blood. A nasty gash lay angry on her cheek, another above her brow.

- Christ, what happened to you? - you quickly jumped out of bed, hair tousled and vertigo slightly letting you down from the sudden rush of blood in your still half-asleep body.

- Don't worry, blood's not mine. Mostly - she shrugged like she didn't care. She walked over to the only drawer in the room and pulled out another shirt from it. It was your favorite, you always loved to see that tight red button-up on her. But you couldn't focus on it with her all messed up.

You wanted to ask whose blood it was then, but at the same time, you've grown to learn not to ask Tess questions like that.

- Okay… - you muttered instead, letting yourself sink back onto the bed. You didn't even try to help her with the injury, you knew how it would have ended with her getting butthurt about it.

- Fuckin' assholes - you heard Tess mutter.

- What, who? - you clung to her angry rambling to pull some information out of her.

- Robert - she spat as she practically tore her shirt off herself and threw it on the floor in one motion. - He knows we're after him, so he wanted to get me first.

You couldn't resist it anymore, so you got up from the bed and walked over to the half-naked Tess fuming at the other end of the room.

- But you're here - you tried to calm her, as usual. She didn't flinch away this time when you extended a hand toward her.

- There were two of them, and I was alone - she muttered softly as you took her jaw in your hand. She leaned into your touch and sighed, closing her eyes for a moment longer than a blink.

- You did what needed to be done, honey. I'm proud of you - you cooed into her neck as you planted a sweet kiss onto her bruised skin. It tasted of iron and smelled like the herbal-infused soap on the bathroom shelf.

- I'm going to Joel's - she murmured after the moment lingered between the two of you and the hint of lemongrass faded.

- Why? I thought you were-- - Joel and Tess had a nasty fight a few days before about some deal that FEDRA messed up for them, and they haven't talked since. You frowned at the mention of his name. You knew they were close, but you couldn't ever grow to trust him fully.

- I know, he wanted to be left alone. But he was supposed to come today, and he, well… didn't - she exalted with a hint of bitterness in her voice. She rested her hands on your hips as you adjusted the tousled bandana on her head.

- One day, I'm going to kill that man - you said as you turned to survey Tess' wounds.

- I would gladly do it myself, but he's just too damn good at what he's doin', sweetheart - she quipped back, her tone slightly more free. You smiled at her and planted a chaste kiss on her lips that earned you a small squeeze on the ass.

- I'll get the shirt clean, don't worry about it, okay? - you whispered to her as you swiped away a weeping drop of blood getting ready to flow down her face.

- And I'll get things sorted out with Joel. I-- - she stalled and pulled you a little closer, her bra brushing against your chest. - I have some info on Robert and this might be our best shot yet…

- You're going after him, aren't you? - you finished her sentence, sad bitterness threatening to spill from your lips.

- I'm sorry - she breathed almost regretfully. - We really have to. Now that he's made off with our stuff, he's become too much of a threat, and…

- I know baby, I know - you soothed Tess by brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. - You're going to make up with Joel and go fuck up Robert for me, alright?

She swayed your hips in her hands, making you feel like you were dancing for a moment.

- That's the plan - she smirked. - I'll be back in a few… days tops, okay?

- You pay attention to that sweet butt of yours so I can enjoy it when you get back, yes? - you pushed your nose against hers and the two of you shared a small laugh.

You stayed like that, still and quiet for a moment.

- But really, please be careful? - you nudged her head upwards with your nose and looked her in the eye, lovely dark spheres staring back at you full of emotion and care.

- I'll be fast, I promise - she looked back at you with determination, and let her hand fall from your hips.

She picked up her shirt from where she threw it on the bed and buttoned it up quickly.

- Oh, one more thing - she turned back from the door and dug a hand into her back pocket. - Ration cards. I got a sweet deal on the run this morning, so we have some extra. Save some for me?

She handed over a few cards from the small pile she fiddled with in her hands.

- You know I will.

Later, you watched her from the window, the faded red shirt and her confidence being the only layers on her shielding you and her from the outside world.

DO NOT translate/repost/steal. Likes/comments/reblogs are highly appreciated tho.

hope you enjoyed.

smooches. toodles. whatever they usually say here.

[crehador]

How do you budget for gatchas? I ended up pulling for both Arknights Zuo Le and ARBs Nemu but failed both after 120 and 75 pulls respectively. Arknights was kind enough to give me the Shu and a Ling dupe, but ARB I got nothing and I have nothing left lol

I actually semi ragequit ARB after my Nemu incident , bc I was trying to save for Samatokis ultimate card. Now that the card is out with this timing, I'm taking it as a sign to take a long break lol. So I respect your grind for the back to back smic cards!

unfortunately it's either swipe swipe swipe or be very diligent about saving free currency + get lucky as well

the advice i have is for the diligent + lucky f2p approach because i don't recommend the swipe swipe swipe route like. at all lmao

for me, in arknights specifically, saving is often about making some extremely less than optimal resource/sanity choices lol

like i'm at 250 pulls on the current arknights banner (AND STILL NO ZUO LE SOMEHOW) and i'm going for 300 to spark nian (originally was going to spark chongyue but he just... came home like a good boy lol, so now out of the sui siblings i'm only missing nian)

so even though technically the best use of sanity is to farm the event stages (there's even rocks... delicious rocks......) i'm using my sanity to clear stages i haven't cleared before (in side story/record restoration) for more originite prime and therefore more pulls

i switched my factories and trading posts over to produce orundum instead of lmd too, which is definitely not smart because i always need lmd lol, and i e2'd some units i never use just to do their paradox simulations (also not smart because... again, i don't have the lmd to be messing around like this lmao)

also, personally i think the smartest use of gold certs is to save 180 for an operator of your choice, but i... have literally never done that orz i have no self-restraint and always buy the pulls with gold certs, so that helps too (and is why even after many years of playing I STILL DON'T HAVE SCHWARZ)

i happened to have a lot saved up when this shu banner started, so that helped too. i wasn't planning to go all in like this (logos... i need logos...) but zuo le is being such a fucking problem that i guess i may as well go all the way for nian now

as for arb, it's a lot of self-restraint

tl;dr i have to skip a lot of banners even if there's a card i really want

if you do all dailies and don't get super unlucky, as in going to full pity every time, i think it's possible to get every* event** card of at least 2 characters without spending at all. and it's definitely possible if you're only targeting every event card of 1 character

but tragically that does mean skipping a lot of things you want. like i would love to get nemu's ultimate card. i did actually throw some pulls into her banner when she first released, but alas. she did not want to come home

i knew samatoki was coming eventually (brutal that they put him right after nemu though) so after pulling ichiro's ultimate card, i didn't do any ultimate pulls whatsoever. i had about 50 pulls stocked up, plus some leftover gems from ichiro's bday savings

basically events with ichiro and/or samatoki plus their birthday banners are the only things i ever pull on, unless i have a lot of gems stocked up (then i try to go for anniversary events)

*more specifically, i should say every event card except one per year. i always pick one samatoki or ichiro event card to skip per year, and then grab it from the revival banner during anniversary events. being able to skip even one banner per year helps a ton with saving free resources

**and when i say every event card, i specifically mean the event cards attached to story-type events. i usually skip the monthly banner series (such as waftage) since there are other opportunities to get those cards throughout the year (now more than ever, with the new battle pass, i recommend skipping these since you can just outright buy them with the battle pass rewards, even from the free tier of the battle pass)

okay sorry this got very long and rambly lol but the real tl;dr is just

do all dailies, buy all free pulls, and skip a ton of banners

[khrysm]

What are some of your favorite things you like in a ship? Like what about Chilumi really does it for you and what are your favorite things?

Sorry for the late late reply.

Favorite things I like in a ship...

I wouldn't say I have a common theme among the ships I've liked. Generally, I need to be somewhat emotionally invested in one of the partners, and then my brain eventually manifests some ridiculousness that leads to whichever partner I end up shipping them with. I don't think I have specific things that I like.

(Incoming an answer no one asked for...)

I started out as a canon-shipper in my younger years. Like with Sailormoon and Card Captor Sakura. I was totally on board with each canon ship and went with the flow.

It wasn't until many years later that I eventually braved the treacherous waters of the OW shipping fandom that I just outright didn't go along with the popular ships. The only ship I gave any attention to was Hanzo and Mercy, and I had to basically feed myself with that one. I know that it makes zero sense to most people, but I think my brain just wanted to put my favorite OW characters together. I was a Mercy main, and Hanzo was stylistically my favorite character archetype in terms of combat (I like archers). There's a lot more I could say about it, but that will make this post potentially ten times longer.

Anyway, when I finally moved onto Genshin, I wanted to avoid falling into any ships...

But then Tartaglia showed his stupid face, and I was immediately drawn to his character. His banner was the one that made me break my pledge to stay a low-spender (just Welkin Moon and Battle Pass) and swipe for each bonus pack to guarantee that I'll pull at least one copy of him. Yes, this is long, roundabout way of me saying that I was only interested in Tartaglia for a while... Until I finished his story quest.

The moment Tartaglia and the Traveler shared after he cleared out all the Ruin Guards was the spark that started me have feels for THEM having feels for each other. xD;;

It felt like their strong ties to family (particularly their siblings) was something that resonated stronger than every other friendship the Traveler had made up until then. Also, he was so insistent on meeting up with the Traveler as frequently as possible, even if it was mostly to spar and train. And with the game sort of putting a blanket personality on the Traveler being quite proud of their fighting ability, I thought that they had a decent connection that could lead to a real relationship.

Also, the way Tartaglia is always so excited to see the Traveler when they happen to run into each other randomly. It just feels like there's so much more sincerity behind his greeting. And his voice lines! When it comes to directly talking about the Traveler, he's so possessive! Maybe I'm delulu, but I don't care. That's what my brain thinks! xD

Ah! I figured it out! All the ships I like, started out with the characters not liking each other at first. Usagi couldn't stand Mamoru at first because he teased her about her hair. Syaoran was so mean to Sakura when they first met! My headcanon for Hanzo and Mercy had a rocky start, but they eventually grew to like each other. And like the rest, Traveler had to beat the crap out of Tartaglia because he was a bad guy, but somehow they manage to come to friendly terms after a while. Yup, enemies/rivals to lovers is my shit!

[kaitsawamura]

would you like to stay forever?

SUMMARY⎮   Sparring with Pro Hero Kirishima Eijiro in his private gym at his home doesn't seem like a bad idea if you don't count the fact that you really, really like him.

STATS⎮ minors do not interact, 18+ ⎮  Rating: M (for mature)  ⎮  WC: 5525  ⎮   Pairing: Pro Hero Kirishima Eijiro x Fem!Reader  ⎮   Tags: Aged Up Character(s), Friends to Lovers, Sparring, Smut, Fluff, Age/Experience Gap (if you really squint)  ⎮  AO3

NOTES⎮  Thanks to @spacelabrathor​ for listening to me scream about this and to @some-kindofgnome​ for fueling my Kiri fever dreams.  Yes, that title is based on a Mulan quote. This whole fic was based on THIS POST and Kirishima seemed like the perfect character for this pwp.  Hope y'all enjoy!  (Also please for the love of God, click on the banner to see in HD if you’re on mobile, it looks so much better lol)

It was Saturday and even though you’re on your way to becoming a Pro Hero, you can think of several things you’d rather be doing with your one day off than going to Kirishima Eijiro’s house to spar.  But here you are pulling into his driveway, going over combat moves in your head as if your life depended on it.  They weren’t really serving their purpose which was to distract yourself.  Kiri had offered up his personal gym, encouraged you to stop by with one hand in his pocket and the other rubbing the back of his neck as if he was nervous.  

A couple of his friends had already taken him up on the offer.  You were the only one he’d offered who hadn’t come over yet.  He had texted you a couple of weeks later saying he was starting to take it personally…  and then immediately texted with a laughing emoji just to clarify he was only giving you a hard time.  It brings a smile to your face now as you remember it.  Yesterday he had also clarified it would just be the two of you if you were self-conscious sparring in front of other people.  You’d have the whole place to yourselves.  Like that should mean something.  Which it did.  It does , you realize with butterflies growing in your stomach.  Kiri doesn’t need to know that though.

The two of you had been toeing around something since you had been hired at Fatgum’s Agency a year ago.  Neither of you had made a move.  Kirishima, the Red Riot, was a big Pro Hero and while you took pride in your quirk, it didn’t hold a coin to some of the others you’d come in contact with.  It had surprised you when Toyomitsu had brought you on.  But he had mumbled something about “liking your spunk” and that he thought a teleportation quirk would be a useful one to add to his agency.  The first day you had shown up, Kiri had immediately caught your eye.  Not for the obvious reasons.  Obvious reasons being the fact that he was climbing the Pro Hero charts or the fact that he had a dynamically interesting quirk or that at twenty-five he was already built like a brickhouse. 

Those were all valid reasons, yes, but what had pulled you in was his smile and his genuine interest in you outside of your quirk.  But he was just like that you had quickly discovered.  He knew everyone’s coffee order and what they liked for lunch.  He knew when to push and when to back off.  He knew when to talk and when to listen , knew when he still had a lesson to learn.  The kids flocked to him.  Even now you’re still entirely convinced that’s actually his quirk, getting people to like him.  It’s not a difficult thing to do though.

Your brain stutters back to the present when a text notification pings from your cell phone as you sit in Kiri’s driveway, picking at non-existent lint on your gym shorts.  The cute ones you’re still convincing yourself were your only clean pair and that’s the only reason you wore them.

KIRI : i saw u pull up, u gonna come in or what 😂

Had he been waiting for you to get there?  You tapped out a quick response, one that hid the little flip in your stomach at the thought: creeper, you were watching for me lmao

Response bubbles immediately flash on your phone screen but you’re angling out of your car and shutting the door before he can reply.

Somehow, this house fits Kiri perfectly.  It isn’t big.  You had seen pictures of other top-ranking Pros’ houses.  Enji Todoroki’s house, for example, was fucking ridiculous.  But even without a massive floor plan, Kiri’s house is nicer than any you’d been in for some time.  Clean, straight lines and lots of windows.  In fact, you can see straight through the floor-to-ceiling windows out to his backyard when you reach the front door.  Is that a pool ?  Kiri had tons of fun showing pictures at the agency; it was a well-deserved investment for his already multiple years of service as a Pro.  The pictures hadn’t done the place justice though.

Kiri comes to the door, throwing it wide open with a huge grin that shows off his sharp teeth.  You ignore the way your mouth goes dry as he drags you in, babbling on like an excited little kid at you actually coming.

“I really thought you were gonna back out!  I mean, that would have been fine, of course.  I just can’t see the point of having the whole place to myself all the time.”  He’s irresistibly cute, walking around showing you the living room and the kitchen and pointing out to the backyard where, yes, there is indeed a pool.  “You can come over any time and use that too if you want!”  You thank him, warmth pooling in your stomach at how incredibly nice he is.

“Uh, we should probably get in the gym.  I have… stuff to do later,” you finish lamely.  You don’t have anything to do later but very quickly you’re realizing how far out of your depth you are here.  The familiar beginnings of the head over heels fall is washing over you in steady waves.  But you’re coworkers and the thought of coming to work every day and having to see his adorable face and not doing anything about it is almost making you nauseous.

“Oh, yeah, it’s just down the hallway,” he rumbles, leading the way and you follow trying and failing miserably to calm the nerves flashing through your veins.  You’re here alone with Kiri , the man you’ve been crushing on since you’d started working with him a year ago.  And now your stupid brain isn’t just thinking about what it would feel like to run your tongue along his teeth or how his hands would feel between your legs.  No, your stupid brain is thinking about what Kiri looks like when he first opens his eyes in the morning.

Your one-track mind is not getting any help, especially when Kiri walks through the doorway of the gym addition and immediately proceeds to pull his shirt up and over his shoulders and tosses it to the side.  Shit.  His back muscles ripple with the movement and when he turns to face you, it’s heart-wrenchingly obvious that he has no idea the effect he’s having on you.  He has to know .  Doesn’t he?  From your end, it seems wildly obvious that someone as good-looking as him should know .  

You glance around, eternally grateful for the fact that the gym is also attractive.  Floor to ceiling windows span two of the walls here as well and there’s a large set of French doors leading out to the yard.  You find yourself actually in awe when you get a better look at the landscaping.  It’s so green .  There’s a small patch of lawn but the rest is just artfully arranged native flora and fauna.  Violets, tulips.  Huge hosta plants.  And cherry trees heavy with their signature sakura blossoms.  

“Kiri, it’s beautiful!”  He comes to stand beside you, looking out the French doors as well.

“You like it?  I guess it is pretty nice, huh?”  You glance up at him, your chest expanding on a lurch looking at his smile.  You’d never noticed before but he has a light dusting of freckles across his nose.

“Yeah, really nice.”  You look out again, letting the silence grow until it feels like the most comfortable thing in the world.  After what seems like an eternity Kiri clears his throat, rocking back on the balls of his feet.  “What are you thinking for today?”  The question leaves your lips and you’re immediately regretting it; your stomach flips again when Kiri looks at you like you’re prey.

“Close combat, hand-to-hand combat.  You did mention a while ago you wanted to strengthen that, right?”  You throw your head back, rolling your eyes, and groan.  The two of you make your way to the center of the mat.

“Yeah, I mean, I’d be scared to take me on too,” Kiri says, large hands on even larger hips.   He isn’t as tall as some of the other heroes at six foot three inches but he’s wide , thick.  You know for a fact you couldn’t wrap your arms around his waist and have your hands meet.  He’s wearing the biggest shit-eating grin you’ve ever seen.  The sharpened points of his canines are out and on prominent display.   Famous last words you think as a snarl erupts on your face.

“I’m not scared , Kiri.  I just don’t want to wear you out .  You’re a Pro Hero.  You’re on the job a lot more than I am.  Plus, you’re getting kind of old.  Is that a little gray I see coming in?”  Kiri bares his teeth even more but it’s not lost on you that he quickly reaches up to rake his fingers through his hair.  There isn’t any gray, obviously , but the thought has Red Riot distracted.  Distracted enough that when you plant your feet and your fist connects with his face, your knuckles hit skin and not the reinforced rock of his quirk.

“ Shit.”  Kiri takes a step back, reaching up to cradle his jaw.  His tongue swipes out to lick at the blood on his bottom lip.  His vermillion eyes find yours and if you didn’t work with him on a regular basis, you would have felt fear at this moment.  You know he wouldn’t hurt you but even now, a thrill races through your veins like electricity.  He looks as if he’s going to devour you.  You take your own step back, readying your quirk, reaching out to it as your fists hold their position in front of your body.  A dark chuckle spills from his chest as Kiri calls on his own quirk.

Now it was your turn to be distracted; you had always been fascinated by Kiri’s quirk, the way his body looked when it hardened up.  The ripples of muscle still visible under the toughened skin.  The divots and ridges and how they mapped their way across his shoulders and chest and abdomen.  You knew how it felt to the touch in fake combat.  The Fatgum heroes all took pride in maintaining a healthy routine; sparring was a common workout that was previously done at a local public gym.  You wonder absently what it would feel like to touch him slow and at the moment.  When you could give extra attention with extra time. 

Kiri closes the space between the two of you at the moment your mind strays and you barely are able to teleport out of the way to avoid him crashing into you.  You try to take a swipe at him as you materialize from in front of him to behind but this time he’s ready for you and he’s using his quirk.  Instead of moving out of the way, he plants his feet and allows your punch to hit.  Pain radiates up through your fingers and wrist.  It always irritated you that you had to prepare yourself to strike Kiri when he was using his quirk.  Otherwise, you’d be in for a whole lot of hurt every time you landed a punch.

Teleportation is a pretty handy quirk.  It gives you a pretty good advantage the more you work on your close combat skills.  The trick with Kiri was to keep going at him until he ran out of energy.  You hadn’t gotten to that point yet; your quirk had its limits as well.  You were only two years out of UA, Kiri was out by seven.  His strength was already fairly unmatched; sparring with him was always good practice.  You relish the thought of the day you can win a sparring session without tapping out.  It surges through you like pure energy.  

You teleport to stand in front of him again, shifting your weight into your hips and up through your right hook.  This time your fist connects with Kiri’s side and he lets out a small grunt.  Your fingers don’t hurt so bad this time and by the time Kiri is retaliating, you jump back a few feet.  He hmms, a sound that reverberates from his chest.

“That’s all well and good but how do you expect to do anything if you jump that far away?”  He lunges forward at a running start, leaping at the last second, sending his gloved fist into your stomach.  You were fast, but still not always fast enough.  You double over, the air rushing from your lungs and your pre-workout protein smoothie threatening to exit back the way it went in.  Sweat is already beading on your brow and sliding under your tank top.  You take a few breaths through your nose when an idea pops into your head; you stay bent over.  “Hey, I didn’t hit you that hard.  You good?”  

Kiri comes to stand in front of you, leaving him vulnerable.  He can’t see your smirk until it’s too late.  You wail on him, using some of the basic combos he’s taught you before today.  Satisfaction rolls through you when he actually takes a step back.  But then he puts his arms up in front of him, clenching his abdomen and bending inward to protect his core.  He drops just a fraction and before you realize what’s happening, he’s swiping his leg out to push through yours.  You watch in slow motion as you see his laughing face then the ceiling of the gym as you flip and land on your back.

If you thought you were out of breath before…  “Fuuu-.”  It’s a wheeze that feels like it’s ripping your chest open.  You’re seeing stars.  Kiri stands over you, hands on his hips again.  You stare at his face; the hero has his hair pulled back into a bun.  You snort, rolling your eyes.  Why does he still look so fucking good?  The sweat has caused some of the pieces falling out of his hair tie to curl.  His hair has curl to it?  You’ve never noticed before, considering he always gels it into spikes.  You like the curl.  “Are you--are you gonna help me up, or what?”  It was still painful to talk.

Kiri tilts his head to the side, just slightly, and crosses his arms.  “I’m thinking not.  Last time I let down my guard you got those good combos in.”  You stare in stunned silence, sitting up so you’re supported by your elbows.  Kiri shifts slightly and if you didn’t know better, you’d say he’s backing up to… get a better view.   

“Is that any way to treat your student,  Red Riot?”  You know you get under his skin when he clicks his tongue against his teeth and holds out a hand with a begrudging eye roll.  He pulls you up with ease, quickly enough that you almost lose your balance, swaying into his space.  You look up, eyes moving back and forth between his.  

He draws in a breath and drags his bottom lip between his teeth.  “First of all,” he says as he places his hands on your upper arms, “I’m not your teacher.  I’m not that much older than you.  Secondly,” he mutters as he tucks a stray lock of hair behind your ear, “our relationship isn’t that formal is it?”  He’s so fucking close.  This is getting dangerous.  Dangerous because Kiri is within kissing distance.  Dangerous because this gentle side of him is making you lose more breath than falling on your ass.  Dangerous because the thought of Kiri taking you on the floor right now is almost too much to bear.  

So you fall back on what you’re here to do.  Fight.  You flash him a wicked smile before rallying your quirk and teleporting a few feet away.  His hand is still raised in mid-air and when his head whips to look in your direction, his crimson eyes are narrowed and his nostrils are flared.  He laughs and rolls his neck, dancing on his toes.

“Okay.  I see.  I’m not gonna go easy on you, you know?”  You snort and put your fists up in front of you again.

“As if you were going easy on me before, Kiri.  Bring it on.”  He smiles, the sharp points of his teeth enough to make your thoughts swerve again before you bring them under control.  “Bring it on,” you whisper more to yourself as you brace for the fight.

Two hours later, you feel the strain in your muscles.  Your quirk is running low on reserves and you know you won’t be able to use it much more.  Kiri looks like he hasn’t wasted a breath but you can see he’s getting tired in the way his feet don’t move as sharply.  And if the length of time he’s using his quirk is any indication to his state of mind, you know the two of you will be calling it a day soon.  But you’re also both stubborn.  And you’re dying to get one more good move in on him.

The cockiness the two of you had at the beginning of the sparring session hasn’t gone away but has burned hot into determination.  No more smiles, only clear-headed concentration.  The two of you are an arm's length from each other, throwing various punches and switching quickly between using your quirks and not.  You’re breathing hard, sweat gathering at your brow as you throw another right hook that Kiri easily blocks.

“Get out of your head.  You can be too predictable sometimes.”  He doesn’t mean for it to come across as rude but the words strike a match to a guttering fire.  You bare your own teeth at Kiri even though they aren’t sharp and probably don’t look nearly as threatening but it helps you feel powerful nonetheless.  You drop without a second thought, lowering to your palms and sweeping your leg out in front of you in a wide arc.  A grin spreads across your face when your calf meets Kiri’s ankle.  He’s too physically dense for this move to work if he had seen it coming.  But he doesn’t.  And his solid 220 pounds of muscle falls hard.  

You allow yourself the satisfaction of the moment for only a split second; Kiri’s recovery time is much shorter than yours so it isn’t long before he’s scrambling forward.  He goes straight for your wrists to subdue you but with a smirk, you realize in his haste he’s put himself in the perfect position for you to possibly gain the upper hand.  You scoot up away from him just enough to drag his arm forward and swing your legs around his neck.  Then you elevate your hips and lock your core.

It’s over from there as you squeeze with every last ounce of strength left in your body.  It doesn’t take long for him to tap out.  You release as soon as you feel his loose hand tap your arm; he collapses over you and you’re too tired to move away or push him off.  Now his breathing is rough and you feel a surge of pride.  You reach up and place your hand on his head where his bun has come undone; he’s so heavy but it doesn’t feel bad.  In fact, the feel of Kirishima resting his head and upper chest on your stomach is feeling nothing short of good .  He’s still between your legs and suddenly the air is crackling with a new kind of energy when you gently comb your fingers through his hair.

He rises up, his hands on either side of you.  His hips rest between your legs; the mingled heat radiating from both of you is almost more than you can take but there is no way you’re going to move anywhere.  He leans forward, so close you can see the flecks of burnt orange in his eyes.  If you moved forward just a little, you could close that space between you.  He leans down more, his mouth right next to the shell of your ear.

“Maybe not always predictable.  You did good today.  Probably some of the best fighting I’ve seen from you so far.  Keep it up.”  He grunts, a shift of his hips allowing the curve of his cock to brush against your clothed sex through his gym shorts.  He stiffens in what you think might be embarrassment.  “Shit, sorry, let me just, uh--”  The stuttering mess he becomes right before your eyes makes something lurch in your chest; you reach for his face without thinking.

“Kiri,” you whisper, rolling your own hips against his.  His cheeks are burning a shade of red almost as vibrant as his hair.  You bring up your other hand, holding his face between them and bringing him down to settle over you once more.  Your lips meet his; he seems to war with himself for just a moment.  A suspended second in time.  But then he gives in, slipping his tongue against yours in a delicious sliding vision of what’s coming.

He reaches between you to slip his hand under your tank top; his hand is big and nearly encompasses your side.  But it’s warm and gentle.  Gentle.  Who would have guessed that Red Riot could be so fucking gentle?  But he is and when his hand moves lower to slide below the hem of your shorts, you give yourself to him with no reservations.  His middle finger passes through the mess of your sex; a hissed breath rattles through his chest as your back arches on a ragged groan.

“ Shit.  You’re so wet .”  He slides his finger back and forth, gathering your slick on the thick digit.  He takes his hand away and you mewl.  “Can I?”  He asks breathlessly as he hooks his hands on the hem of your shorts.  You nod, eyes half-lidded.  He pulls them down along with your underwear and the way he looks at you, at what’s between your legs, you don’t even have the wherewithal to feel self-conscious.  Adoration.  It’s the only word you can think of and it makes you wonder if you’d made a mistake waiting so long.

He’s on his knees when he takes your legs and drapes them on either side of his hips; this time he doesn’t hesitate in slipping his finger into your cunt.  You nearly see stars just from that and if one finger is any indication, you’re in for it.  Slowly, he adds another, his hand pumping into you in a steady rhythm.  You’re grabbing for the ground, grabbing for him as a strangled noise pushes from your throat.  He reaches out with his other hand to splay it across your sternum and it’s the only thing anchoring you as he adds the third finger before scooting down to put his mouth on your clit.

“ Kiri,” you keen, shoving your hips into his touch, frantically scrabbling for his wrist that’s on your chest just to have something to hold on to.  He’s done this before, he’s had to.  He’s too good.  Too fucking good.  Already there’s coiling in your gut as incomprehensible words tumble from your mouth.  “Shit.  Shit.  Kiri I’m--I’m gonna--”  He rumbles approvingly against your clit; the vibrations send you closer and closer to the edge and when it crests, your back arches near pain as you cry out, your voice echoing in the gym.  It’s deep, roaring through all of your limbs but  Kiri keeps going, fingers still pumping, tongue still swirling around your sensitive nub.

Another orgasm breaks over you sharp and quick and the overstimulation has your legs quaking as your arousal gushes over Kiri’s hand and tongue.  But then he’s moving again, and you’re blearily aware that he’s shoving his own shorts and boxers past his hips to free his cock.  You stare as it bounces back to sit near the planes of his stomach; it’s already leaking steadily with precum.  Kiri looks back at you and when your eyes meet, you dart your tongue out between your lips to wet them.  Another time, maybe.  

Kiri leans forward to lift you up and the closer you get you can barely see any red in his eyes; his pupils are blown, his nostrils flared as he lifts you like you weigh nothing .  He could snap you like a twig.  But he won’t.  You know without a doubt this is the safest you’ve ever felt, even as he lowers you slowly over his cock and it does feel like you’re being split .

“ Fuuuck…”  You wrap your legs around him, your mouth dropped open, your hands gripping his shoulders.  You try not to dig your nails in but it’s almost impossible with how you’re being filled.  You knew Kiri was big but this was almost too much.  His forehead drops to yours as he pants.  But he’s not moving, won’t move until you tell him to.  It makes your heart ache and your cunt floods, drunk on the affection thrumming through your veins.  You roll your hips experimentally and the friction is bliss.  “Oh fuck, ohfuck.”  You move again, pushing yourself up and back down, listening to the hitch in his breathing.  “ Kiri, please, ” you whisper.  Those words… they’re enough.

Kirishima grips you by the hips, his fingers splayed and digging into the flesh; it’ll leave bruises and the knowledge cracks through you like electricity.  Let him leave marks.  Let him leave them everywhere.  He’s moving you up and down his cock, grunting, mumbling.  “Tell me, Kiri, tell me.”  His eyes meet yours again and his own mouth drops open.

“Fuck, you’re so good.  S’ tight.  Jesus, I-- ” Kiri moves his hands from your hips to support you as he lays you down on the floor of the gym.  The idea should be questionable but it’s not, it’s fucking not and you can’t concentrate on any other thoughts when Kiri grabs your wrists and pins them gently above your head with one hand while the other comes back to your hip.  He thrusts into you at a brutal pace but… it feels like home and you think in that moment as your cunt begins to seize around his cock that you would give up forever to continue touching him.

“Yes, Kiri, yes.  Right there, right--shit yesyes yes. ”  He pistons up, the veins of his cock rubbing just right and when he releases the grip on your hands, they’re moving to wrap around him on instinct.  He’s planting kisses along your jaw, mouthing up to your lips and back down to graze his teeth over your pulse point.  “Do it, fuckin’ do it, let them know ‘m yours, ” you slur and when he bites down you crash over the edge on a groan that’s really more of a scream.  Everything goes black but you're cradling him to you as his movements become more erratic.  The snapping of his hips is getting sloppier by the second and a steady growl punches from his lungs with each breath.  “Cum, Kirishima, cum inside me.”

He’s never heard those words before and it lights a fire in his veins.  His head is buzzing and then he can’t hear anything as his cock releases and he’s spurting searing hot ropes of cum into your cunt.  He goes until you’ve milked every last drop from him and he’d be lying if he said his world didn't suddenly feel whole.  Finally, his body settles and his chest drops to yours.  Everything slowly bleeds back into focus and somehow, everything seems more colorful than it did moments before.  You’re still clinging to him.

“Kiri.  Kiri, babe, I can’t breathe,” you say and he slowly rises, taking in your blissed-out expression.  Your eyes can barely stay open, your cheeks are flushed.  He backs up to see his handiwork on display, hyper-focused on the trail of the mingling cum dripping from the mess of your sex.  But you’re smiling.  Lazy and tired, completely at ease.  “Wanna take a shower?”  When you nod he doesn’t hesitate in standing to kick his underwear and shorts the rest of the way off his legs and then he’s grabbing you, scooping you into his arms and against his chest.  He pads out of the gym and across the hall to his bathroom where he deposits you on your feet, only after he’s sure you can stand and only long enough to turn the shower head-on.

He puts his hand under the water, waiting for it to get warm.  Steam billows from behind the glass door when he’s turning back to you to remove your tank top and your sports bra.  Thank god you chose the front-closure one today; you didn’t think either one of you wanted to struggle to get one up over your head right now.  When your breasts spill out of the high-impact fabric, you notice with tender amusement that his cock is half-hard again.  His eyes go dark again and he leans in for a kiss.  But it's slow and sweet. 

"You're so fuckin' beautiful," he whispers.  He ignores his arousal, ushering you into the stream of water.  Your care is the only thing that matters to him right now.  The heat slides across your body, and when Kirishima steps up behind you and begins soaping up your shoulders, it feels like heaven .

You take turns washing each other until you’re both blissed out in a different kind of way and the only thing either one of you can think about is sleep.  But the afterglow is fading and doubt is creeping in.  When you step out of the water, you stand awkwardly as Kiri hands you a towel.  “You okay?”  He’s actually concerned and you can’t put your finger on why you’re so fucking grateful for it.

“Yea, just tired.  I should, uh, probably get going.”  Kiri freezes and you think you’ve said something wrong, already crossed a line.  Your brain is like a broken record as the stomach-curdling image of having to see him at the agency flashes across your eyes in vivid detail.  But then he’s stepping into your space and pulling you in for a hug.  A hug.

“Don’t go,” he whispers into the crown of your head and it has you smiling like an idiot against his chest.  His skin smells clean and warm with a hint of spice.  You bury your face further in as you nod against him.  Then he’s leading you to his room, to the king-sized bed.  He peels back the comforter and the white sheets and pulls you in beside him.  Your back is against him and he hooks his foot around your ankles, bringing you even closer.  

He doesn’t say anything more, just lets out a huge sigh as he wraps his arm around you.  The last thing you notice before your eyes flutter shut is how your heartbeats are thumping at the same steady rhythm.  

Late afternoon sunlight slants in Kirishima’s bedroom window, creating interesting patterns across his blanket.  It’s pushed towards the end of the bed, your legs intertwined and tangled in the sheets.  He’s still dozing, his breathing not quite that of someone sleeping but not of a person fully awake.  You reach out to cup his cheek, stroke above his eyebrows, caress his lips with your thumb.  A contented sigh leaves his chest as he grabs your hand and kisses your wrist.  His eyes are open now and he watches you.  You smile at him, snuggling closer, not wanting the moment to end.

“Hey,” he says quietly, suddenly serious.  “I just want you to know, I don’t do this all the time.  I mean, I’ve been with other people before but I don’t…  I don’t really hook up .”  Things start clicking into place as you realize what he’s trying to get across.  He just fucked you stupid in his personal gym and somehow he looks bashful.  And because you love it, you’re not going to help him along.  You just watch, biting your lip to keep from giggling.  “I just.  I guess what I’m trying to say is I like you.  I’ve liked you for a long time.  And normally I would have wined and dined you first but...  Well.  Here we are.  Would you like to stay for dinner?”

That’s the last straw; your laughter comes bubbling out of you and Kiri is leaning back to look at you with a quizzical expression on his face.  “Is something funny?”  That just makes you laugh a little harder but the confused look he’s wearing has you leaning in to press your lips against his.

“I’ve liked you from the first day I met you, Kiri.  I’ll one-up your offer and tell you that I might like to stay forever.”  A grin rips across his face and your heart blooms with warmth and affection.  The world seems full of possibilities but none of them matter except for the possibility laying right in front of you.

[potato-with-hair]

I'll Be With Her Tonight

Hired to work as a lab assistant for Stark and Banner, you discover someone in the facility is keeping an eye on your every move. They have plans of their own for you and they plan to carry them out tonight.

NOTE :This is something I wrote ages ago and I still don't like it, it basically sucks, but it's been floating around on my laptop, taking up space and I thought, just throw it up there to get it off my drive. Based on the last verse of the song Tyler by Toadies :I find a window in the kitchen, and I let myself in Rummage through the refrigerator, find myself a beer I can't believe I'm really here, and she's lying in that bed I can almost feel her touch, and her anxious breath! I stumble in the hallway, against the bedroom door I hear her call out to me, I hear the fear in her voice She pulls the covers tighter, I press against the door I will be with her tonight!

Work Text:

For the past couple of weeks, Y/N felt like she was being followed wherever she turned, and not just at work. Her troubles began months ago, when she first started working for Mr. Stark in the Avengers Compound. Mr. Stark hired Y/N as a lab assistant to help him and his colleagues, and sometimes even the Parker kid when he allowed the kid into the lab for some research work, but Y/N was hired as more of an all-around assistant. Since she was a graduate from Cornell University with a Masters in Science and Technology Studies specializing in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, she was familiar with everything Banner and Stark were doing. About 10 months ago, Y/N began working at the compound and felt uneasiness and like she was being tracked, like prey, waiting for a predator to attack. The first thing she thought was that it was ridiculous, since she was working with the Avengers, the ultimate defenders, and she equated it to Mr. Stark's constant surveillance. Y/N suspected someone was stalking on the grounds, and thought it could very well be an Avengers team member.

A temporary improvement came about when Scott Lang joined the research team. He was an MIT engineering graduate with experience with Pym technologies, and he helped to advance some of the projects. In FRIDAY, Lang filled in the missing pieces Stark and Banner had been analyzing for months with a swipe of the pen and some research, and with Lang on the team, the research and advancements jumped forward years faster than they would have otherwise. Y/N initially thought it was Lang, but you started joining him for lunch every day in the dorm kitchens up to the 7th floor. Here, all of the Avengers ate, and you met them all. Then, after about a week, flowers and gifts began arriving, first at your house, then at your office, then at the lab. Among the gifts were very specific and detailed notes about things Lang wasn't aware of as he was elsewhere with Tony or Bruce. You were being watched by someone else at the compound. Finally, it got so out of hand that Tony told the delivery driver to stop bringing anything to Stark Compound and to forward everything to your home address instead.

When your one-bedroom apartment filled up with flowers, balloons, stuffed animals, lingerie, sex toys, and candy, you started refusing everything. Letters or notes initially stated simply "I love you, Y/N, see you soon, and we will always be together, regardless of time or place." without a signature. Now they were being aggressive and asking why you were not using these more risque gifts and wearing the lingerie for your benefactors' enjoyment. All of the gifts were paid for with disposable credit cards, so nothing was ever in anyone's name. At the Stark compound on a Friday morning, things came to a head. You all walked into the lab at 8 am as you always did. You thought you would discover an invisibility technology that could be integrated into the Avengers battle gear and utilized at any time during a fight. However, when you all entered the lab you were all stunned. The work and samples you created were destroyed. Data, electronics, and technology were all shattered, burned, destroyed, and disintegrated. A dozen red roses with a balloon saying "I Love You" were found in the middle of the wreckage on what was once your desk.

Then Tony said, "Now that I am certain it is one of us who is doing this, I will keep Y/N in an isolated location in one of my vacation homes that no one on the team knows about. Lang, have Y/N get a bag or two of her belongings from her apartment. This will be just what she will need for a week or so, medicine, some clothes, and then we'll take care of the rest. Let Banner wait 15 minutes so that our friend isn't suspicious, then assemble the team and lock them up in their dorm rooms. By then we'll have Y/N out of the building and headed to her apartment. I don't want anyone to know where Y/N is heading, I will have FRIDAY place the coordinates in a Quinjet, and have one drop Y/N off when she returns. That way, nobody will be traveling with her, she will be dropped off, and nobody will know where she is except FRIDAY and myself.?” Tony looked to each of you, “Is it okay if I have the whole Avengers team assembled here for a team meeting? Nothing too suspicious, just a friendly gathering. We don't want our problem child to become wise. Y/N, are you okay to leave to get some essentials on your own, with Lang escorting, if I have the entire Avengers team here?”

As you look at Tony dazed at how much work had been destroyed and angry that someone would do this to all the efforts of your teams, and say, "Yes, I'm fine. If traffic is smooth, we can get to my place, pack some things and get back within an hour or an hour and a half at most." You turn to Tony and Bruce for further instructions and information.

Bruce places a hand on your shoulder and gently squeezes, "This is not your fault, we'll find out who it is and get help for them. When everything has been resolved, we'll get back to normal. Now just take care of yourself.” Bruce hugs you and leaves to call the Avengers for lockdown.

Tony nods, then Scott, then you walk out of the lab. The Avengers were heading to the dorms for a supposed team meeting as you approached the ramp down to the garage. Since you were so focused on getting to the car and getting out in order to start the lockdown, you didn't notice anyone watching you. It made them unhappy to see you and Lang leave the building together. It was already bothersome enough that you always ate together in the dining area in the dorms, but now you were leaving the building with him too? There was no way this would work; it was supposed to be the night you became his. I suppose he would need to adjust his schedule a bit. As he slipped into the garage, he grabbed the spare key for the motorcycle from where he knew Steve had hidden it. He pushed it out of the garage, keeping to the shadows, before starting it. Using shortcuts and his ability to cut through traffic to his advantage, he beat you and Lang to your apartment by about ten minutes. After stashing the bike, he entered the building next door, got on to your roof, and came down the fire escape into your apartment as he had done before.

As soon as you were safely out of the way, he would draw out Lang and try to get him out of the way temporarily. He wasn't an animal after all, and then you would be his. It was already clear what he would do with you. You were his, and he knew that you two were meant to live off the grid and isolate yourselves from the world. When you were just the two of you, you would realize how much you really loved him and how grateful you were for him taking you away. While he had a place already planned that he acquired from a previous acquaintance who was not quite right in the head when he returned from the war, he has been working on it for the past 10 months to make it suitable for you since you arrived. Despite its size, it was enough for the two of you. A large bedroom with a king-size bed, a small bathroom with running water, a kitchen, and a living room. There was a small garden where he had vegetables planted already, and underneath the building itself, there was a root cellar where he had already been storing away what he'd started growing when he started planning, in addition to what the former tenant kept in his paranoid end-of-days planning. Even if you resisted at first like he was afraid you would, you would just have to endure until you accepted it and realized it was all for you.

After Lang looked around and pronounced the apartment okay, you headed into your room to get essentials such as clothes, medications, underwear, etc. Lang heard a disturbance out on the rear landing, so he walked to make sure the back door was locked as you became increasingly involved in the task. You heard a scuffle from down the hall, and then Scott shouted, "Y/N, get out, NOW," followed by a thud and silence. Your heart raced as you debated whether you could make it to the front door faster than whoever was in the kitchen could make it through the kitchen dining area and into the hall to intercept you. If it was an Avenger, you had no chance of outrunning them. While you waited for someone to come through the bedroom door, you locked the bedroom door and curled up against the headboard as tight as you could. You heard someone open the refrigerator door, take a bottle of beer out, open it, and then throw the cap into the sink in your kitchen. This was like it was just another Friday afternoon. Then you heard boot-covered footsteps coming down the wooden floor into your bedroom.

Whoever was on the other side knocked lightly on your door and called your name in an almost calm voice, "Y/N, I told you I was coming for you soon. Are you with me? I have so much to tell you. Do you feel ready to leave now? We need to leave in a few minutes.”

As you realize who it is, you yell out, "Bucky, why are you doing this to me?" And what did you do to Scott, did you hurt him? Are you thinking of taking me somewhere and hurting me? I don't want to leave. I want to stay. I am not going anywhere. Tony and Bruce will realize I am not back and send the others to look for me. Once they realize you're the only one missing, they will know it's you."

Bucky presses against the door, hearing Y/N's fearful voice. "Why are you asking about Lang?" Bucky asks. Lang doesn't matter to us, okay? I love you and you love me; we need to leave now. I'm going to come in now. Will you open the door for me, or am I about to have to force my way in? It's time to leave, and we need to leave now. Please don't argue with me. Please don't make me do anything I'll regret, because you are my angel. I've got a syringe full of a sedative I took from the Med bay, and I'll give it to you. Lang was knocked out in your kitchen by the same thing. Additionally, I used it on a couple of the Avengers; I locked them up in some unused rooms in the tower. "They'll have to wait until they find out who is missing and who is drugged and hidden." Bucky smashes the door with barely any effort and you find you can barely move. Your mind seems to have accepted that you are not going to win in a fight with this man. Therefore, accept that you will be taken, but you are not inclined to cooperate with him either. You point to the medications and toiletries you had gathered so far and tell him he has to bring those things and your clothes. Then tell him he is going to have to drug you because you are not inclined to cooperate willingly.

Bucky slides the needle between your neck and shoulder and as the sedative takes hold, he leans in close, kisses you, and whispers, “I’ll wake you when we get there. I will have to switch cars a few times, but you should sleep through all of that. I can’t wait to show you what I made for us and to start the rest of our lives together. You look even more captivating bound and gagged; maybe I'll keep you like this for a few days. You'll learn to love me the way I love you, Y/N, and when the babies arrive, we'll be forever bound together." He kisses you again, picks you up and then the blackness engulfs you.

[oh-for-fic-sake]

What will daddy Henry do if his little is sad because someone took something valuable from her?

So i wanst sure what to base this on entirely, so I'm going to go with something I went through over the last few weeks. I had a little bit of anon hate, which I deleted but the words stuck with me making me second guess everything i was working on and the confidence i had in my writing was taken away. so this is like a shameful self indulgent fantasy that im going to read to myself when ever im down.

Warnings: Pretty Personal For Me, Angsty, Fluffy, Self Doubt, Happy Ending, DDLG, Long!!

Tagging: @viking-raider @isitmine @tinabean37 @loserrlauraa  @msblkfire84 @henrythickcavill @plainbrunettelbl @dummiesshort @cynic-spirit @pandaxnienke  @two-unbeatable-beaters @libbymouse @wolfieash @eldarwen333 @princesssterek @mom2000aggie @blackestpinkworld 

(not sure who to tag in headcannons? these are the ones on my everything taglist)

Henry watched quietly with a frown as you sat down in the living room, eyes cast down at the tablet in front of you shoulders slumped.

"poppet what's wrong love?"

"n-nothing da-addy" you said with a small stutter

Henry shifted on his feet looking at you critically before coming over to you.

"nothing? So your sitting here almost in tears over nothing" he stated sceptically rounding the sofa sitting next to you.

"I'm not cryin" you sniffled trying to bite your lower lip to stop it from wobbling.

"not yet, but close enough poppet, hand it over" he said holding out his hand waiting for the tablet.

You whined not wanting to hand it to him at first but after a mini battle of wills you placed the colourful tablet in his hand.

Your head was cast down and you rubbed your eyes trying to catch the tears before they were noticeable.

"okay then, so this is your new story?" he asked scrolling through the page not reading it all but scanning the words, it was well written like always.

At the beginning of the pandemic he suggested you started a blog, and you had. A writing blog all full of fanfictions of... Him.

He didn't mind he actually love you doing something constructive, it kept you happy and busy which helped him because there wasn't many free days even in lockdown. He was working out, reading scripts or rearranging covid tests and travel.

Plus knew these smut blogs existed, even lurked on a few.

"y-yeah" you mumbled leaning on him hugging his arm scanning the page as he scrolled, you knew he wasn't reading everything maybe every few lines

"sooo what's the problem?" he said not finding an issue with the writing.

"i... I cant post it" you muttered looking down avoiding his gaze

"why?" he asked frowning not liking the defeated tone you had.

"j-just because..."

"ah I see, you have lost your confidence" he said quickly figuring out the problem, the downside to writing was everything was personal preference so tiny comments could knock your confidence.

In a way it was like his work, you put your heart and soul into it and then people don't like it? It was always a bummer. But he was used to it, you were not.

You nodded to him it was true you'd lost your confidence, you hadn't wrote for a while.

You couldn't seem to find the words to fit together anymore.

You felt silly, they were just a few mean comments, words from a nasty troll who didn't have anything better to do but it hurt, you poured your heart into every chapter and then for people to rip it to shreds? It stung.

"y-yes I... They didn't like it" you hummed fiddling with your fingers, drawing deep breaths trying not to cry

"and so what?" he said shrugging making you snap your gaze to him.

"wha?"

"it doesn't matter love, so a few people didn't like it, lots of people do, I love your stories"

"you have to your my daddy"

Henry huffed and shook his head at you ruffling your hair pressing a kiss to your head amused that you thought that's the only reason he liked your writing.

"don't stop writing just because of a few mean people nugget, it takes a lot of skill to write and a lot of bravery to share it. Your a brave talented little baby and I'm very proud of you"

He said cooing as that seemed to be the final push sending you over the edge making you burst out into tears.

He hugged you moving the tablet out of the way before pulling you to his lap, unbuttoning his shirt half way and squished you into his bare chest knowing you needed to feel him, not a shirt.

"shh its okay babygirl, your stories are wonderful, and you have fun writing them don't you baby?"

You nodded crying harder trying to get the words out but you just couldn't instead whining incoherently into him.

"and you enjoy making the little banners? And collect all your photos and gifs?"

"y-yeah but they di-dn't like it last time!"

"they don't have to like everything you do sweety"

"but I don't wana upset them!"

"did you do the warnings?" he asked knowing all about the do's and don'ts of posting your erotica.

You nodded whining you always did warnings on stuff to be safe.

"and make the little cut thingy you were telling me about?" again you nodded at him

"so your telling me they read the warnings, clicked to see it and then were mean?" you sniffled biting your lip trying to calm down but nodded to him humming quietly.

"well then it sounds to me like they were going out of their way, looking for someone to pick on" he said slowly rocking you slightly.

You fell quiet resting your head on his chest as he rubbed your back and patted your bottom soothing you.

"but what if they wasn't? What if my stories are bad- and encourage bad stuff!" you cried tucking yourself into him tighter.

"no-no you repeat after me, fiction is fiction" he said pulling you back wiping your tears waiting for you to say it out loud.

"fic-tion is f-fiction" you repeated

"I did everything I could to warn people"

"I-I did everyth-ing I could to w-warn people" he smiled at you as you drew a huge breath calming yourself down.

"and they are jealous because I'm an adorable, smart, funny kind and caring babygirl who has the cutest little peach butt in the world~" he said smirking at you from above holding you tightly to him pressing a kiss to your head.

"and they- daddy! Noo! I can't say that~" you gasped flushing as you realised what he had said

"oh yes you can because its the truth now come here let daddy bite that peach~" he growled playfully snapping his jaws at you.

"ah-no!" you screeched giggleing as he began tickling you all over wrestling you playfully trying to lean over and bite your but through your shorts.

He landed two solid bite's on your bottom before pulling back. Even though he had cheered you up he could see you were still doubting yourself.

Henry cast a glance to the tablet and smirked forming a plan that might just get you back on track. He was not going to let anyone steal your sparkle.

"come on you you've spent enough time writing go play in the garden with Kal"

Once you left henry got to work swiping up the tablet and going on your one drive seeing the meticulously organized notebooks, recognising a few by name.

A few weeks later Henry came in to the living room with a medium size box and plopped it on the sofa next to you.

"here we go nugget!" he said placing the gift next to you, they couldn't have come quickly enough, he had noticed you hadn't been writing at all, which upset him because he knew how much you loved it.

"what's that daddy?" you asked peering over the box not expecting any gifts.

"why don't you open it and find out?" he said sitting the other side of the box handing you a pair of scissors to slice the tape.

You moved slowly cutting it open and pulled the box open then froze.

"d-daddy? What thats my..." you trailed off pulling out the hard back books your banner on the front cover.

"your stories? Yes poppet, I realised that you were putting so much work into these things but could loose them, they are soo good that daddy wanted to read them over and over and now we can!" he said pleased with himself as you sat there shocked looking at the small collection of a5 books.

"but their- i dont..." you said happy but completely shocked, flicking through the pages, there were even a few comments in the margins from henry pointing out the pits he liked making your heart swell with pride.

Henry moved to stand behind you pressing a kiss to your hair.

"They are brilliant! So good I'm so proud of every thing you have achieved and I want them on our book shelf, in the living room" he said making you tear up.

"Really? You... You think their that good?" you whined eyes blurring with tears as you hugged the first book to your chest.

"absolutely poppet now go on, you do the honours~" he said pressing your shoulder urging you to go to the cube bookshelf.

You tiptoed over to it and slowly pulled out each little custom book with your banner on the front.

You sat down placing each one delicately on the shelf the five books each lining up with one another half filling the empty cube shelf.

"oh no baby look? The shelf isn't full is it? You know what that means" he said standing looking

"I-I've gotta write?" you asked sniffling weeping softly but this time because you were happy.

"exactly! You need to fill the whole shelf, so you keep up the good work and tell daddy when you finish your next story and we can keep adding to it!" he said cheerfully walking over handing you the tablet.

You smiled to yourself and looked to the books, your books- actual real life books on a shelf!

You grinned throwing yourself at him latching onto him feeling your confidence come back just from seeing how much you had done.

Suddenly the hate didn't matter, your daddy like them enough to make them into real life books! And even annotated them himself?

And if your writing was good enough for your daddy then it was good enough for you.

"daddy, can I have my screen time now, I want to write!!" you said jumping up and down on the spot excited to start your next chapter.

Henry grinned nodding deciding you can have as much screen time today as you wanted as long as it meant you wasn't giving up your new hobby.