#my housemate sat me down and said

[herawell]

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[januaryembrs]

LET IT ONCE BE ME | Spencer Reid x Prentiss!Reader [7]

Description: The THREE times she waits + the ONE time she doesn't have to.

length: 17.9k

trigger warnings: criminal minds gore + violence. jealousy. talks of sex and male and female anatomy. they get horny for one another basically. talks of Maeve + day of the dead. yearning idk? mention of one twin absorbing the other one in the womb (sorry if this is taken the wrong way but I conferred with my friend who did this when she was a foetus and she said it's not offensive and is okay to talk about so?)

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‘Let it once be me, who do I have to speak to 

About if they can redo the prophecy?’

The one where they pretend to be married

“I will not be exploited in my own home,” Bugsy chided, the faint smell of burning toast filling the small kitchenette. The butter knife sat ready in her hand, salted spread dripping down the handle where she’d been busy making breakfast before she had been called. 

He blinked back at her, unamused. 

“No. You cannot just scream at me whenever you want something from me. This relationship is toxic,” She huffed, turning back to butter her toast with the thick goodness. Sometimes she loathed living with three boys who had her wrapped around their fingers. 

The second piece of bread popped out of the toaster, which she quickly grabbed and began spreading, her fingers gripping onto the crusts gently as she did so. The squealing started again just as she readied herself to take the first bite, and she whirled around to see the two orange eyes that stared at her from on top of the counter. 

“Sergio, stop. You’ll get Niko all wound up-” She hadn’t even finished her sentence when Spencer shuffled into the kitchen, his hair mussed from sleep, his long plaid pyjama bottoms skirting high up his ankles where he’d impossibly hit another growth spurt and forgot to find better fitting clothes. Niko darted in between his legs, rushing to jump up on the breakfast bar, where Sergio was already interrogating Bugsy for more treats, a low yowl leaving his throat at the thought of being left out of feeding. “You boys are driving me crazy, no more biscuits for today-”

The yowl grew in decibels, a second one symphonying it, and she rolled her eyes, ignoring the whiney babies, turning to hand Spencer his piece of toast, crust already cut off and split into halves the way he liked it. 

“I warned you not to treat them when I’m not here, they’ve become spoiled brats,” She huffed, though she felt her entire body warm up when she looked at his doe eyes, still half idled with sleep as he watched her swan around his kitchen, their kitchen technically since she had all but moved in to his little apartment meant for two housemates. 

But they weren’t just house mates. They weren’t even dating. But she knew he wanted to. Because he loved her. 

“How could you expect me to say no, they’re so compelling,” He said, his voice gravelly where he’d lightly snored, as much as he always denied he did, fussing Niko behind the ear with long, gentle fingers. He took the plate out of her hand, his eyes swirling with a moved expression when he saw she’d cut his crusts off, his gaze snapping back up to where she’d sweeped her hair out her face, a large shirt and a pair of his clean boxers adorning her figure, “Thankyou,”

He hadn’t said the three magic words since, neither of them had. But they felt it. The weird static that had been thick in the air between them before was crackling along their skin with every glance, like they were both thinking the same thing.

I love you, and you love me.

He smiled at her warmly, the urge to grab her by her face and kiss her skin all over almost overwhelming him, because he counted himself lucky every single day. She loved him. She loved him. She loved him. He heard it in every heart beat, like a mantra that his chest clung to since the words had spilled from her soft lips. She was waiting for him, for his head to settle with the idea that Maeve was gone, and he could let her go and not feel terrible about it; waiting for him to make the first move. 

“Coffee?” He asked, watching her eyes soften as they trailed over his face, and he worried he looked a little worse for wear since he’d rolled out of bed and headed towards the source of the girl he loved arguing with someone in the kitchen even though that someone had turned out to be the greedy bastard they loved dearly.

He knew he was the luckiest guy in the world to have her waiting on him, and he never let himself forget it. 

“Yes, please,” She said, and he brushed past her, close enough for it to be on purpose when their arms touched, his hands busying themselves in between the plate and munching on the first bite of breakfast, because he didn’t know what he might do if they spent one more second looking at one another like that. 

She watched him move towards the kettle she’d sent him for Christmas when she was in London. After using one for two weeks she’d seen the light and realised he would love the nifty little invention. Her arm burned where he’d touched as if he’d taken a flame to her skin, her chest boiling up with every single thing she could think to tell him, like how good his hair looked when he didn’t do much with it, or how hot his voice sounded like that, or that she really really did love him the way she’d never even thought possible outside her silly romance novels, that she’d never believed Pip when he’d told Estella; “You are part of my existence, part of myself. You have been in every line I have ever read,” and yet when she thought of it now, watching Spencer busy himself shovelling sugar into two mugs, it made entire perfect sense. 

She couldn’t remember who she was before she knew him, and she didn’t ever want to know. 

She opened her mouth to say something, perhaps to say those three little words again, or just to tell him he smelled good even when he hadn’t put any deodorant or aftershave on, but her phone’s ringtone cut her off. 

Already knowing it was going to be Penelope with a new case, she flicked the call on to speaker phone, “What you got for me, baby girl?” She said, trying to make her voice as deep as it would go, and she heard Spencer snickering where he was stirring hot water into the instant coffee.

“Was that supposed to be Morgan?” Pen’s voice replied, a small chuckle of her own evident even through the digital tone.

“I thought that was pretty good,” Bugsy replied, stuffing the last of the toasted bread into her mouth.

“I thought he was right in the room with us for a moment there,” Spencer chimed in, humouring her, as he also took an enormous bite from his breakfast, knowing they were more than likely about to be called in and their game of house, one where they flustered every time they spoke, was going to be over, “I was like, woah, Morgan, when did you get here-”

“Alright, my little rascals. We have a case, Hotch wants everyone in,” Penelope said, no doubt already paging through JJ, “No more coffee for either of you, you’re both being weird enough as it is,” 

“Definitely not,” Spencer said, sliding the mug of milky, sweet caffeine over to Bugsy who smiled at him wickedly.

“Wheels up in twenty, Garcia,” The woman added in the same voice as before, Spencer laughing with a shake of his head and moving to stand behind her, his chest pressed against her back, his arm winding around her waist to give her a small, affectionate squeeze on the hip. 

Penelope sighed, already accepting that their mercurial attitudes weren’t going away any time soon, the sudden mood change entirely odd to the rest of the team who had no idea that they had almost kissed just one week ago. To everyone else, they just seemed to have bounced back to normal, reverted back to Bugsy and Spencer; attached at the hip, only the eye contact and secretive smiles had been dialled to a hundred. The line went dead, and her head shot to look at him, where his hand had yet to move, and it was scoldingly hot against the soft fat that gathered at her hips.

“I’ll get your good shirt, I put it out to dry yesterday,” She said, her voice suddenly much less brave than it had been when she saw his eyes crinkling with a small smile. 

He nodded, and she caught his gaze trailing down her nose, darting over her lips for a second in a way that made her chest rev like a Ferrarri out of gear. She felt her breath catch in her throat when he looked back up to her eyes, his forest hues entrancing like he was playing some silent flute song and she was a snake dancing under his orders. 

He took a second to realise they were standing in his kitchen, his body pressed against hers like he hadn’t even realised they were so close, like he’d just gravitated to her that way, like he couldn’t stop it even if he’d tried to. He’d had a taste of nectar, and he was a drunk man ever since. 

Spencer wrangled a hold of himself, allowing himself to stroke the back of her head lovingly, and pressing a kiss to her crown, before he stepped away from her, and the siren song dropped, the two of them dispersing to get ready for the case. 

Bugsy swore she could hear her heart pounding the entire drive to headquarters.

–

“I think the real question is why married couples?” Hotch mused, a steaming cup of black coffee sitting in front of him on the jet, his nose in the file on his lap. 

Bugsy scanned over the manilla folder in her hands, her legs swinging rhythmically beneath the table she sat on, Rossi to her left, her own second cup of coffee squeezed between her thighs. It was a heavy case for a weekend morning, three married couples found slashed and dumped together, the UnSub showing no signs of slowing or stopping.

“If he’s a sadist, having a witness to his torture heightens his pleasure,” Alex added, her lips pursed in contemplation, her hair primped surprisingly neat considering they’d been called in with little to no notice on a Sunday. 

“Israel Keyes kidnapped a husband and wife at gunpoint, got them in a car, took them to a remote location, and then killed the husband in front of the wife,” Spencer said, trying not to look straight at Bugsy when he felt her eyes on him.

He’d never been one to keep a good poker face, never been good at hiding how he felt especially when he was happy. And she made him happier than he deserved to be. He knew their little arrangement would become glaringly obvious to the rest of the team if he let himself look at her. he had no control of his face when it came to her, how he felt his eyes soften, his lips turn up into a dopey smile, his hands itching to touch her just to confirm she was real.

He saw her head tilt down, into her lap as she tried desperately to focus on the words on the page, but he caught the small smile that she kept for herself, and he had a feeling she was struggling just as much as he was. 

“Keyes was a sexual sadist, though,” Rossi interjected, his hands wrapped around a scolding cup of the green tea Penelope had bought them because she’d read of the stress relief benefits. They’d taken it, but David and Bugsy were the only ones who had tried it, “This guy, I don’t know,” 

“Cutting a husband and wife to death, it’s more like he’s mocking their marriage bond,” JJ said, her bluebell hues dancing to Bugsy when the girl chimed in.

“Mutilating both of them, killing them together, it’s like the idea of couples and happy marriage is a trigger for him; it’s personal. He wants to make them pay for their happiness, likely because something’s stopping him from having it too,” She said, taking a long sip of her coffee, Rossi nodding along with her. 

“That’s where my head’s at. ‘You took each other for better or worse, now I’m going to show you worse’,” He said, leaning back against the table, his shoulder nudging the younger girl. 

Derek stroked a hand over his stubbled beard, “His home life’s probably a wreck, at least one ex-wife, not to mention mom and dad,”  

“Alright we need to hit the ground,” Hotch said, flicking a glance at the youngest agent where she was all but inhaling her sweet beverage, “Prentiss and Reid, I want you mapping out a geographical profile,”

She nodded, her eyes slowly trailing to Spencer’s as Hotch distributed jobs around the team, but her head subconsciously tuned his stern voice out into static. Because when she looked up at his face, he was already staring at her, and the sound of her heartbeat racing crawled its way back into her ear, the thrumming so loud she was sure David could hear it too, she might as well have held a megaphone to her mouth and announced “Spencer Reid, you make me so nervous in the good kind of way,”

His hazel eyes trailed over her face, her expression unreadable as she scrambled to keep a lid on her feelings, and she wondered if this was where the phrase ‘Don’t shit where you eat,’ came from, because him so much as looking at her wiped her mind completely, which was not ideal for an agent working on a case. But she couldn’t help it, he was enchanting, and she guessed he was having just as much of an inner quarrel as he looked away from her, the apples of his cheeks and tips of his earlobes turning a strawberry ice cream pink. 

She had no idea how she was going to make it through the rest of the day so close to him. 

–

“First couple were last seen on the corner of Hill Avenue, Bella Mia Italian restaurant,” Bugsy read from her scrawled notes, as Spencer took a purple white board pen to the map of Detroit. Drawing a circle of a 5 centimetre radius around the little dot, he kept his eyes ahead of him. Hearing her pace behind him, he didn’t need to look up to know she was chewing her cuticles again. 

“Stop biting,” He chided lightly, hearing a guilty silence where he knew she’d caught herself with embarrassment. He tried not to show his amusement, knowing it would only make her feel worse, he bit down a smirk and raised his pen back to the map, “Next one?” 

She’d been on edge all day. He would have probably brushed it off as caffeine jitters seeing as she was on her fourth cup already, but Spencer knew her too well to know her tolerance was so high she had about two more mugs in her before she’d start to crash. 

He knew what it was, the memory of her skin beneath his lips burning his cheeks all over again, the look in her eyes when he’d been close enough they were sharing breath. He knew what it was because he felt it too. It was like their confession had set off a ticking time bomb, one that neither of them had the countdown to, and the clicking of every passing second sounded oddly like a pulse in their throats. To put it short, just the sound of her footsteps was making his skin pimpled with gooseflesh. 

“Uh, next one is Bowlarama, about ten stores down from there, Couple number two were seen getting milkshakes and heading towards the parking lot before they went missing,” She recited, her fingers firmly clutching the paper in her hand to resist the urge of gnawing at her nails again. Why was she so nervous? She lived with Spencer, ate breakfast, lunch and dinner with Spencer, spent almost all her evenings either playing chess or watching movies with Spencer, or on the odd occasion he found a book in reach he hadn’t read yet, he’d read out parts to her he found particularly engaging to those million, trillion, billion neurological pathways of his. 

The squealing of the pen against the board was the only thing keeping her head in the case, Spencer’s messy handwriting dotting around the map with points of interest, and she begged her brain to kick into gear the way it normally did, tried everything to yank herself out of the head fog she’d found herself lost in where thoughts of him emerged through like Mr Darcy strolling through those clouded moors, like how his voice sounded when he smiled, how his hand looked gripping that pen, how his body was lithe and handsome even from the back. 

She shook her head, jamming her face back into her files, to the gory images of couple number three, mutilated and bloody, and reminded herself she had a job to do. 

Get it together, Prentiss.

“Couple number three’s last known location was on the corner of Whittier Avenue, outside a wine bar named Blue Mates,” Bugsy read out, hoping her hot cheeks would dissipate before he noticed, “It seems couples out on date night really agitate this guy,” 

Spencer hummed, focused on his third circle, the three of them overlapping with almost precise measurements. It was hard not to notice the pattern to them. He heard her draw nearer with his profile complete, and they stood beside one another, so close they knocked hands when they leaned in to take a closer look at the rings.

“He hits the same street of stores every time, one after another,” Spencer said, his long forefinger trailing down the strip of shops and bars the UnSub seemed to have a taste for, “I mean, excluding retail and supermarkets, since they’re unlikely spots for a husband and wife to go out on a date, the pattern is really quite linear where he hits next,” 

Gently taking the pen out of his hands, Bugsy leaned up to colour in every single store that would be considered retail, crossing out a pet shop or two, leaving only the cafes, bars, restaurants, even a cinema. And sure enough, the three spots the victims had been last seen lined up perfectly as the first three ‘date night’ locations on the strip, the next being a steak restaurant named The Greasy Grill. 

“How much do you want to bet our UnSub is getting a craving for Sirloin right about now?” Bugsy said, putting the pen down onto the table and they exchanged a look of accomplishment, just as Hotch walked in with the Chief of Detroit police. 

“What did you find?” Hotch asked, his eyes falling to the asterisks drawn on the whiteboard, the rest of the known locations Penelope had sent dotted around the map. 

“Date night is very important to this UnSub,” Spencer said, the two of them turning to their boss, his shoulder bumping hers, and it was only then she’d realised she was all but pressing up into his side. 

“He goes on dates?” The chief of police asked, his brows furrowed. Taking a step away, her eyes darting to the map as a means of distracting herself, she pointed to the ink marks they’d squiggled on the paper.

“No, but the victims do and he knows that,” She explained, tracing a chewed fingertip down the street, “The UnSub hit here first, where our first couple went out for pizza. He then moved down here where the second victims had their date night in a bowling alley, and onto our newest victims, they were last seen having wine here, each kidnapping site along the same strip with the next possible location being right here,” She said, her finger slapping against the Greasy Grill, Hotch nodding in thought as the Chief got on the phone with his own team. 

“Good work, you two,” Hotch hummed, and he opened his mouth to speak again when Bugsy’s phone began to ring.

Snatching it out of her pocket, she caught sight of Alex’s name before swiping to answer, pressing it to her ear, “Hello?” 

“Fourth victim has just been found dumped in a car.” The woman said immediately, and Bugsy switched her mobile to speaker so the other two could hear her. Turning on her heels to face the white board, she grabbed the pen resting on the table beside her, yanking the lid off with her teeth.

“Where?” She asked, Spencer picking the plastic from between her lips to help her communicate, her eyes focused on the road names as she waited for Alex’s response. 

“Back alley between Warren and Forest Avenue, one woman found alone in a white Buick,” Alex said, and all three of their faces scrunched in confusion as she said it. 

“He’s changed his victimology,” Spencer murmured and Bugsy nodded, her lips pressed in a flat line, “Alex, is the woman married at least, or has the UnSub completely altered his preference?”

“We have her husband here right now,” Alex confirmed, and Hotch stepped over to where the two geniuses inspected the map, “He said he missed a dinner reservation they had two nights ago at a restaurant called-”

“The Greasy Grill?” Spencer and Bugsy spoke synchronously, and Alex paused audibly. 

“I take it you two have figured out his pattern already?” She asked, though she didn’t sound all too surprised. 

“See if the husband knows anything else, Blake. We’re going to figure out the next location that fits the pattern,” Hotch ordered, and they bid each other goodbye, as Bugsy and Spencer were already coordinating which plots of land were retail stores. 

By the time the line went dead, there was a big red mark circling a mini golf course slash cocktail bar, and the duo looked at him expectantly. 

“If the UnSub keeps his victims for around three days at a time, and the woman was found this morning, my guess is he’s going to head there tonight,” Bugsy said, capping the pen and dropping it back onto the desk, feeling Spencer nodding behind her, “And if the victim was supposed to be at the restaurant with her husband, it means he’s still looking for couples, he just happened to get unlucky. He’s going to want another happy-go-lucky husband and wife pairing,” 

Hotch’s face became unreadable for a moment, his gaze switching between the two of them, like he was assessing the risk factor of sending his two youngest agents undercover for the second time. But they seemed to have worked together seamlessly the first time, in that casino, so he didn’t see the qualms about asking them to work the same act this time.

“What?” Bugsy asked, the look in his eye unnerving her, and she flicked a glance behind her at Spencer’s equally lost expression, turning back to see Hotch dialling Dave’s number to update him on their plan, “Hotch, what is it?”

“He wants a happy couple,” Hotch said, his phone already up to his ear as he eyed the little to zero space between the two agents who swore blind they were just friends, “We’re going to give him one,” 

–

She had to admit, this was a little nicer than the red dress she’d been stuffed into last time. The sundress was flowy enough she could hide her gun strapped to her hip, and still compliment her figure nicely enough that she couldn’t complain. And best of all, it meant she could wear her ballet pumps instead of those god awful stilettos she’d pulled out last time they were undercover. 

She still remembered that evening in the casino, watching Spencer’s big brain tick faster than she’d thought possible even for him. The briefing of this even seemed much more relaxed, seeing as their aim was to look like the happiest couple alive. ‘You worry about playing your parts, we’ll worry about playing ours,’; was what Alex had said when she’d brought in a dress about Bugsy’s size, the woman already styling her hair to look like she was really going on a date. 

Because she was, sort of, not really, going on a date with Spencer. Except none of it was real, like someone up there had to have one final laugh at her luck, like that carrot on a string she’d been waiting patiently for the past week was looking a lot more delicious by the second as it dangled in front of her.  

There was a knock on the small hotel room Hotch had booked them in for the evening, seeing as they were going to be scoping out the area until late, and Bugsy headed for the door without pause, thinking it was JJ returning with the fake wedding rings they’d gotten from a cheap jewellers down the street. 

She swung the door open, only to be greeted by two dark eyes looking at her done up face, her primped hair, her floral dress. 

“Spence,” She said, picking over every inch of him, breathless already, because she always thought he looked hot in a button down shirt, his sleeves rolled to his elbows, “You look-”

“You look beautiful,” He rushed, like he might just burst if he held it in any longer, and she smiled sheepishly, her face flooding with heat all over again. Damn you, Reid, with your stupid charm and ridiculously good looking lips.

“You look beautiful too,” She complimented, noticing a gold band on his finger then and she realised he had something in his palm, “You run into JJ already?” 

He nodded, smiling with a stammered breath, “Yeah, I said I’d come check if you were ready. Hotch and Dave are already there scoping out the bar,” 

She simpered under the weight of his nervousness, “Well, I’m ready,” Holding out her left hand, she raised her ring finger, “Marry me, pretty boy,” 

He snickered, shaking his head at her clear diversion from the stifling tension in the air, and held her hand in his delicately, his skin warm as it encompassed hers entirely, and he was careful to slip the false engagement ring over her digits, following it with a gold band of her own. 

“You ready to get your ass kicked at miniature golf whilst our friends catch a criminal, Mr Reid?” She asked, and he had yet to let go of her hand as she shut the door behind her, slipping her hotel room key into her purse. 

“That’s a bold statement from such a sore loser, Mrs Reid,” He said back, a smile so wide he thought he might burst a vessel as she laughed, and tightened her fingers around his, interlacing them just like she had done a handful of times before, and his chest crackled with white hot excitement when she knocked her shoulder into his side in affection. 

His lips scorched with the words Mrs Reid the entire drive to the bar. 

–

“Any eyes on him, yet?” Bugsy whispered to the women in the stalls, touching up her lipstick as JJ and Alex hid in the women’s bathroom for the signal. 

“Not yet,” Blake said, sitting on the closed toilet seat in her kevlar and jacket, all but twiddling her thumbs and wishing she’d brought a sudoku, “Are you guys having fun at least?”

“Pretending to be married to my best friend while a serial killer eyes up my guts for the taking; yeah I’m peachy,” Bugsy replied, rubbing her lips together and making sure her gun was still strapped tight to her hip, “Besides, he really is kicking my ass at golf,”

“He’s going to let you win anyway, you know that right?” JJ said, tucking her feet up onto the seat in her own stall in case anyone who wasn’t on their team came in to the bathroom, “He always lets you win because he knows it makes you happy,”

Bugsy paused, the tissue that was collecting rogue lipstick smudges from her face almost falling in the sink, and she was quick to gather her voice with a clear of her throat.

“Maybe I just win because I’m good, Jennifer,” She said, a lilt of teasing in her tone, binning the scrap tissue paper and heading for the door, “Keep an eye out, kiddos. I’m going back in,”

They chirped a goodbye, the two of them sighing as they waited for Hotch’s message, and Bugsy walked back out to where Spencer was waiting by Hole Seven. It was a classic windmill on top of a hill, a small tunnel where the door was supposed to be leading to a lower level behind the plastic decor, where the hole lay waiting for them. 

“You ready, honey?” He said, holding out a purple putter they’d chosen at the start of the course, and she smiled genuinely at him. She had been telling somewhat of a lie when she’d been so unenthusiastic in the bathroom, though she thought telling the women just how much fun she was having being married to Spencer might just rub salt in the wound considering they were bored stiff sat in the bathroom.

That and she wanted to keep whatever it was they were feeling theirs and only theirs for just a little bit longer. 

“Ready, my love,” She sang in response and let him go first. He had to lean over a fair bit seeing as he was so tall he made everything on the course look particularly miniature, including the putter that seemed dwarfed by his height. Taking a quick look at the hill, no doubt calculating the angle and force he would need to hit it with, he gave the little, pink golf ball a generous tap and it raced up the slope, straight into the tunnel. They heard it knocking around a little in the chamber, before it came careering out the other end and rolled no closer than a yard away from the hole. 

Bugsy looked at him with wide eyes, to which he pretended not to look almost arrogant with how easy he’d made it seem, only when he looked back at her with a shit eating grin, she knew exactly how pleased with himself he was. 

“I bet it’s not that difficult, it’s all just a matter of force and drag and whatnot, right?” She said, strolling up to place her lilac ball on the inky dot marking the start. 

“Totally, although this is where, I don’t know, say a degree in Engineering would come in useful, I bet,” Spencer chimed in, and she didn’t need to look at him to know he had that smirk on his face. 

“Mr Reid, get ready to eat your words,” She replied over her shoulder, smacking the ball hard enough it flew up the slope, bouncing off the wall of the windmill and racing all the way back down the hill, rolling right back to where they stood, Spencer hiding a laugh behind his hand. She gaped, her face hot with annoyance, “Wait, wait! That was a practice run, I get another go,”

“Practice run, I see,” Spencer said with a chuckle, shoving his hands in his pockets, and watching her scramble to set the ball back on the marker, “So out of interest, how many of these practice runs are you getting,”

“Just the one,” She said, hitting the plastic globe again, though this time it barely made it half way up the incline before it rolled right back down again, “Two, I get two. This one’s the real one, starting now,” 

“The real one? So this one’s really the one that counts, right?” He teased, and she glared at him over her shoulder. He stepped closer to her, a look of the cat that got the cream smeared all across his face as he took a stance behind her, wrapping his arms around hers with the oldest trick in the book, “Why don’t you let your dearest husband help you out, huh?” 

“I have a masters and half a degree in medicine, I think I know what I’m doing,” She hummed, though the feeling of his hands resting over hers soone quietened down whatever fire was stoked in her belly from losing their game. Spencer was so close she could feel him breathing down her neck, feel his chest on her shoulder blades, and worst and most heinous of all, feel his crotch pressing against her tailbone. 

“Alright, alright. Just humour me,” He murmured, a new found confidence in him that he only seemed to get whenever they were playing the part of being other people. He gave her a salacious lick of his lips, smiling at her with a pink parted mouth, his eyes dark in this light like he knew what she was thinking as well, and he couldn’t help but think she looked so pretty when he flirted with her a little. He’d always thought that when she was stunned into that quiet tone, the mousy look she got on her face was rather cute. 

His hands engulfed hers with a mesh of pornographic veins and sadistically handsome knuckles, his mouth at her ear as they lined up the shot together. 

It was as if a murmuration of birds had flocked together in her chest, dipping and diving and creating all manner of shapes in her stomach as she felt it flip three or four times, his body so entirely pressed against hers she never wanted to move a muscle. She’d had the odd thought pop into her head about what sex with Spencer Reid might feel like, and yet all she could think about in the haze of the putter and fake grass beneath their feet was how delicious he felt pressing into her like that. 

He leaned in, his lips brushing against her ear as she looked forward again, and she could have sworn she held back a moan when he breathed out down her spine. 

“Hotch has eyes on a guy at the bar watching us,” He whispered, her back straightening as she was reminded with a slap to the face they were still working the case. That as much fun as they were having, as happy as they were supposed to seem, they still had a very real job to do, and she felt stupid for thinking the flirty glances and erotic embrace was for anything more than to sell the married couple act. 

But Bugsy was nothing if not committed to her job. So instead of worrying if Spencer had felt anything real in the last hour or so, she decided to double down and give their UnSub a real show. 

Sticking her ass out so she brushed against Spencer’s crotch more, she intertwined her fingers with his, and hit the dimpled sphere the direction he guided her; and sure enough it rolled straight into the tunnel with little qualms.

Spinning in his arms, the smile was nearly wiped off her face when she saw Spencer’s eyes had darkened to a rich espresso hue as he looked at her. But she hid it well, despite the fact she caught the way his pupils were blown wide, and simply leaned to kiss him smack dab on his cheek, a smirk on her face when she pulled away.

“I guess I just needed the correct motivation,” She said with a flirty undertone, and she revelled in the way his lips parted enough she saw the whites of his absurdly pretty teeth. 

“Remind me to not take you out to mini golf for our first date,” Spencer huffed, his ears red as a mushroom top as they both stepped over to where the hole was and she snickered, trying her best to ignore the wings hammering away at her ribcage when he said that. 

“Duly noted, Mr Reid,” She said, watching him lineup his next shot with a smirk, and she wondered just where exactly they would go on their first date. Her smile only got wider, a girlish glee to her eyes. “So, theoretically, where were you thinking of taking me?” 

“Theoretically,” He said, lining up his shot, the ball only a small tap away from the hole, his feet spreading a little wider so he could lean down to putt the pink sphere, “I was thinking of going to that book cafe out in Delaware, the one where they have a bunch of drinks inspired by different authors. We could play a game I used to with my mom, where we choose a book for each other we think the other would like,” He took the shot, his ball rolling into the cavity without much effort as she watched him meticulously, her entire body softening with his sentiment right down to her marrow, “And then I was going to say we build a sofa fort in the living room and watch whatever movie you like, maybe get some popcorn on the way home,” 

He looked up at her, and almost reeled back in surprise to see her looking at him with something so vastly emotional in her eyes, like he’d offered her a winning lottery ticket or a chance to go back in time in a flying police box, her expression a complete window into her soul because she’d never been too good at hiding how she felt when she was around him. 

Spencer opened his mouth to speak again, only for their earpieces to jump to life, Hotch’s voice out of breath as he reported down their ear. 

“We have the UnSub, we caught him trying to sneak into your car like we profiled.” He said, and she knew his brow was creased without even having to see his face, “We’re taking him in for questioning now, you kids wrap up and head to the station,”

Bugsy hummed in confirmation, fighting the disappointment that their show was over, and they’d have to go back to their usual act of pretending there wasn’t three little words hanging over both their heads, gnawing at the back of their brains. 

Clearing her throat, she set up her shot ready to finish their game, “Well, theoretically speaking, when you’re ready to ask me on that date, I’m there,”

He smiled to himself, perhaps ready to flirt with her just a little more before they went back to being Bugsy and Spence, not Mr and Mrs Reid, when she hit the golf ball just the tiniest bit too vigorously. It rolled straight past the hole, bouncing off the wall and heading further away from the end than when she’d started, and she groaned in frustration. 

“How are you so terrible at this-” Spencer burst out laughing as she stomped over to the lilac ball, lining up another shot with a grumpy expression. 

“Not another word, Lover boy,” 

2. The one with an old flame.

“I wonder what Hotch wants,” She mused, her head resting on the arm of the seat, her eyes shut for the duration of the flight. Rossi had called them into the office startlingly early for a Friday, the entire team sleepy eyed and annoyed as they’d strolled onto the sixth floor. 

Yet the minute that they’d heard Hotch needed them, they’d soon perked up in interest, seeing as it was Aaron’s only appointed week off to see Beth in New York, and they had quickly jumped in to help with whatever it was he needed. 

“Penelope’s still waiting for NYPD to send her the autopsy reports for the previous victims,” Rossi said, him, Strauss, JJ and Alex playing a few rounds of Shithead with a peeling deck of cards because for once they had no paperwork to be looking over while they travelled. Bugsy had laid on the couch, the one Spencer usually commandeered, except this time he let her take the comfy seat, instead letting her legs drape over his lap as he read from his book, another two sat next to him for when he finished that one. 

“He sounded panicked. DEA thinks we might have a bad batch of something making its way through the club scene causing the deaths,” Strauss added, putting down two sets of three on top of JJ’s ace, “Aaron’s brother just happened to have been caught in the crossfire,”

“Men are almost twice as likely to die from drug overdoses than women, just last year there were forty-one thousand, five hundred and two cases.” Spencer said without lifting his head from his pages, his thumb caressing over Bugsy’s ankle bone, “The fact that the majority of the victims are women suggests it’s more than likely is a date rape drug that has been laced since they tend to be targeted towards female victims more often than males.” 

“Ecstasy can be made in pill, powder or liquid form so it really wouldn’t be too difficult to slip it into someone’s drink,” The girl mused, her eyes squeezed shut tightly as she attempted to catch up on another half hour of sleep, “Or to convince people the drug they’re taking willingly is safe,”

“Even regular users might not know they're being dosed until it's too late,” JJ agreed, setting down a seven on top of Rossi’s two fives. 

“What about the two victims who were clean, Linda Heying and Eric Sullivan’s family claimed they never touched the stuff,” Alex questioned, as Morgan looked over the list of victims that they had been able to track down, despite the majority of the information waiting for them at New York. 

“Either the victims are good at hiding the truth or the UnSub is killing for another reason,” David said with a sigh, as Strauss set down the six of clubs, “We should take a closer look, see how they’re connected,”

“Well for now, let the princess get her beauty sleep,” Bugsy said, snuggling into the throw pillow Spencer had passed her as they’d sat down, “I’m feeling weird today,”

His head ripped from his book at that, the rest of the team going back to playing their cards, his hand skirting up to her calf to stroke her leg gently, “You okay?” 

She huffed, “Yeah, Penelope said it's because my Mercury is in Retrograde or something, I don’t know. I just feel strange,” She grumbled, resting a hand over her stomach, “Probably just coming on my period early,”

He frowned, moving her legs off his lap and standing up. Before she could ask where he was going, he stepped to the opposite end of the couch, picking her head up gently by the crook of her neck and sitting back down, resting her back onto his lap. 

His fingers were in her hair before she could say anything, scratching gently at her scalp the way he knew she turned to putty for, and she smiled, swearing blind she’d be purring if she could. 

“We’ll get you some breakfast when we land,” He murmured, and she snuggled her cheek into his thigh, his slender fingers massaging her skin kindly. 

“Thankyou, Spence,” She whispered back, all but slurring her words as sleep caught right back up to her, and before long she was drooling on his black trousers, the sight of it making him smile sweetly to himself. 

And it was for a moment like that he wondered what exact feeling he was waiting for in the first place. 

–

“Any updates?” Bugsy asked, as they entered the New York Police Department and saw Hotch waiting for them, his arms crossed in a casual shirt and jeans, clearly having had no intention of working this week, “How’s your brother?”

“A little shaken but then he never exactly made the best choices in life,” Hotch huffed, putting a hand on her back as she leaned in to give him a small hug because he seemed particularly stressed, “Emily always said you were bad, I’d take you over him any day,”

“Thanks,” She murmured into his shoulder, with a frown, “I think?”

He smiled, amused the way she had a knack for, though the worry in his mahogany eyes didn’t budge, and Spencer was all but a step behind her as the team filed into the building. 

“You guys have coffee?” Spencer asked, his eyes subconsciously trailing after Bugsy as she moved to talk to one of the detectives, and Hotch nodded, pointing him over to the small kitchenette at the back of the precinct. 

“Over there, I’ll get you guys set up with the lab reports now that you’re here. Autopsies came back for Linda and Eric,” Hotch said, and Spencer murmured in agreement, heading straight for the instant coffee and creamer, worrying about the girl who was already nose deep in a file by the time the machine had poured the first cup. 

He wondered whether there were any pharmacies nearby for anti-sickness tablets, or if she needed a heavy dose of water and sleep instead of the caffeine goodness he was whipping up for her, but then he knew she’d rather shrivell into a ball in the precinct bathroom than ask for a day off, would rather suffer in proud silence than make herself look weak. 

Bugsy remembered it happening in choppy intervals. One minute she was heading up the steps towards where Spencer stood patiently by the coffee machine, something already popping up as a point of interest in her overworked brain. Her head was down, muttering to herself the points of the victimology that conflicted with one another, when she felt herself slam right into a solid body, and she jumped back, steadying herself with an embarrassed expression. 

“Oh my god, I’m so, so sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was-” Her eyes snapped up to see a messy blonde sweep of hair, wide blue eyes she’d known ten years ago and a thick beard that happened to be the only thing new about him. Her gaze locked onto him, and she felt a fury she’d not thought about in over a decade rile up inside her, “Sean?” 

“Bugsy,” He breathed, the horror sweeping over his expression, a hand shooting up to slick his hair back nervously, “What are you- how are you-” 

She shoved him back with two firm hands, tossing the file onto the table beside her, and shoving at his chest again, his own hands coming up to defend himself lightly even though his expression read nothing but guilt. 

“Woah, woah, let’s just talk about this, I was just a dumb kid-”

“You left me, Sean. You left me in a foreign country alone with no boarding pass, no cell phone,” She snarled, and the sound of her tone rising turned a few heads, Spencer all but ditching the spoon into the sink when he saw her going nose to nose with some guy who looked purely terrified, “Your dumbass friends spent all my money on hookers, I’d still be in Italy if it wasn’t for the fact you graciously decided not to steal my bank card-” 

She shoved him again in between her growls, and it wasn’t until two hands came up to stop her did she realise Derek and Spencer had all but appeared behind her, the former’s arms wrapping around her waist to draw her back. 

“Woah, woah, talk to me, pretty girl. What’s with the aggression?” Derek asked, his eyes wide with concern as he looked between the youngest agent and their suspect. It seemed her volume had reached the other side of the room where Hotch had been talking with Strauss and Alex, and Spencer could practically see the steam coming out his ears as he whipped around to their trio. 

He could already hear the lecture coming, and the thought of it made him gulp.

“This is Sean,” She spat, and Derek and Spencer’s head snapped to the blonde man who looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole, “You know, the asshole that ditched me on another continent and stole my money,”

“I didn’t mean to steal your money, I thought you had it in your purse, I-I didn’t think to check before we left the hotel room,” He tried to interject, though the girl's glare intensified, unaware her boss's shoes were now thundering across the steps. 

“Where you left me to miss the flight I paid for, you inconsiderate prick-”

“You told me to leave you alone! You said you were sick of us waking you up-”

“I meant playing your music too loud, dumbass-”

“Well sorry, last time I checked I’m not a mind reader, Bugsy-”

“What in God’s name is going on here?” Hotch’s voice was a crack of lightning through the precinct, and the two of them shut up immediately, like two school children caught squabbling in the halls, Sean turning to his older brother with an exasperated expression. 

“Aaron, I swear, I don’t know what she’s doing here,” Sean pleaded, and Derek, Spencer and Bugsy turned to their boss in unison with bewildered faces. Hotch looked back at them, his own anger dissolving into utter, raw confusion. 

“Do you two know each other?” Hotch, Aaron, asked the girl in the middle, the other men all but positioned as bodyguards in the midst of their little spat, and he saw her cheeks hot with anger deflating as she drew a breath to answer. 

“Unfortunately,” She spat, scrutinising the familiar tone Sean had used when he’d said Aaron’s name, “Do you two know each other?” 

“He’s my brother,” The Hotchner’s replied in unison, their tone almost identical and she felt stupid for not seeing it sooner.

Bugsy felt her face drop, her eyes scanning between them for any signs of a lie, except all she found were the tiny details of their face that seemed to half match. Like their cheekbones, and the crease between their brows, the shape of their lips. 

Her face blanked, gobsmacked silence passing between the five of them as she digested exactly what that statement ment. 

Sean, her Sean, the Sean she’d been sleeping with on and off for six months straight, who used to make her tea way too milky and without sugar the way she hated it, but would bring it to her in bed and stroke her back when they were finished, the Sean who once tried to ask her to be his girlfriend when he was stoned and she’d laughed at him and snatched the blunt away, told him to get a hold of himself because that was the exact opposite of how friends with benefits worked. 

Sean, who she had trusted to keep her safe, who’d ditched her naked in a hotel room in a foreign country and made her feel stupid for ever believing a word a man said.  

She stuttered for a response, a wide eyes mix of terror and confusion and repulsion washing over her in stages. 

“I need-” She swallowed thickly, her mouth drier than sandpaper, gently pushing Derek’s arm from around her waist, “I think I need a walk- a walk sounds good- yeah-”

Rossi paced over to the five of them, his phone clutched tightly in his hands. He almost paused at the wall of awkward tension around the group, each participant seeming stuck for the right thing to say, the entire situation so bizarre that Spencer debated faking a migraine to get him and her out of the room for some air. 

“Hotch,” Both of the men turned to look at him, and the sight of it made Bugsy shudder, feeling almost completely out of her own body at the thought of her nude body on top of Sean’s because now all she could see was Aaron in his place, “Six new bodies found in a nightclub-”

“I’ll go!” She jumped, all but bolting past the men, trying her hardest not to touch either of them because her skin crawled with a sickening uncanny valley looking between the brothers, “I’ll go inspect the crime scene,” 

And no one stopped her, because they’d seen her be all manner of strange before, but never quite like that. Aaron nodded his head to Morgan, and the man took it as a sign to follow her. He quickly obeyed, hot on the girl's heels as she kept her head down with an odd, freaked out expression on her face like she was about to throw up and scream at the same time. 

Which left Sean alone as Spencer and Aaron whirled around on him, similar looks of annoyance on their face as the younger agent looked the man head to toe. 

He was handsome, handsome in a rugged way like he was used to bar fights and late nights and drinking until three am with pretty ladies like her. He was built wide like Aaron, his shoulders broad and muscles stocky, a few tattoos dotted around his arms that only added to his rough looking appeal, and Spencer wondered if she’d always liked the bad boys, wondered if he was an outlier in her dating history. 

Except they weren’t dating, not yet at least. 

“So I take it she’s one of your agents,” Sean said, wringing his hands together in anxiety as the two taller men looked down at him, equally unimpressed.

Though, Spencer hated to admit, his was more green faced jealousy than anything else. 

“Agent Prentiss is one of the best,” Reid corrected, his tone cold and stern, and Sean visibly shrunk in on himself, looking to his big brother for help, only he found Aaron was just as annoyed, glaring down at him. 

“You have some more explaining to do, Sean,” His brother snapped, and the two men diverted him into one of the interrogation rooms, Spencer’s jaw clenched so hard he felt his temples ache, “Or next time I’m not stopping her from handing your ass to you, and believe me when I say you’ll wish you’d told me sooner,”

Sean gulped, all too aware of the way eighteen year old Bugsy had never backed down from a fight, when men twice her age shoved her in clubs or girls bitched at her for dancing too close to their boyfriends. He didn’t imagine she was any different at twenty eight, except this time she was trained and licensed to handle a gun. 

The door slammed behind them, and Aaron pushed his little brother into the seat with a firm hand, the sight of his unit chief just as protective over her as he was making Spencer bite back glee. The image of Bugsy laying into the guy was burned into his memory, eidetic or not, and it seemed to be the only thing that stopped him blowing his top as Sean opened his mouth to explain what had happened between him and the younger Prentiss woman. 

–

“What did you do, Thane?” Sean’s voice crackled over the feed, the wire on his chest brushing against his shirt as he paced in the wine cellar. Aaron, Morgan, Spencer and Bugsy sat in the van, listening to the conversation through shared headphones, Spencer and Bugsy’s heads pressed together as they followed the voices as best as they could, waiting for a confession or anything they could tie to the victims' gory deaths. 

“I spiked the wine, you idiot,” Sean’s boss, Thane, snapped, his breathing laboured and Bugsy took a shot in the dark to say he was pacing, worrying now that there was concrete evidence linking his date rape drug to the deaths of atleast nine people so far, “Oh, God. Oh, god, Jim is going to kill me.”

“Why the hell would you do that?” Sean seethed, his patience wearing thin as the man all but confessed to killing his girlfriend. 

“For a laugh, I thought it was X. Girl’s love that crap,” Thane replied, his voice louder as Sean stepped closer to him, and she exchanged a look with Aaron.

“Yeah, but it wasn’t X, was it?” The younger Hotchner barked, and she quickly let go of the headphones to grab a kevlar and her gun. 

“He’s going off track, Aaron, he’d not going to keep his cool much longer,” She said, and Spencer’s eyes trailed up to her face, her brow furrowed as Aaron moved to slip his own bulletproof over his head, adjusting the straps at his side. 

“Tell SWAT to stand by, we’re going in to support, but we may need back up,” Aaron ordered, unholstering his gun and switching the trigger off safety, “You two stay here and see if Thane says any more about the wine,”

She drew her gun to her side just as he did, and Spencer made a move to stop her, even just to check where her head was at because he knew she had this tendency of throwing herself in harms way and asking questions later. He selfishly worried what that upset look in her eyes meant, like she loathed that Sean was in danger as much as she loathed him. 

But he wasn’t quite fast enough, because by the time he’d reached a hand out for hers to ask if she was feeling alright, she had slid the door to the van open, hopping out onto the tarmac as Aaron shadowed her. 

And something ugly and envious reared its head in Spencer’s gut as the doors slammed, so much so that his jaw feathered and he took a deep breath out, his lips pressing into a thin line.

The two agents moved as one, their footsteps pounding over the linoleum floor of the night club. They swept to the back of the building, where the door to the stock room was, and it became apparent almost immediately from the grunting and shuffling the other side of the door that the two men were much closer to brawling than they’d guessed. 

“FBI, drop your weapon!” Bugsy called, bracing herself as she felt Aaron’s domineering figure at her shoulder. She raised her leg to kick the door in, and it swung on its hinges, smacking into the rack of beer. They caught the two men in the middle of a fist fight, Sean with a split lip, Thane with a gash on his forehead, his head locked under the younger man’s arm with a deathly grip.

She holstered her gun, seeing that neither of them were carrying, and moved forward to break the two of them up.

“Alright, Sean- Sean, that’s enough,” She scolded, her fingers prying his muscled arm off his boss’s trachea, and Sean took a second to realise it was disappointment in her face, not the white hot anger it had been not even a few hours before, before he let the man go, some colour returning to his bluing lips.

“He killed Linda,” The blonde Hotchner said softly, and something wavered in her eyes, something close to pity, and she nodded at him while biting her cheek hard. Aaron holstered his gun, surging forward to grab Thane with rough hands as he fought against the taller man’s grip. “She was sober, she’d gotten clean and he killed her,” 

“I know,” Bugsy said lamentingly, and against her better judgement she patted his shoulder kindly, more kindly than he probably deserved, and the thought of it made Sean’s baby blue eyes turn away in sorrow. 

Before she could say anything else, Thane wretched his hand out of Hotch’s grip, grabbing for the sharp box cutter and lunging right for Bugsy where she turned away from him. 

Sean’s expression morphed into fear for a moment, grabbing for her to yank her out of reach, but it was too late. She felt the slash across the back of her arm, where her kevlar couldn’t cover up, and she yawped in pain the way a dog sounds when its tail gets crushed. Turning towards the source of the danger, Sean’s hand weaved around her waist to tug her backwards as Aaron scrambled to grab the suspect. 

Thane’s hand gripped the blade and slashed down again, across her cheek and only inches away from her eye, her hands too late to grab his wrists to stop his advances. By the time he drew back to swipe for her again Aaron had already tackled him to the ground, pinning him to the wine soaked floor and fumbling for his cuffs. 

“We have an agent injured and needing medical, repeat, medical unit required on scene,” Spencer was out of his seat before Hotch could even finish his sentence, forgoing his own vest as he darted from the van, his heart racing at the sound of the scuffle echoing through Sean’s wire, and he felt his chest seizing at just what kind of a state she’d be in when he saw her. 

She was the only other agent on the scene. That call had to be made for her, the voice in his gut told him, but the twisted part of him hoped that it was someone else, anyone else, that had gotten hurt, because he might just throw a punch of his own at Thane or Sean or maybe even both of them if she had so much as a single hair misplaced. 

Spencer had only just about reached the bar area when the four of them emerged from the stock room, Thane in cuffs, looking rattled and aggravated. Spencer let himself take a long, hard look at the man with a glare that soon made him cower away, though he found little luck elsewhere as Hotch’s hands gripped him so tight Spencer thought he might be trying to strangle him through his arms. 

But that wasn’t who he was looking for. And there, trailing behind his unit chief sheepishly, with Sean’s hand on her back as he watched her carefully, his eyes worriedly darting over her skin when he saw how fast the blood was pouring from the laceration on the apple of her cheek, was Bugsy. Her expression was shaken, no doubt from nearly having her corneas slashed open had Sean not pulled her away even a second earlier, and she seemed in some sort of a daze, until she spotted the sweater vest she’d shoved in the wash about a hundred times, and two supple hands reached for her shoulders, snapping her attention out of her head. 

“Are you okay?” Spencer asked, all but ignoring Sean as the man went to flag down medical, his own appearance dishevelled and stunned, and it irked Spencer something childish when her head snapped to the blonde, watching him head for the paramedics. 

“I’m okay, Spence, it’s just a superficial wound,” She said as a reflex, meeting his eyes finally. But she simpered when she saw just how terrified he seemed, a warm palm raising to cup his face affectionately, “He just nicked the skin, that’s all. It’s not as bad as it looks,” 

Which wasn’t exactly a lie. Her face stung like a bitch, but the feeling of her cheek dribbling with the ichor was worse than the actual pain, and made her feel queasy more than anything. 

He went to say something else, or perhaps even gently caress the clean side of her face with his own loving gesture, but he was quickly interrupted by the medical team all but grabbing Bugsy out of his grip and assessing her themselves. 

“It’s probably best if you come take a seat, Agent Prentiss,” The woman said, pointing to where Sean sat on the back of the ambulance getting his nose checked over, “We’ll be over with some stitches and glue,” 

And Spencer made a move to follow the two of them, only to be stopped by Hotch, who called his name with that direct tone he took when he was worried.

“Reid, I need you and Morgan to interview Thane about where he got the drugs he used to spike the wine,” Aaron ordered, even though he seemed to watch the girl go just as bothered as the younger agent, and Spencer seemed conflicted between rebelling against his boss’s instructions or keeping to his track record of following them to a tea. 

He paused for a second, his gaze flicking to the girl who sat with her old flame, Sean’s eyes roving over her head to toe worriedly, and he looked back to Aaron, “But-”

“Now, Reid. She’s going to be fine.” 

And Spencer was forced to listen, even if his face burned with annoyance at the sight of the man watching her so tentatively. 

–

“Would you quit fidgeting, the medic said it was a surface wound,” Bugsy snipped, feeling the ocean hues burning a hole into the side of her head. She dusted her knees off of invisible dirt, braving a look up at her ex-fling where she was met with a wall of guilt.

And it was like for a split second she remembered all the mornings she’d wake up to him twirling the tips of her hair between his fingers, or when he’d shake his head whenever he’d look over her shoulder at her lab reports she’d be writing and make a passing comment on how a hot girl like her could have brains and looks. 

Or how he could be kind to her, genuinely sweet when he wanted to be, when they toed a weird line between friends with benefits and something a little more, because at his core she knew he was a good guy, he was just incredibly dumb for an eighteen year old. 

“Listen, Bug,” Sean sighed, looking down at the ground where they were perched on the back on the ambulance, Bugsy’s face stitched up so tight she hoped it wouldn’t scar very deeply, “I really am sorry for how I treated you,” 

His voice shook with something remorseful, and she let her eyes cast over his face that had grown even more handsome in the ten years since she saw him. With the good memories came the bad ones in equal measure, and the arguments over stupid shit like leaving cupboard doors open and playing music late at night and the time he forgot to feed her gerbil for two days when she was out of town washed back to shore from the deepest crevices of her mind. 

She’d been with men after him, had flings and meaningless kisses with boys who’d treated her much less kindly than he had. And when she thought about it, the anger and resentment she’d felt when she thought about those few days she spent lost in Italy stemmed from the fact she’d been forced to confront what she’d always feared since she was little. 

That Bugsy was alone in the world, forgettable, someone you could leave behind and sleep soundly. 

But when she thought of that now, the first face she pictured was Spencer, and how he would tell her to knock it off if she ever said that out loud, because he would never leave her, in a foreign country or even at a gas station if she needed to get fuel. He always walked up to the pump with her because he knew exactly how many women got kidnapped in places like that every year, he'd told her so already. 

And she knew the person she was when she could have loved Sean, the person who was reminded just how easy it was to leave her behind, was gone. In its place was the girl who Spencer loved like it was as easy as breathing. And the thought of it made her feel just that little bit less bitter towards the blonde man who fiddled with his rough, bloodied hands. 

“I was a dumb kid, I did a lot of things that I’m not proud of,” He swallowed heavily, his frown looking strikingly similar to Aaron's as he did, but she would never remind him, “But I did always wonder whether I’d see your name in the news curing some disease I could never pronounce or being the first person to learn like every single language there is,” He smiled sadly, and the old her knew him just well enough to know he was being honest, because his nose turned red whenever he lied. 

The thought of it made her lips curve up, despite how annoyed she’d been to see him again, and there was something bashful about the way the slid a hand into his to give it a quick squeeze.

“We were eighteen, Sean. No one has themselves figured out at eighteen,” She said earnestly, her head dipping to meet his ashamed gaze.

He shook his head, “You deserved so much better than I could ever give you, we both knew that,” He pulled his hand away, and her expression contorted into confusion, “It’s probably why you're with that doctor, right? Aaron said he’s like a whizz kid,”

“He’s not-We’re-” She sighed, running a hand over where the EMTs had stitched the gash on the back of her arm, “It’s complicated,”

“Complicated like we were complicated?” He asked, her fingertip tracing every single nook where they had looped the suture through her skin. 

She smiled to herself and looked over at him, something weighty like closure passing between the two of him as he watched her take his tired face in, knowing they were nothing more than just passing ships in the night now. 

“You meant something to me once, Sean, no matter how much we drove each other up the wall,” She snickered, and something like an exhausted chuckle matched her, “But it’s different with him. It’s like everything I do means something to the world when I’m with him, you know?” 

Sean took in the wistful look in her eyes, the girl he’d known who had only gotten stronger, scrappier, wittier with age, and he thought he’d be lucky to ever get someone like her again.

“I hope I do,” He said, and she knocked her shoulder into his to dispel the bad memories of two teenagers figuring out what feelings and kisses and sex meant in the messiest of ways. 

“Do me a favour?” Sean hummed at her, and she looked surprisingly like herself again when she smiled at him wryly, “Call Aaron more. It’s difficult being the only disappointment child in his life,” 

Sean barked a laugh at her words, and she smiled into her lap. Who’d have thought closure would be so healing. 

–

She felt eyes on her even as she tried to nap on the jet, having returned back to their original position on the couch, her head on Spencer’s lap. She had a sixth sense to who it would be, the Spider Sense they’d been calling it despite the fact Spencer tried to tell her it was mere intuition, she glanced up to where something melancholic swirled inside his forest gaze, already watching over her despite his book being open in his lap. 

She hadn’t even opened her mouth to speak before his obscenely large hand had sneaked under her jawline, tilting her face up so he could take a better look at the messy cut. 

“Have they given you anything for the pain?” Spencer said quietly, because the other’s were already trying to sleep, and she blanked for a moment, before her hand came up to snake around his wrist gently. 

“They gave me Naproxen for two days. Spence, I’m fine, really,” 

His teeth ground together, his other hand placing his book down beside him and moving to smooth the back of her hair, the sealed wound staring daggers at him as his eyes darted over the rest of her face, just to be sure they hadn’t missed anything. 

He nodded to himself, as if to conclude his consultation and his thumb stroked down the curve of her jaw, his head whipping up to quickly make sure no one else was watching.

“What, uh,” Spencer cleared his throat nervously, her expectant eyes looking up at him, “What were you and Sean talking about?”

Her brow quirked in confusion, and it wasn’t until she felt his delicate strokes hesitate that she realised he seemed on edge, “Why?”

“N-No reason, I just was wondering, you looked like you were-” He coughed again, even though there was nothing tickling his windpipe, nothing except embarrassment, because he’d never thought he’d be the envious type. 

He braved a look at her again, worried she would be annoyed with his crass and intrusive questions, only to see her smiling at him wickedly. 

“We were what?” She asked, and Spencer went so quiet he could have heard a mouse knitting if he tried, his cheeks flushing with raspberry red heat, “Are you jealous, Spencer?” 

He shook his head fast, unable to formulate anything that wasn’t a stammer, and she sat up in her seat, throwing her legs onto the ground so she could scooch up into his side. 

“Because if you were, you know I’d find that wildly attractive right?” She murmured, his cheeks burning an even hotter shade, the sight of it all but a bone to a hound to Bugsy who loved teasing him. She snickered, leaning in close to his vermillion ear, and leaving a tiny kiss on his clenched jaw, “Don’t worry, Wonder Boy. He knows I’m all yours,” 

3. The one with the day of the dead.

“Thankyou, thankyou, my helpful little mice,” Penelope chirped as the three of them stepped into her apartment, their arms filled with shopping bags, “Set them down on the counter, I’ll unpack them later,” 

“Wow,” Bugsy gawped at the altar stood in the corner of the woman’s living room, an assortment of sweets and tissue paper flowers decorating the layers, “Oh it’s so pretty, they’re going to love it. We spent a Summer in Mexico when Mom was having talks with their President, but we moved out before October rolled around so I never got to see a Día de los Muertos,” 

Penny smiled, though she quickly looked around the rest of her apartment that had yet to be decorated, “There’s still a lot to do before the party next week and,” She huffed, the bags taking up the entirety of her kitchen table as Bugsy frowned at her, “I’m scared. I’ve never had the whole team here before,” 

“Relax, Pen, I can help you set up,” The younger woman reassured, helping unload the groceries that needed to go in the fridge as Spencer helped her carry the larger items. 

Penelope perked up watching her guests move towards the cooler, a devilish smirk twitching at her lips, “Hey, while you guys are there, can you see if I have enough hot sauce for the party?”

“Sure,” They replied in synchrony, Bugsy putting the milk and soda in the side drawers as Spencer shelved away some of the meat. They both looked at the top row, where some kind of jalapeno salsa was resting next to a jar of fake eyeballs, and the flicked a casual glance at the woman who was pouring vials of red viscous liquid made to look like blood down her cheeks for a Penelope version of a practical joke.

Bugsy blinked once, not quite surprised as she would have thought seeing Penelope attempting to scare them with something they’d seen a thousand times over for real. 

“Now, are the eyeballs marinating in anything spicy or is it just like a pickled onion type of thing because all you seem to have is the jalapeno sauce,” She said, and Penelope deflated at her bored tone, looking at the two agents in discontent. 

“You guys didn’t even flinch,” She said sadly, her dark eyes flicking between them, “My poor babies, what has the world done to you?” 

Bugsy smiled, shutting the fridge door and handing the bubbly woman a leaf of tissue paper. 

“JJ’s right, I told her I wanted to go scary this Halloween and she just laughed at me, and said that I don’t have a scary side,” Penelope whined, and Bugsy giggled. 

“Sorry, babygirl, you wouldn’t be Penelope Garcia if you were capable of scary,” She teased, waltzing around the kitchen to put away the rest of the shopping, even as the woman tried to shoo her away from helping, “I’ve seen puppies scarier than you, Pen,” 

“If it helps, you probably do,” Spencer interjected, helping Bugsy shelve something on one of the higher cabinets, his long arms weaselling over her own as he reached past her, “The building blocks of the human personality are complex, varied and multi-faceted. It’s essential to one’s mental health to want to express these hidden personalities and it’s just a fact of nature that everybody has one,”

“Everybody?” Penelope asked, ignoring the way the two of them bumbled around her kitchen, handing things between one another the way she imagined them putting away the groceries in their own kitchen, like they worked just as well in the home as they did in the field. Dare she say it, like a couple who had been married and knew each other's routines for years. “Even the two of you?” 

“Oh, absolutely, yeah,” Spencer agreed, and Bugsy flicked a smirk up at him as Pen turned to her expectantly.

"I mean, you can't tell me Bitch-Slapping our boss or fist fighting with my sister was exactly usual behaviour for me," She pointed out, and the two of them nodded in agreement, although they wouldn't have exactly called it out of character for her.

“Okay, okay, I want to see it. I want to see Dr Spencer Reid’s hidden personality,” Penelope said, a smile growing as thick and fast as a weed when he seemed thrown off by her request, and it only took one look at the younger Prentiss to know she wanted front row just as badly. 

“R-right here? Like right now you want to see it?” He stammered, all too aware of Bugsy’s amused lashes batting up at him, the innocent expression she knew made it difficult for him to say no to, and he wondered for a second if she understood the exact amount of control she had over him when she wanted to. 

“I wanna see this hidden personality, pretty boy,” She smiled with her teeth, and he felt his hands turn jittery in embarrassment. 

“Okay, alright,” Spencer shook his arms out, clearing his throat with a growling sort of husk that made her raise her brows, and in a single blink he’d locked stern eyes with her, pointing to her with a completely un-Spencer-like stance; completely rose to his full height, confident and domineering, “I know what you’re thinking,”

She really hoped he didn’t. Because what she was really thinking was just how hot he sounded with that deep sort of timbre, that cocksure attitude. 

“You’re thinking ‘Did that guy just fire five shots or did that guy just fire six shots?’” He went on, his tone deadly serious, as her lips parted in surprise, and what had started out as a game turned into some wildly lewd thoughts fast, “You’re going to have to ask yourself a question; Do you feel lucky, pun-k,”

She swallowed haughtily, as he squeezed his eyes shut and when he looked at her again he was entirely puppy like the way he usually looked, none the wiser to the way her stomach had coiled in want. 

“That was Clint Eastwood from Dirty Harry,” He explained, looking to Penelope because he had no idea what that strange look on Bugsy’s face was, only to see his techy friend just as in awe, “I mean I know it’s not as effective as my dominant personality, but I really think it’s there-”

Penelope’s phone sprung to life with a call from Hotch and she quickly spluttered an excuse that they needed to leave right away, grabbing for her keys and heading for the door. 

Spencer made a move to follow her, only to feel a hand grab his shirt and turn him right back around, Bugsy still staring at him with that look in her eye, like she’d had too much caffeine or been told there was a million dollars cash waiting for them at home.

“Is everything okay-”

“Is Clint Eastwood strictly a party trick or would I be able to have him on request, maybe?” She said, her hands oddly tight as they grabbed at his soft stomach, and it was like he heard the click in his brain when he realised what she meant. 

“R-request, I guess,” He stumbled for composure, finding his footing when he felt her palms were clammy, “You got a thing for cops?” 

“Just the one, I guess,” She said with a clenched jaw, and he laughed though it sounded more like a choke, as she darted right behind Penelope to avoid suspicion. 

–

By the time the party rolled around, Penelope had decked her apartment out to the nines, marigolds and tissue garlands and lights and food of all sorts spread out across the altar, a mix of alcohol and juices available in pitchers, because Penelope was nothing if not a people pleaser. 

The doorbell rang right as Alex and Bugsy poured themselves some margarita, complete with the eyeball ice cubes ofcourse, and Penelope fussed in her beautiful dress, muttering under her breath the way she did when she was nervous. 

“What, what, what,” She murmured, her blonde curls bouncing with her steps as she reached for the door, “I thought you said you couldn’t come!” 

Bugsy’s head whipped to the door, Aaron looking much more casual than they were used to seeing him as he entered the decorated home, his colleagues all dressed smartly and in some shade of black. 

“Jack got a last minute sleepover invitation so I hope it’s okay,” He said, a bottle of rosé in his hand he’d brought as a contribution. 

“Ofcourse, ofcourse,” Penelope sang, leading him over to the altar where everyone stood with their offerings, sipping on their glasses of liquor, “Okay, everybody, I guess it’s time to start, here you go sir,”

She handed him a freshly poured glass of wine, chilled courtesy of the eyeball, and Aaron thanked her kindly, taking a generous sip to catch up with the others. 

“I want to thank everybody for doing this with me, and our altar’s burning, and I just feel so blessed to have you all here,” Penelope started with a grateful smile on her painted lips, a handful of old photos between her fingertips, “I will start, um, this is my mom and dad,” She said, nostalgia idling her tone as she gently placed down a worn picture of a teen couple holding a beautiful, blonde girl, eyes bigger than moons and full of curiosity, just how Bugsy would have imagined Penny as a baby, “I miss them. And this is my cat, Simba with his usual bowl of soda pop. He was a weird cat,”  

The team chuckled, looking at the enormous ginger Tom that lapped at the bubbly liquid. Bugsy took a sip of her drink as JJ took a step forward with a smile, her own photo in hand. 

“This is my sister, Roselyn. Ros.” JJ said, placing down a photo of a fifteen year old with identical eyes and nose to her, sitting it next to a small statue of the eiffel tower, “She always dreamed she’d live is Paris so um,” She swallowed, looking at her sister laying in the grass of their childhood home, something girlish in her gaze, “It didn’t happen but I thought this would bring her some happiness,”

They took it in turns bringing their offerings and pictures: David bringing some Cubs tickets for a soldier he had lost in Vietnam, Alex bringing a crossword for her mother, Spencer sliding down a picture of Maeve silently, alongside a cut out picture of Nikola Tesla, Morgan bringing his father, Hitch putting down the picture of Haley he kept in his wallet. 

Which left them all to turn to the youngest agent, who seemed flustered.

“So, I fortunately have not lost anyone properly thus far, so bare with me here guys,” She said fishing out an old scrapbook photo of her as a seven year old, a small orange snake wrapped around the length of her arm, twenty two year old Emily standing right behind her, the pair of them with beaming smiles as the snake seemingly poked its tongue out for the camera. 

Penelope clutched her chest in horror, “Is that a-”

“This is Tigger, the corn snake Emily gave to me when she left home,” She explained, and Spencer couldn’t help but smile at the million dollar grin she had in the photo, three of her front teeth missing sweetly, “I had him until I was about twelve before he kicked the serpent bucket, but he was cute for a slithery little guy,” 

She drew another photo, an ultrasound showing two tiny embryos and she put it beside the picture of Tigger, and the group drew a shared breath. 

“Bug, I never knew you were…” Spencer started, his stomach flipping when he saw the outline of the foetuses, only for the girl’s eyes to widen. 

“No! No, it’s not like that, this is um,” She cleared her throat awkwardly, scratching the back of her hand with a guilty look, “This is the twin I absorbed in the womb,” She said, and she felt the rest of her team gawking at her without having to look, “I guess I’d like to say, uh, I’m sorry pal. It was nice while it lasted, I hope you can forgive me,” 

“You’re being serious?” Morgan asked, gawping at the girl, right as Hotch broke out into disbelieving snickers, probably spurred on by the wine, and Alex was quick to join him, her hand over her mouth.

Bugsy turned to him with a ‘duh’ kind of look on her face, “Oh, 100% serious, yeah,” 

“Is that why you’re a little…” Rossi started, only he found himself stuck for words when she looked at him betrayed. 

“A little, what?” She asked, looking to JJ who cracked into a chuckle, putting her head in her palm.

“What he means is you have a big personality,” Alex said, wrapping an arm around the girl’s shoulder and giving her a motherly squeeze, hoping they hadn’t offended her, “And we wouldn’t change it for the world,”

“I should hope so, she got a double helping.” Morgan cackled, and Bugsy smacked his arm with a smile. 

“Every time I think I know everything about you, you come out with something new,” Penelope said, her own snickering laugh meeting the girl’s ears, “You’re like Jason Bourne,” 

“God help us if there had been two of you, Prentiss,” David added, patting the girl on the head as they laughed, and Penelope raised a toast to their altar, the rest of the team doing the same before they sipped out their cups and allowed themselves to enjoy the rest of the party. 

–

“Oh, I have something for you!” Bugsy said, springing to her feet and almost tripping over Sergio who had curled up by her legs. 

She’d cut herself off after her third, and by the time midnight rolled around she’d almost completely sobered up enough to the point her and Alex had been playing hangman except with only Old English words.

Her and Spencer had gotten home twenty minutes later, the two of them exhausted from an evening well spent, the melancholy happiness in the room draining them to the point Bugsy had immediately changed into her pyjamas when she got into the house.

Her pyjamas being Spencer’s boxers and one of his shirts since he’d inadvertently been hiding all of the underwear-top combinations she’d gotten from other flings that she’d brought when she moved into his. 

“You didn’t have to get me anything,” He said earnestly, and she simply waved his humble attitude off, the two of them sat on the sofa in their nightwear, flicking through the late night TV. 

He smiled, watching her bustle into her room and root around her closet, before she emerged with a terracotta coloured pot of lilac flowers, whirling on her heel to head for him. 

“What’s this?” Spencer asked, standing to meet her and Bugsy simpered, because she’d felt silly for buying them in the first place. Perhaps it was some left over guilt considering she’d spent the majority of Maeve’s existence in her life hating the girl, or atleast hating what she had that Bugsy thought she could never be privy to. Perhaps it was because all things considered she wanted Spencer to know that it was okay for him to mourn, because she’d never force him to hurry up his process when he’d been there for every second of hers. 

She handed him the potted plant, the small purple petals in the shape of half moons lighting up at him, and his mind raced as to what species they were since he’d certainly never seen them around the East Coast before.

“Scaevola aemula,” She said, fiddling with the hem of his shirt around her waist as she spoke because his eyes were unnervingly doe-like when he looked at her in the dark lamp light, “It’s called the fairy fan flower. I thought-"

She paused, her expression morphing into embarrassment, "Wait, this is so stupid, I’ll send them back,” She shook her head, the worry overtaking the rational part of her as she grabbed for the pot to stash it back in her room, but he held it out of her reach, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her body against his hip, as the other stretched out to keep her from snatching back the plant. 

“Tell me. What?” He said, his lips stretching into a devious smile to see her so shy suddenly, and she buried her face into her hands as he watched her, “I'm not going to think it's stupid. Why did you get me these?”

“They’re not for you- well, they are, but I just thought,” She stumbled over her sentences, her heart thumping that this was entirely the wrong move, that she was poking at an open wound no matter how caring she was being. Clearing her throat, she let her forehead thump onto his shoulder, her eyes squeezing shut as she spoke, “I thought you could keep it so that you can think of Maeve every time you water it, since Maeve was the name of the fairy queen,” 

He was quiet. God, why was he so quiet? Her breath was thick as molasses as they sat in the silence for a second. She nearly jumped a foot in the air when two of his fingers ran delicately beneath her chin, tilting her head up enough that he could see her face and she drew a sigh of relief when she saw he didn’t seem angry or hurt at all. 

His eyes were soft as pools of honey as he looked at her, his brows stirring into a sad-happy mix. 

“I’m sorry if I’ve upset you,” She whispered, their faces so close they were sharing breath, and he shook his head, his fingers never leaving her skin where they forced her to stay near, gave her no choice but to keep her looking at him. She didn’t think she could stop even if she wanted to. Everything pretty about him was dialled to a thousand whenever she got close, and his thick lashes blinked at her like he was seeing a mirage, a daydream. 

“This is the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me, Bug,” Spencer murmured back to her, his every word fanning over the bridge of her nose, and she sighed in content, melting back into his side as he pulled her into a hug, his own face burying into the crook of her neck, “Thankyou,” 

She smiled and hummed in happiness, wrapping her arms around his slender waist and drawing him so close she got a whiff of his shampoo. 

“I have a bigger pot in my room, if you like, then we can keep it in the kitchen sill, away from the boys,” She offered, beaming at him when he stroked over the back of her hair affectionately. She hopped out of the embrace, “I’ll go get it for you-”

“You’ve done enough, Bug,” Spencer reminded, something grateful in his tone as she paused and waited for whatever he was going to say, “I’ll go get the pot, you go decide what movie we should watch,”

“You’re sure?” Bugsy asked, her brows furrowed as she checked for signs of an escape in his movements. But he just smiled back at her tiredly, the purple flowers his accomplice as she gave in and headed back towards the sofa, “It’s by my dresser, where my paper bin used to be,”

He set the gift on the kitchen table, the lilac hues brightening up the kitchen already like they just knew how touched Spencer felt to have received them, like there really was some kind of fairy magic burrowed into the soil as they watched the two of them dance around one another, heading to opposite ends of the apartment with lingering glances and bashful smiles.

Spencer thought his chest couldn’t swell any bigger in size, his heart so inevitably full of her, it left room for no one else, not even Maeve, which was the first time he’d brought himself to think that in months. 

+1 The one with the book.

He opened the door to her bedroom, her duvet tossed everywhere because it was a rare occasion she made her bed before they left for work, her clothes strewn about the floor in the general direction of the bathroom, like she’d stripped on the way there, and the thought of it made his stomach seize with a heat, the idea of her undressing little more than a wall away from him knocking his every thought from his head.

The vase. He needed a bigger vase.

Quickly collecting her clothes up and shoving them into her laundry basket for her, he diverted his attention to her dresser, where the slightly roomier pot sat on the floor, a towel underneath it to catch any water remnants and he stepped over her various note pads and books she’d clearly tossed off the bed before she went to sleep. 

He tried to ignore them, he really did, but his scratching urge to keep things tidy for her wrestled with his conscience that said to leave her stuff alone. Before he could talk himself out of it, he found himself organising them into a neat pile in his hands and placing them on top of her dresser where one of her books had made it safely, or at least safe enough she wouldn’t trip over it. 

His gaze dropped to the book already on there, its leather cover entirely melting into the background of the dark chestnut dresser, yet it stared daggers up at him like it had been waiting to be noticed.

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens.

The book looked old enough to be easily from original 1900s, at least one of the first few hundred published. It was scuffed a little on the edges, the black lettering of the printed title choppy in places where it had been handled recklessly, and the leaves of paper were atom thin. The smell of dust and paper clouded his nose when he picked it up delicately.

Opening the front cover curiously to see its printed date, he was stopped in his tracks to see a little post it note on the title page, covering Mr Dickens’ name with a scrawled handwriting he’d known for six years. 

Six whole years. Nearly seven. He felt like he’d known her his whole life, when in startling reality he’d not even known her a third of it. 

And there it was, where he was expecting a list of notes or her thoughts on how David Copperfield had much more likeable characters, anything that she’d thought important enough to scratch down on the front page, instead was his name. 

Spencer,

He felt his breath catch the second he read it, contemplated slamming the book shut right then and there because this felt illicit to read whatever it was she’d scribbled out just for him even if it was dedicated to the stupid man who’d been asking her to wait on his stupid head and stupider heart to align so he could give her exactly everything she deserved. 

His gaze snapped away from the page, that voice in his head telling him this was wrong, that if she’d wanted him to see that book she would have given it to him already. And yet, like it did most days, the beating organ in his chest writhed in annoyance that he’d looked away, that he’d followed the rules one too many times for its liking. He bit his cheek, the two halves of himself arguing amongst themselves. 

After a second of debating, his eyes fell slowly to the note, a creeping guilt skirting down his spine that he was reading something private. How could something be private and yet meant for him? His brain scoffed at the dichotomy of it all, while his chest lurched when he caught a glimpse of more of her writing. 

‘Spencer,’ His heart trembled almost as much as his hand as he traced the writing with his forefinger, imagining her writing it out in a little ball point pen, her body slumped over the book with every intent of having him read her little note. He imaged her breath fanning across the page, her hand warm as her knuckles stroked over the paper, and it felt so much more intimate than a little post-it when he thought of her like that, ‘By the time you’re reading this I’ll be back home from London and we’ll probably be in your apartment doing that stupid thing we do when we pretend like I haven’t missed you more than anything in the whole world while I’ve been here in England,’

She wrote this in London, probably in that tiny apartment her and Emily had rented on a short lease, the one she’d said smelled like mildew and dust and wet wood but had a gorgeous view of Hyde Park when she looked out her bedroom window. 

She’d written it months ago, so why hadn’t she given it to him?

‘I miss you every day. You’re all I think about when I go for a run, and I think sometimes you’d really like it here. I’ve mapped out all the bookshops I’ve found and all the places that do really good coffee if you ever did want to visit England, but I think I’d be happy with you even if we lived in a little ditch on the side of the road like two drowning rats,’

His chest seized, tears lining his lashes when he thought about that day she’d yanked him into a hug the second she saw him, when he’d been too busy thinking about Maeve and burying whatever he felt for Bugsy entirely behind him. 

You should have called, Bug. He’d said, like his eidetic memory wanted to twist the knife in just that bit deeper, and he didn’t need his freaky brain to remember how her face had fallen when he’d said it like that. Like he didn’t even want to see her. 

He hated himself. He hated himself more than she’d ever had. Even if she had more rights than anyone to despise his selfish guts. 

‘Anyway, I know Dickens isn’t your favourite or anything, but I got you this because I know you like the original copies and because it made me think of you (but then again, what doesn’t?). 

I never truly enjoyed the living part of life until you were in mine. And so I guess that means I’ll love you until the life part stops too. 

All my heart,

Bug.’

He didn’t realise he was holding his breath until he finished the note, digesting every single word the average speed instead of his usual method of inhaling the letters faster than should be possible, like he wanted to savour every single one because they’d come from her. 

He heard her saying every single one, the thought striking him like someone had cracked him across the face with a paddle. She’d wanted to say all of this when she was in London, when he’d been too busy for her, when he’d been too busy with Maeve. 

I never truly enjoyed the living part of life until you were in mine. 

“Did you find it?” Her voice called from the other room, no doubt where she was settling down to flick the movie on, her heart so delicate and gracious because she was still waiting for him. 

Even now, even when she was in his clothes and under the blanket she’d brought from her apartment for them to use on movie nights because it got cold too fast in his house, when she was waiting for him to come back. 

Spencer felt knocked out of a dream, like someone had yanked the chord on his music, shaken him awake into the freezing realisation she was waiting for a reply. 

He’d made her wait long enough. 

He barely heard her footsteps entering her own room, probably worried when he hadn’t responded and she said his name, “Spence?” A shudder rolled over his neck when he heard it, a siren song he’d been hearing like a mantra for weeks and he felt something fat and full well in his chest when he turned to look at her, standing there in nothing but boxers and a shirt, just as she had when he’d first met her. 

Except she was his. She was waiting on his call, on his signal, on his word go. 

And it was like the idea of being with her for the rest of his life made his living part worth it too. Like it always had done. 

Her eyes fell down to where his hand rested on top of the book, the page splayed open where he’d delicately flicked it open, the yellow post-it catching in the light and making her expression fall. 

They looked at each other, the same thought channelling between them, their brains meshed together on some other kind of bluetooth the same way they’d always done, only this time it was a prickling hive mind that gave them both gooseflesh the second they locked eyes. 

“Why didn’t you give me this?” He asked, his voice small because he already knew the answer, not daring to move a muscle like she was some kind of deer ready to be spooked. 

“You were busy,” She said equally as sheepish, her thumb moving to pick the side of her nail when she saw his still stature. They went quiet again, neither of them daring so much as to breathe too loud because they both knew what was on that note. It was the closest she could ever come to splitting open her own chest and handing him that thumping wad of bloodied muscle herself, and it was only when he turned to look at her did she panic, words tumbling from her lips; anything to stop him from walking away because she’d been poking around a fresh wound, “You weren’t supposed to see- I mean you were but only when you wanted to, I didn’t want you to think-”

Except he wasn’t heading for the door like she’d thought, he was heading straight for her. 

“Spence, please, I wasn’t going to tell you until-” But she’d shut up, because instead of replying anything back to her, instead of telling her she could have his heart and his soul and everything in between if she’d ever ask for it again, instead of telling her she was the thing that had kept him alive, like she might as well be the blood that rushed through every one of his veins, he grabbed her face in his hands so hard her back hit the wall, her hands flying out to stop herself from falling. 

And he kissed her, so hard he thought he might cry because it was better than any high he’d ever had, any drug on the market, better than his wildest dreams. She froze for a second, worried she’d tripped and fallen on her way over, that this was a concussion spun wild, because there was no way he was kissing her with every inch of their available skin pressing against one another, his hands swallowing her cheeks whole, his body invading her space, his breath rushing through her nose that bumped against his clumsily. 

Bugsy woke up after a second, her hands gripping onto his slender waist like he was pulling her drowning out of water, like he was dragging her from a flame which she didn’t think sounded too far off since her skin had become molten, her cheeks hot, her chest wrenching for control like she’d inhaled black smoke. 

But he was there, kissing her like she was all he had left, and she kissed him back with equal fervour, whimpering when he bit her lip, a hand wrapping around her waist to tug her just that bit closer to his stomach. Any molecule of her that was left behind was stolen by the action, and all she could think was that every inch of her was his, entirely his, his forever if he wanted it. 

“I love you, I love you so much,” He gasped, drawing away for a split second of air before he took her lips to his own once more, twice, and a third for good luck, their teeth knocking together as he wanted to tell her that a million more times while still kissing her, “I love you, I love you. God, I don’t think I ever want to stop saying it,” 

He pulled her to him again, silencing his own stupid ramblings of a mad man, a whine dragging from his throat as his brows furrowed, his lips soft and plump as he kissed her like he was begging for honey after a hundred day fast. 

And she smiled into his mouth, because Spencer was finally hers. 

--

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[luveline]

hi bae, just wondering if you could write something like roommate!marauders and reader with anxiety where everytime one of them goes out she gets really worried that’s somethings gonna happen to them and waits up for them and just feels like a burden when she calls to make sure they’re alright and just general anxiety things and them being so sweet about it

love u

love u too♡

cw death related anxiety

“Hey, Remus?” you ask tentatively. 

Your housemate lays across the sofa with his dinner half eaten on the coffee table and a book tented on his chest. He's ignoring both in favour of the television, a rerun of Family Fortunes turning the sofa cushions and his pale skin a light blue. 

He drags his blue-tinged gaze from the subtitles to your frowning. “What's wrong?” he asks. You're surprised he heard you over the sound of Sirius’ stereo echoing down the stairs. 

“Where did James say he was going?” 

“I think he said he'd be at the gym for an hour now he's not in work. Want me to call him?” 

“Why would you call him?” you ask, instead of saying yes, please, like you want to. 

“You're worrying again.” 

They know how you are. It doesn't mean they have to understand —it isn't logical to think James is hurt because he hasn't been home today yet, and none of them are required to humour you in your worry, but they always do. 

You feel sick as he takes his phone from his pocket. You've convinced yourself that James is dead, that his car curled around a bend too quickly on the drive in the rain, or that something happened at the gym, or that he never made it there at all, had a fit in the car park outside of work. Even as you think it, you know it's implausible, unlikely, just a repetitive negative anxiety worming its way into your head, but you can't make it stop. 

James doesn't answer the first time, which doesn't help, and then when he does answer the second time you're waiting for bad news. Remus smiles as he talks. “Hello? Jamie?”

James doesn't need speak phone to be heard. “Remus! I'm at the gym, what's happening?”

Remus wrinkles his nose. “What's happening? Since when do you say that?”

“What's up?” James corrects. “I'm on my way out of the gym, can you talk? You can keep me company while I drive.” 

Remus holds out the phone to you. 

“Remus?” James asks into the room. You take the phone before he can hang up, and decide to be honest, but the words get stuck like toffee between your teeth. “Hello?” 

“Hey,” you say, sending Remus a grateful look. He moves over to make room on settee for you, and his arm wraps familiarly around your shoulders as you settle in. He turns his attention back to his show. 

“Oh my god hey, angel. Remus okay?” 

“I was making him ring you, sorry. I thought… you know what I'm like. It's getting late and you aren't home, and I know I don't have the right to pester you about where you are.”

“Yeah you do,” James says, his voice louder, like his mouth is very close to the microphone. “Course you do. I'd worry too if you weren't home yet.” 

“I do this all the time, though.”

Just last week he and Sirius were out late and you'd panicked that they'd both been hurt. You stayed up until almost one in the morning waiting for them to get home from a music shop in the city, each minute after eleven like a shot of ice water in your veins. Sirius jumped when he saw you waiting in the living room, but then he'd given you a hug and rubbed at your shoulders roughly. You didn't wait up for us, did you? 

“It's worse lately, yeah?” James asks. You hum non-committal, and Remus gives you a squeeze in typical Remus fashion. You hadn't even realised he was listening, but his support makes this easier. “You're worrying about us more.”

“Yeah,” you say. “I don't know why. And it sucks because I know it's making me a lot to deal with.” 

“I would one thousand percent prefer it if you rang me then sat there worrying. That would make me feel better. And Remus and Sirius feel the same way, okay? We could all stand to ring each other a bit more anyways.” 

You rub your nose into your hand. “Sorry,” you mumble. 

“There's no need to be. I love you, ‘n I just want you to be happy. If a phone call can make that happen then why shouldn't you do it? And it's not like they're a big imposition, I like talking to you. We all do.”

James is home from the gym what could only be ten minutes later, and he leans over the back of the settee to kiss your forehead chasely. “Here we are, all safe and well.” 

“You haven't seen Sirius yet,” Remus points out.

“I can bloody well hear him. What is he listening to? Is that U2?” James shakes his head in disgust. “I can see why you were so worried I wasn't coming home. Let me go put a stop to that immediately.” 

[empress-simps]

for remus, maybe a fic where he has a crush on fem!slytherin reader, and maybe the rest of the gang disapproves (at least initially) because of the silly house rivalry between gryffindor and slytherin? hopefully they’ll warm up to her because she’s actually really sweet and likes remus back, and they see how good for him she is :)

Hi darlingg! Thank you for this request, this is so adorable, and it was so fun to write :) I somehow made it a bit angsty...sorry about that I got carried away. Hope you enjoy! Pictures are from pinterest, credits to the owner!

Beyond The Surface

Pairing: Remus Lupin x Fem! Slytherin! Reader CW: Sirius being dramatic, Remus getting angry, and Language

He never really planned to fall in love. Remus thinks it would be better if he just lives his life in solitude; away from the confusing and complicated world of romantic relationships.

He doesn’t think anyone should bear the responsibility of having a werewolf boyfriend. Remus wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if he even touched a single hair on your body during that time, he desperately tries to convince himself that his friends and their future children will be enough to warm his heart who secretly yearns to have his own family.

‘It’s for the best, they wouldn’t suffer because of me.’ Remus thought, being the selfless person he was. Although, his plans that he so desperately tried to put up all came crumbling down when you came into the picture.

He didn’t think of it much at first. Remus thought it was just a simple crush that would go away in about three days or so. He was completely wrong.

“Remus Lupin, right? I’m Y/n Rosier, we’re assigned partners in potions.”

You sat beside him, beaming a smile that Remus was certain you were a gift for him from the Gods above. Merlin- you were simply breath taking. That was the first time he felt butterflies on his stomach, feeling his cheeks heat up as you offered a handshake.

“N-nice to meet you, Rosier.” He took your soft hands into his rough, and scarred ones. Shaking it as he desperately tries to ignore the sparks that seemed to go off inside him. Your face grimaced as your last name rolled off his tongue.

“Y/n is fine.” Remus nods, noticing your reaction. He was wondering how someone like you managed to survive other annoying Slytherins as your housemates.

“Alright then, Y/n. Call me Remus, yeah?”

That marks the beginning of an unlikely friendship of a Gryffindor half-blood with a Slytherin pure blood.

“Shall we begin?”

“Alright, but you lead. My skills are no good in potion making.” He jokes, making a small chuckle escape your throat. “I am quite aware.” She teases.

Being partnered with him for a Potions project meant that you would often meet up in the library, spending long hours sitting beside each other in silence, flipping page after page as Remus occasionally puts back books but returning with 5 more.

“Remmy, look here.” You pointed, not noticing how Remus blushed at his newfound nickname as he leaned to your seat, placing one arm on the back of your chair, his tall frame nearly engulfing you as he reads the contents of the page you found interesting.

He suddenly pales, his eyes transfixed on the title of the page. “Wolfsbane potion…” He whispers, eyes scanning the page quickly before looking at you. You hummed, flipping into another page to see how to make the said potion.

“Right, I figured we should make this for our project. What do you think? I think Polyjuice potion is a tad bit boring, hm?” She mused, seeking his opinion on the matter.

Remus parted his mouth to speak, yet the words seem to vanish at the back of his throat. You shot him a worried look, “Do you not like it? You could say so, don’t pretend nothing is wrong, Remmy.”

He blinks, trying to compose himself. “Ah, no-nothing’s wrong. It’s just that…”

You raised your eyebrows curiously, urging him to continue. “What? You know someone who’s a werewolf?” She jokes, trying to lighten the atmosphere as she lightly elbows him.

“I do.” He chokes out, the confession was unexpected, even to him. Remus doesn’t even know why on Earth he’s about to tell you one of his darkest and deepest secrets. It was probably because of your warm and inviting aura. It’s like you wouldn’t judge anyone based on first impressions, appearance, and what you’ve heard about them until you can see for yourself.

Remus felt like he could trust you, and his instincts are almost never wrong.

“Well, maybe the potion we’ll brew can help them?” You offered a smile.

“It certainly would be of help to me.”

You stilled; your hand that was about to get your quill hovered as you looked at him in shock.

“You’re a werewolf?” You whispered quietly; eyes that were surprised stared into his nervous, amber ones. Remus could only nod, an inkling doubt and regret slowly crept up to him. Did he make the right decision? Was he wrong this time? Would you hold it against him?

Your face turned serious, clasping his hand on the table with yours, you looked at him in the eye. “Your secret is safe with me; I would never tell it to anyone. If it helps, I will even make an unbreakable vow, Remus.”

He widened his eyes, “N-no! It’s alright, I trust you, Y/n.” You visibly relaxed, smiling lightly, squeezing his hand, a soft look was sent his way.

“Thank you for trusting me, Remus. If you’d like, I’ll brew you a supply of wolfsbane from time to time.”

If Remus wasn’t in love before that, he certainly is now.

“Out of all the people you could’ve chose to like it was a Rosier?!” Sirius screeched, a horrified look on his face as he grabbed Remus’s shoulder and looked at him straight in the eyes. The said boy frowned “What about it?”

Sirius blanched, “Are you daft, Moons?” He threw his hands up in the air, looking at the rest of the marauders and Lily, wanting them to side with him. Lily’s lips pressed into a thin line; she does not quite agree with Sirius but there’s still a possibility. It doesn’t help the fact that you are a Slytherin; the house that reeks of cunning pure-blooded wizards.

Peter looked anywhere to just not meet the eyes of Remus, clearly uncomfortable. While James frowned, a troubled look on his face as he clasped Lily’s hand. “The Rosier family… they’re not exactly known for their…,” he started, but Sirius cut him off.

“Rosiers are evil! Slytherins! Pureblood Supremacists! Death Eaters!”

Remus frowns, reading the room and the reactions of his friends. The message was clear without words: none of them supported Remus’s interest in a Slytherin, a Rosier no less.

“Give her a chance, she’s different.” Remus tried to make his friends listen to him. Sirius scoffed, rolling his eyes. James sighed, looking at Remus. “Moony, it’s just… We never thought you would fancy a Slytherin.” Remus pursed his lips, “Yeah, I never thought you and Lily would end up together but here we are.” James grimaced at his words.

“There’s tons of girls who fancy you, Moony.” Peter tells him. Remus frowned, feeling annoyance stir inside him. “They’re not her, Wormtail. All I’m saying is that Lily and you blokes should give her a chance before you make assumptions.” He spat, glaring at Sirius before leaving the room.

“Rem? Mon amour, what’s wrong?” She frowns, placing her book down as Remus entered the library, heading straight to her usual place but the window. Remus sighs, shaking his head. He couldn’t possibly tell you what happened, how Sirius thought you were just those pesky Slytherins they pull pranks on.

“They do not like me.” She stated, looking down with a frown as she fiddled with her thumbs.

“Honey, it’s not your fault.”

“I know, amour.”

Remus felt his lips press into a thin line, gently taking your hands in his, trying to stop your nervous habit. “They’re still wrapping their heads around it. They’ll come around, don’t worry about it love.” You sighed shakily, “I hope so.”

Remus traced shapes across the back of her hand, “Anything interesting happened today?”

“Evan and I got into a fight; said I was a blood traitor…” You trailed off, noticing how Remus’s jaw tightened and his stare hardened. “But it was alright, we made up. He just told me to be careful.” To say Remus was surprised was an understatement. “He couldn’t be angry at his twin sister for a long time.” She smiles.

“Black! What the fuck did you do?!” Remus roars, grabbing a fistful of the said boy’s shirt, pushing him against the wall as James tried to pull him off, “Come on, Moons-“

“Don’t bloody touch me, James!” He bellows, pushing off the Potter boy who stumbled away, shock evident in his features. Peter quickly got up from his bed, “Moony, why are you so angry? What did he do?” He drops shoves Sirius off as he stared at his friends.

“It was you guys who pulled a prank on her right? “Remus’s eyes brimmed with unshed tears, pointedly looking at Sirius. “Well congratulations, she’s being treated by Madame Pomfrey right now.”

Sirius felt shame and guilt ate him up. The prank was never supposed to go that far.

“Ever wondered why I was suddenly so calm during the full moon? It’s all thanks to her. She makes me batches of wolfsbane potion every month, without fail.”

James choked, “You told her?”

“I did”

“What if she tells everyone?” Peter frowns, concerned for Remus.

“If she wanted to, then the whole school would’ve already known, she even suggested an unbreakable vow.” Remus uttered out, sitting at his bed, looking away from them “Some kind of friends you guys are. I care about her, and if you hurt her, you hurt me too.”

Sirius cautiously approached him, “Moons, I’m sorry.” He began. James placed a hand on his shoulder, “I know, we’re knobheads. Sorry, Moony.” Peter nods, “We messed up, it won’t happen again.”

“Don’t apologize to me, apologize to her.”

“We will, Moony.”

An hour has passed after you got treated by Madame Pomfrey, you wanted to leave as you already felt alright but she insisted you stay for an hour or two just so she could monitor you. Having no choice but to oblige.

“Love?” Your ears perked up, the sound of Remus’ voice calling out to you. You turned and smiled at his direction, although suddenly dropping it as you saw the rest of the Marauders and Lily following him.

Trying to alleviate the awkward atmosphere, Sirius pulls out a bouquet of flowers. “Remus told us you like Tulips…” You were about to take it but stopped, James seemed to notice this. “It’s not jinxed, or anything like that.” You bit your lip, silently looking at Remus as if asking was it safe, he nods. “I was there when they picked it out love.” You finally took the bouquet, nodding gratefully. “Thank you.”

“We wanted to say we were sorry.” James started; Lily nodded. “It was quite shameful that we made such accusations and judged you before even getting to know you.”

“I’m sorry, Y/n. We…we were just looking out for Moony.” Sirius sighed; shame visible in his features.

“I understand, I probably would have done the same. I’d also look out for the people I care about.” You softly replied. “It’s okay, I forgive all of you.” You looked at them.

James stepped forward, “We hope you can give us a chance to make it up to you.” Sirius cleared his throat, “And maybe, if you’re up for it, join us for a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks?” His attempt at a smile was hopeful.

Your lips curved into a genuine smile, your body slowly becoming relaxed. “I’d like that,”

[bambi-slxt]

🤍𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠🤍

𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 𝕤𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕠𝕝𝕠 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕔𝕙𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕡𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕤𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕠𝕝𝕠 𝕩 𝕗𝕖𝕞

word count: 5.8k (this shit is LONG LMFAOOO)

genre/tropes: established connection, relationship, sharing is literally caring, romance

warnings: none :) just a lot of fluff and some super sweet smut at the end

notes from bambi: this work doesn't contain incest, just male on female times two. i know it's long but i really hope you guys like this one.

credit to @inkyray for proofreading! thank u bro <3

“Shit.”

All of it, every single customer, every single coworker, every single interaction from the second I woke up to the moment I sat down on the boys’ white couch–”All of it…just plain shit.”

The Sturniolo townhouse felt peaceful today, which is something I would have noticed if it wasn’t so fucking loud in my head. Their high windows filtered in the warm sunlight, but it felt hot and oppressive on my skin and my eyes and I just needed a goddamn break. Groaning with the effort, I hoisted myself up off the plush couch and trundled off to Matt’s room.

I closed his door behind me with a sigh of relief. With the blinds closed, his room was dark and cool, and my chest seemed to deflate with the release of tension the new environment brought. I stripped off all of my clothes and left them in a heap at the foot of his desk, utterly unable to bear their texture any fucking longer. Within seconds of crawling into the fetal position under his comforter and top satin sheet, I was out like a light in Matt’s bed. 

Matt dug around in his cup holder, hunting for the garage door remote. His van sat idling in the driveway until he produced it, tapping the top-most button and waiting for the heavy metal door to roll upwards and out of the way. He scrunched his brows at the sight of her car–Didn’t she have work until late tonight? Vowing to get back to that particular issue, he elected to focus on the matter at hand–parking the behemoth of a vehicle he drove. Pulling into the garage slowly, he checked his windows and mirrors, making small adjustments as necessary until he was happy with his work. Switching off the car, Matt grabbed his backpack, slung it over his shoulder, closed the garage, and stepped into the house.

No sign of her. He ascended the landing, reaching the ground floor with ease, looking for any indication of his only female housemate. “What the fuck…?” he mumbled, stepping over the columns of light cast by his living room windows and making his way down the darker hallway to his room.

Cracking his door open, Matt’s eyes flicked up to the suspicious human-shaped lump in his bed. Found her. He set his bag down softly, tossing his shoes off with ginger tenderness underneath his desk. The pile of clothes caught Matt’s gaze–Not mine. Hers? Yeah, that’s her work shirt…it’s got tear stains on it. Musta’ been a bad day. Probably why she’s home early. He never was slow on the uptake, despite what his brothers may have claimed. 

Matt walked over to the edge of his mattress, reaching out his hand to run a knuckle along her arm. “Hey, kid…’M home.”

I slept for what could have been days. My body felt heavy, like it was full of cement, and I struggled to wake up to the touch on my shoulder. “Mmm…Matt?”

“Yeah, it’s me. You okay?” I dragged my hand up to rub my eyes, but he placed his own on my wrist. “Your makeup…”

“Thanks,” I murmured. “What time is it?”

“Little after five,” Matt said, rubbing my arm over the blanket. “Why’d you come home so early?”

I shook my head slowly and tucked his fingers under my neck. “Shitty day.”

“‘M sorry, kid. Anything I can do?”

I looked up at him as he sat on the edge of his bed, blue eyes hooded with worry and love, tufts of hair feathering his forehead…He looks like an angel. “Later…yes. Is it okay if I sleep some more?”

“Course.” I held his hand tighter, pressing my dried lips to his skin. “You forgot to take chapstick with you when you left this morning, huh.”

“Yeah,” I grumbled.

“You want some from Nick’s room?”

“Yes, please. Mint, if he has it?”

Matt stood up, stroking my temple with his fingertips. “I got ya.”

In a minute, he’d left and returned, balm in hand. I reached out gratefully, but at the sight of my shaking hand, he shook his head and uncapped it himself. “Come here.” Matt coaxed me upwards, cradling me in his lap. His comforter slipped from my body, revealing my naked torso. “Oh baby,” he murmured, “Were you too hot or somethin’?” I nodded, resting my head against the front of his shoulder. Shaking his head, Matt pressed the tube of moisturizer against my lips, dragging it across for a good handful of swipes. His arm tensed behind me, holding me up, rock-steady as always. “There you go.” He lay me back down onto his pillows, covering me back up with his bedding. “Go back to sleep, sweetheart. I’m gonna make dinner and Chris comes back home tonight, so if you wanna come back out, we’ll be in the living room, okay?”

I nodded again, taking hold of his hand once more, giving it a much better kiss this time around. “Tell me when…he comes home…I love you,” I whispered, exhaustion rolling over me in waves.

He smiled gently, twisting his fingers until they rested under my chin, drumming thrice on my skin to return the sentiment. Tap. I. Tap. Love. Tap. You. “Sleep, kid. Come out when you’re ready.”

I slipped into nothingness once more. 

Chris, still panting, dumped his overstuffed duffel bag onto the floor of his room and collapsed on his bed. What a fucking trip. 

At that moment, his door opened and Matt stepped in. “Hey, man.”

“Missed you, bro,” Chris said, smiling his eyes away as he lugged himself up to hug his brother. 

After a hearty clap on the back from each one to the other, they pulled away and Matt leaned on the doorframe while Chris bent down to take off his shoes.

“‘M makin’ food. Want some?”

“Duh. What kinda question is that?” 

“Come help then,” Matt huffed, grinning still.

Chris rolled his eyes and followed him out, thudding and thumping his way up the stairs. “Never get a moment’s peace in this fucking house.”

“I think you’ll be fine,” Matt grumbled. Hopping the last step, he crossed the kitchen and reacquainted himself with the ingredient-covered counter. 

“Hey, I saw her car in the garage, is she home?”

Back at his cooking station, Matt gave him a half-turn and tilted his head toward the hallway. “Sleepin’ in my room,” he sighed, stirring whatever concoction he had in front of him. “Had a bad day and called out for the night…She wanted to see you when you got home.”

Chris nodded. He wanted to see his girl too.

Chris opened the door of his brother’s room and padded inside, his sock-covered feet making little noise against the hardwood flooring. She lay curled under the red comforter and her face was softly striped by the setting sun that came through the blinds. Chris doubted he would ever see anything more beautiful if he lived to be a hundred. He settled slowly on the bed, reaching his hand out to her calf, clasping it gently. “Wake up, Rapunzel.”

“That’s not the right princess,” I mumbled, rolling over and away from the evil sunlight. Wait a fucking minute- “Chris?” I shot upright immediately only to see his stupid, grinning face a few feet from mine. My arms clenched around him of their own will and I hugged him as tight as I could. “I missed you so much,” I said and pushed my nose into the crook of his neck. His chest rumbled with the weight of his chuckle and Chris held me back just as tightly. 

“I know. I know. I’m here.” 

I grinned against his skin. “You’re never allowed to leave again.”

“Awww…not even for a business conference?”

“You did a lot more than confer about business,” I huffed, pulling away finally. “You left me. At least Matt didn’t leave me.” I turned away from Chris and completely forgot about my state of undress underneath the covers. 

As they fell away, Chris’s hands slunk around my bare, warm waist, lighting a tingling fire in my abdomen. I was suddenly much more awake. 

“You mad at me, mamas?” he purred, pressing kisses into my shoulder and neck, tracing lazy circles on my skin with his fingertips. “You upset that I wasn’t here for a week?”

“Ye-yes…” I sighed, wrapping my hands around his own, letting my sleep-mussed hair fall away and into my face. I leaned into his touch and rested my head on his collarbone as more and more of Matt’s bedding slipped off my body, leaving me bare in the golden setting sunlight. 

“Look at you…” Chris whispered. His voice hollowed out with awe and he kissed your neck once more. “Look like Aphrodite, jus’ layin’ in my bed…”

“Chris!” I pushed him off with a giggle. “You’re not supposed to say that!”

He looked at me with large, wet eyes, giving me his best puppy-dog face. “Why notttt…”

“Because, silly,” I said, slipping out of the warm satin sheets, “Aphrodite doesn’t like it. I saw it in a TikTok.” I quirked an eyebrow at him. “Also, this isn't your bed.”

“I can’t express to you how much I don’t care.”

Turning back to him, I gave Chris my softest smile. “Come on. Now that you’re home we gotta eat.” I held out my hand and waited for him.

With a dubious expression, he took it. “You gonna put on some clothes?”

“Oh fuck, I probably should, huh?”

“I mean it’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” came a smooth voice from the doorway. Matt stood in the doorway, grinning at my stark nakedness, and Chris snorted, his own mouth breaking into a smile as well. 

“Damn, he caught us.”

“Shut up, both of you,” I sighed, glaring at the heap of my clothing on the floor. “I need a shirt and someone’s boxers, I’m not putting that shit back on again.”

“Yes ma’am,” Chris said, stepping easily up from his perch on the bed and opening Matt’s closet. 

“Why are we having a party in my room right now?” Matt grumbled, opening his arms for me. I let my body weight shift onto him and his arms wrapped around my bare shoulders. We watched as Chris hunted for the shirt he knew I liked.

“Matt?”

“Mhm.” His breath tickled my ear and I twitched, giggling. “What is it, pretty girl,” he murmured.

“Just because I was excited to see Chris doesn’t mean I’m not also happy to see you.” I twisted up to look at him. “You know that, right?” Matt smiled, his eyelids low and relaxed. “Yeah. He was gone for a week and we spent all day together yesterday.” He hugged me tighter. “It’s okay. I missed him too.”

“Found it,” Chris said, tossing me a familiar white tee. “I’m not touching his underwear though.”

Matt rolled his eyes. “Go check the food, I’ll get it.” Nodding, his brother stepped around us, trailing a hand over the small of my back as he left the room. I shivered. “Come on, sweetheart,” Matt said softly as he led me to the closet where a stack of drawers hid, “Which one of my boxers are you gonna steal tonight?”

“And…viola.” Chris set the steaming bowls in front of us, and I groaned with appreciation.

“You’re fucking wonderful, did you know that?”

He grinned. “I’ve been told once or twice.”

Matt nodded his head in thanks, taking his serving and almost inhaling it. I pulled the giant blanket aside so Chris could squeeze in, both boys now on either side of me on the couch in the boy’s living room. Just a few hours before I’d sat in this same spot, utterly miserable, and now I couldn’t be happier. Insanity.

“Okay, kid, what are we watchin’?” Chris reached over me to get the remote and I burrowed further into the back of the plush couch to get out of his way, giggling when he elbowed me further. 

“You said Rapunzel earlier so now all I can think about is Tangled.”

“The Disney one?” Matt groaned. “I hate that one.”

Chris and I stared at him in total shock. “Fuck you mean, you ‘hate that one’?”

He grinned. “I’m fucking with you. We can watch whatever, I’m not gonna complain.”

“You complain about everything,” Chris grumbled, turning on the giant wall-mounted TV. Matt just shook his head with a smile and put his arm around the back of the couch. 

Me personally? I ate my food in thankful silence and stayed out of it. Their brotherly kerfuffles belonged to them and them alone.

As Chris clicked through the TV, typing and searching and signing into things, I used the time to look at where I was. Here I sat on the boys’ couch, cuddled up between the two of them, eating delicious food with even better-tasting company. I snickered at my own thoughts. 

Matt tilted his head, pulling his spoon from his teeth as he asked me what, exactly, was so funny. “Nothing,” I answered honestly, reaching behind me to pull his hand to my lips for the third time that day. “M just happy.”

Though I couldn’t see it, I felt Chris smile as he pressed play on our movie. He never made much of a show of being possessive or protective of me, not like Matt did, but I knew whole-heartedly how much he loved it when I affirmed my joy at being around him. Chris was always scared that he was too much, too loud, too crazy, that his ideas were too big for the hearts around him. But the sheer size of his personality created enough space for me to simply exist, and I’d be forever grateful to him for it–just being himself.

I ate my food quietly, relishing the softness of the blanket, the gentle heat from Chris’s body, and the welcome coolness of Matt’s, the visuals of Tangled, the darkness outside, the warm light from the kitchen, the cushion of the couch below me, all of it. This place felt more like home than any house I’d ever lived in before. 

When we had all finished, Matt unwound himself from the heap of people and blankets he’d found himself in, gathered our dishes, and headed to the sink. I paused the TV and snuck my arm under Chris’s, holding onto him gently.

“Hey, ma.”

“Hi Chris.”

“You doin’ okay?”

“I’m doing great,” I said softly. “You smell good.”

“‘Preciate it, pretty girl. You’re not so bad yourself.”

I smacked him with a corner of the blanket. “Shut your mouth.”

He chuckled and took me in a headlock, letting me fall into his lap. I wiggled into his thighs and he grinned above me before leaning over with a growl and pretending to eat me alive.

“MATT,” I gasped, flinging my arm out Shakepearianly. “MATT, PLEASE, HE’S GOT ME.”

“Oh no,” he deadpanned, scrubbing the grease from a pot, unmoving from his spot at the sink. “What on earth will you do.”

“DIE, PROBABLY.”

Chris continued to lay waste to my body, caring naught for my pleas for mercy. “You’re mine!” he declared, cackling like a hyena. I burrowed underneath him and tried to squirm away from his evil hands, all to no avail as Chris tickled me ruthlessly. 

“FUCK, CHRIS STOPSTOPSTOP, PLEASE-” I giggled incessantly and his eyes sparkled above me. Panting, Chris finally let me loose, and I scooted away from him with a glare full of mischief. “You dick.”

“Uh huh.”

“Never touch me again.” 

“Uh huh.”

“I want a divorce,” I said with a smile, reaching out to smack his knee.

“That sucks dicks, doesn't it, mamas,” he snorted, taking my wrist gently and tugging me back towards him. “Come here, I wasn’t done touching you.”

I heard Matt chuckling in the kitchen, his voice vibrating warmly over the soft swishing of the water and tinny clinking of the dishes. Chris kept pulling me into his torso, his hair falling so attractively over his lowered lashes that I couldn't help but stare as I rested my head on his thigh. 

“What, ma?” he asked me softly, his fingers sliding under my neck to pull all of my hair onto his lap. 

“You’re so pretty,” I replied simply, lifting my head in compliance. Chris loved fiddling with people’s hair, and I was no exception. I used to ask him when I was stressed, but it became such a frequent occurrence that he often did it to calm himself down.

He smiled, a soft one, without a shred of performance. “Thank you. I think you’re so pretty.” Chris’s eyes shone blue, like they always did, and I had to look away, like I always did. 

“You make me shy.”

“Why?” he asked. He'd moved on from playing with my hair to massaging my shoulders, and we shifted to accommodate each other. I laid my head against the front of his shoulder, that flat plane that connects the apex of the arm joint and the chest, and his knees now rose on either side of my body, closing me into his warmth. 

“I like being able to sorta…slip in and out of people’s view, you know?” I began, picking over my words carefully. Chris’s hands kneaded into my skin and muscles while he made noises of agreement. “You don't ever let me do that.” I looked back up at him, twisting my neck. My nose brushed his jaw and Chris smiled. Another small one, but I cherished it almost more than his hugely expressive ones. “You always see me.” I paused. “I’m not sure if it makes sense, but-”

“Say it with your chest,” Matt murmured, not unkindly, appearing above us. 

“Matty,” I giggled, reaching out for the hem of his shirt to pull him closer to us. He gave in with an easy grin and stepped closer, towering over me. 

“Hey, baby girl.”

“Hi,” I said shyly.

Matt cocked his head as if to study me for a moment, and just as I looked to Chris for clarification, he himself was already fussing me off the couch. “Come on, sweetheart,” he drawled, “Go downstairs.” Chris’s room.

I looked back at Matt, who feigned innocence and gestured to the stairs - You heard the man, get goin’. 

I reached out for Chris’s hand and followed him, almost tripping in my effort to keep up. “Easy…easy,” he mumbled, slowing for me as we thumped down the stairwell towards his open door. “Go get comfy.” We reached his bedroom and just outside of it, he stopped me, my body flattening to the wall as naturally as breathing. Chris dipped his forehead to mine, cupping my cheek in order to trail the pads of his fingers down my skin. “I know you had a bad day.” I nodded, covering his hand with mine. “Me ‘n Matt are gonna make it better. You wanna let us take care of you, mamas?”

I looked up and touched the tip of his nose with my own as my stomach dropped. “Yes, please.” My voice shook with anticipation.

Chris’s mouth quirked up on one side - almost a smirk. “There’s my girl.” He pulled away from me, nudging me towards his bed. “We’ll be back soon!” Chris bounded up the stairs, reminding me faintly of a certain tiger character from a beloved children's franchise. The thought dissipated as my core rumbled with butterflies and that wonderful sinking feeling you get when you're about to have your first kiss, like everything in your body is compressing down, waiting to explode out of you at just the right moment. 

My fingertips dusted the edge of his desk as I walked into Chris’s room. I hadn’t since he’d been gone, and while a week isn't a long time…it sure did feel that way. Matt helped too, of course. At the thought of him, I smiled, a little bashfully even to myself, as I sat on the fan-cooled comforter. A simple blue, detailed only by the occasional stripe of threading. I shook my head at the memory of this particular purchase.

“Fuck you mean, I can't get navy sheets?”

“No she's right, navy sheets are the number one cause of syphilis in the United States.”

I barked a laugh before I could help myself, clapping a hand over my mouth. “Matthew!”

Matt looked quite proud of himself, the little shit, sitting in the driver's seat as we idled in the HomeGoods parking lot. 

“What's syphilis?”

“Oh, Chris,” I sighed, leaning up from the backseat to rub his shoulder. “It's a miracle you haven't died a virgin. Let's get you some bedding, champ.”

“Call me champ one more time,” he said, turning slowly to the back, “I will break your spine.”

I waggled my eyebrows. “Promise?”

Matt choked on his root beer.

Suddenly chilled, I tucked my feet underneath me on the bed, shoving my hands in my lap while I waited for the boys to…oh right. ‘Take care’ of me. I grinned. I found a certain sort of deep satisfaction at being pampered by them, and to their credit, Matt and Chris were good. They each had their styles, of course, but I very much enjoyed the differences, and I enjoyed taking care of them right back. In my opinion , they deserved the entire world, and just as they gave to me without question, I gave right back. 

If my ears could, they would have pricked at the sound of Chris near bouncing down the stairs. Giggling, I hid my smile behind tense knuckles as Matt and Chris walked into the bedroom, their figures now bathed in the fuzzy light of Chris’s LEDs. 

“Hey, pretty girl,” Matt almost whispered, standing in front of me and tucking my head into his tummy. “How's my girl tonight?”

“Good,” I said into his shirt, my arms snaking around his waist. “But you let Chris attack me.”

“Oh did I?” he mused. I heard Chris making some sort of noise but I couldn't be bothered to focus on it at present. 

“Yes. I could have perished before your eyes.”

“Perished is a very big word.”

“Thank you, Einstein. I would have never known without your help. You're so mean to me,” I grumbled, holding him tighter as he pet my hair.

“I know, baby,” Matt said, very much used to my antics by now. “What’d you call me the other day? ‘Wretched vagina’?”

I broke into a laugh and turned to let my cheek lay against him so I could breathe my way through the hilarity that was Matt mispronouncing ‘vagabond’. I told him as much and the smile he gave me in return showed his teeth. Even the pointed ones towards the back.

Chris finally appeared again, a box in hand. I tilted my head and looked at Matt, who shrugged unhelpfully. “What is that, bubba?”

He shuffled onto the bed, scooting up to the headboard and patting the space next to him, grinning all the while. “Come here and I’ll show you.”

“Oh Chris…” I breathed, thumbing the fabric over my palm. “It’s beautiful.”

Matt’s eyebrows shot up the moment I opened the box and there they sat for the next two minutes. “Is that pure silk?”

Chris nodded, incredibly pleased with himself. “Do you like it?” he asked, though I had a feeling he already knew my answer as I flung myself into his chest and my arms shot around his torso. 

“Yesyesyesyesyesyes-”

Chris turned his head to his brother. “Damn. She hates it,” he deadpanned. I giggled in his chest and his hand slipped up to my shoulder blades. 

Matt nodded. “Clearly, she’s distraught.”

“Uh huh. Listen, I know you’ve been wanting a new blindfold and I wanted something you could wear in your hair too, so it’s not just, you know…” he gestured to the three of us shyly, “...not just for sex, and us, you know, but you too.”

I shook my head, sitting up to look Chris in his beautiful, stupid, blue eyes. “Thank you, sweet boy.”

He didn’t reply, only smiled and kissed me. Soft and gentle against my skin, his lips felt warm, like they’d been waiting for me. Chris pulled me into him, one hand on my back, the other coming up to the nape of my neck, holding me steadily as he leaned over me and laid me down on the bed, kissing me all the while. Matt made a noise and I felt his hand slide over mine, grazing a bare patch of skin at my side that my shirt had ruffled up away from. I shivered, and Chris felt it.

“Cold, ma?”

“J-just a little,” I said. 

With a wicked grin, he brought his lips to my ear and replied, “Let me warm you up then.”

Fucking finally.

Chris rolled to one side of me and I sensed Matt moving to the other, his hands on my waist, slipping up under my shirt, Chris’s still on my neck and cheeks, holding my face close to his. 

“Chrissss…” I whined, my legs clenched together, “Please…”

Matt chuckled behind me, his breath drifting over my ear and raising goosebumps on my skin. “Come on, don’t tease our girl.”

Chris danced his fingers with featherlight touches down my chest and stomach, but before he could reach where I needed him, Matt’s hand split my legs apart and palmed me over my clothing. I squeeped from the shock, a high-pitched noise most akin to a mouse, and both boys laughed softly at my surprise. 

“Shut up,” I mumbled, eyes fluttering shut as Matt somehow found my clit underneath the pair of his boxers I wore. He ran his fingers over it gently as if to wake her up. Chris still hadn’t moved on from my face, kissing my bottom lip reverently, sucking the soft flesh into his mouth, kissing my cheeks, chin, nose, eyebrows, anything he could. 

Fuck.

My hips rocked against Matt’s hand and as I moved back I felt his hard-on pressing tightly into my asscheek. “Matt-” I began to say, but Chris’s mouth covered mine and he swallowed my keening pleas.

“What is it, baby,” he said softly, his lips moving over the curve of my ear, “What’s wronnnng…Let me an’ Chris take care of it.”

My eyes shot open and I looked at Chris, who moved up to kiss my forehead. “You had a long day, sweet girl. I don’t mind makin’ ya feel good. Use your big girl words and ask for what you want.”

I felt my stomach hollow out and my cheeks flushed red. “Chris…” I whimpered, hoping he would be merciful, “Please…”

“You heard him, darlin’,” Matt said, pulling his fingers away from my core and instead petting my cunt like she needed to be soothed. “Gotta make sure we give you exactly what you want.” The slight degradation of his actions coupled with the timbre of his voice, the sparks that held my spine in a chokehold, and the tingles that flowed through my body made the boys’ request impossible to deny. I’d have to find my voice one way or another, and it might as well be now.

Taking a deep breath, I rolled to my back so I could look between them. Blue eyes pierced me from each side, messy hair, same tilted smiles, but a world of difference lay underneath their skin, and for a brief moment, I couldn’t think - I wasn’t real. All that existed was this moment. 

And then I realized that sounded very “teen-romance” of me, and I should probably say fucking something. “I-I want…”

“Mhm?” Chris nosed at my neck almost like an animal and I shivered.

“I want you-you guys t-to…”

“Yes?” Matt said, toying with the hem of his t-shirt that covered my stomach.

“Fuck I want you to take care of me.”

“Take care of you how?” Chris asked. He then  took a patch of skin between his teeth and rolled it between his teeth, swiping his tongue over it.

“I want you to make me…”

“You’re so close, baby,” Matt murmured, lipping the edge of my ear. “You can do it. Tell me.”

My brain broke. “I want you to make me cum, both of you, fuck, please,” I uttered, almost a strangled cry, but it was enough. 

They were on me in an instant. “Arms up, ma,” Chris said huskily, his voice thick with desire. He tugged Matt’s shirt up over my head, exposing all but my pussy to his soft, cool eyes. Chris loosed a breath as he looked my body over. “This?” he said, placing a kiss on my chest, “Will never get old.”

Matt pushed himself up and moved down the mattress, opening up my body to the cool air of the room, and I almost complained until I felt his hands, large and warm, guiding my thighs apart. His rings felt cold on my skin. I parted my lips to sigh but Chris appeared above me. He tilted his head and ran a finger up my sternum, over my neck, all the way to my chin, as if inspecting me. “You’re so…fucking perfect,” he said, like he couldn’t believe it. “I love taking care of you. I’m obsessed with you, mamas.”

“Chris, that’s so-”

Matt’s nose burrowed into my clit and he began to lick me through his boxers. I was already damp and he tongued at the fabric like he would die before he could taste me.

“Oh f-f-uck-k,” I stuttered. My hips rose of their own volition into his face while his fingers dug into my thighs. Matt groaned into my body and all I felt was pure bliss. 

“Matt bein’ sweet to you, ma?” Chris asked, making the darkest of hickeys on my neck. The pain felt good - so good. 

I whimpered my response, nodding erratically. My hands reached up for Chris’s back and I tugged at his shirt. “Off, off, take it off-”

He chuckled, and, shaking his head, rose up onto his knees and pulled his shirt away from his body, yanking the back of the neck over his head. It mussed his hair. I reached a hand out to touch his stomach. “You’re so beautiful,” I said softly, looking up at him like he was my god. In a way, he might have been. I believed in Chris more than I believed in myself.

Matt continued his ministrations at the apex of my thighs, still a layer between his lips and my increasingly dripping slit. “Matty, please,” I begged, “I need you.” I drug my fingers into his hair and ground myself on his nose, eliciting another moan from him. 

“Fuck, babydoll, just like that.”

I whimpered again, a whine for him to do more, get closer, pull me into orgasm after orgasm.

Chris brushed a knuckle down my cheek and I smiled up at him. “You’re doing so good for us, pretty girl.”

I preened a little at his comment. I am just a girl after all, and vanity becomes me like a good pair of earrings. 

“Lift up for me,” Matt said. He hooked his fingers underneath the boxers I wore and as I pushed myself up from the bed, Chris slipped an arm underneath me for support.

“I got you, ma,” he murmured, watching his brother pull away the last barrier between them and me. “Goddamn…”

Matt yanked them away and the fire in my belly roared. “Please, please, please…”

The boys shared a look. The hairs on my neck shot up. And without further preamble, they dove face-first into my cunt.

Matt got to my entrance first, lapping the juices that had begun to pool between my folds, whereas Chris, farther up the bed than his brother, paid special attention to my clit. I had no idea how they had enough room down there, but frankly that particular concern wasn’t at the forefront of my mind. 

Chris left a glob of saliva on my nub and proceeded to rub it in with his fingers. I gasped and bucked, hitting his steady frame almost instantly. “Easy, ma,” he said, continuing his steady, delicious pace and looking up to meet my heady gaze, “I got you. You’re okay.”

A knot began to build in my tummy and I bit my lip. Matt kept laving his tongue over me, almost ravenously thrusting it into me, his knuckles white as they kept my thighs from clenching around the overwhelming pleasure. Chris watched every change of my features, rubbing the pads of his fingers until he hit the perfect spot. My mouth dropped open, my eyebrows furrowed high above my eyes, and I mewled up at him. He smiled, his eyelids heavy, moving back over my clit to find that nerve once more. “You like that, miss lady?”

“F-fuck, fuck, yes, yes, please Chris, more!” I was rambling. My words made no sense. I couldn’t think, could barely breathe, Matt’s tongue was performing miracles inside my body, his face was slick with my pleasure, Chris kept rubbing and rubbing and watching me and smirking at the effect he had on me with just two fingers and I couldn’t fucking take it anymore-

“Give it to me,” Matt groaned against my pussy. “I want it so bad, cum for me baby girl.”

“GodFUCK!” My orgasm came like a tsunami, washing over my body once, twice, again and again, waves going through me six times over before it finally subsided. Matt extracted himself very carefully from between my legs. His chin was dripping. Damn.

Chris took his hand away from my core and offered it to me. “Wanna suck?”

“Yeah,” I said shakily, and he helped me sit up, cradling the back of my head with his other hand while I cleaned my juices off of his fingers. 

“Good girl.” Chris’s voice reverberated over my flushed shin. “So good for us.”

I looked down the bed at Matt, who wiped his lips with his vein-covered forearm. Releasing Chris’s fingers with a soft pop, I whispered, “Matty…c’mere.” I reached out a hand toward him and he took it, climbing up the mattress to sit on the other side of me. 

“Hey,” he murmured. He stroked my head, cleaning up the stray hairs that stuck to my temples and forehead. “You taste incredible, may I just say.”

I couldn’t help but giggle. “You may.” I wriggled away to look at them both better. “Thank you.”

Chris smiled and pulled me back, tucking me into his chest. “Anytime, ma.”

Matt pressed kisses into my shoulder. “You blush everywhere, baby.”

“I know,” I said, scowling at him.

Chris shifted behind me. I heard his voice, low and gravelly, in my ear. “Wanna go again?”

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[vivwritesfics]

Harry Potter au where reader (who obviously has a crush on Charles) unknowingly takes an amortentia potion which makes her obsessed with him, and she’s super embarrassed afterwards to the point where she straight up avoids him

Okay this just came to my mind but if you don't specify readers house, she's going in hufflepuff w me

Went a different way, hoping it's still cute though

Nobody had seen the fifth year slip the amortentia into Daniels drink. He was unaware as he reached for it.

But, before he could take a sip, it was snatched from him. "Thanks Danny," she said as, entirely unaware, she downed the drink spiked with love potion in one go.

Even as she went running off to the library to catch up with her homework she didn't know. Maybe if she had stopped to take a sniff of the clear liquid before she drank, she would have known what it was.

But she was still unaware as she cracked open her charms book.

She wasn't thinking about charms, though. No, from the moment she opened her book, she was thinking about Charles Leclerc.

The Gryffindor had her heart from the moment they met, but she hadn't been brave enough to say anything. Maybe that was why she was in Hufflepuff. Because she couldn't even admit to a boy that she liked him.

But Charles had never run through her mind this much. He only knew who she was because of Lando and Daniel, her housemates.

Soon her work was forgotten. As she tried to write her homework, she ended up writing his name over and over again, completely wasting her parchment.

Shaking out of it, she stood up. She slung her back over her shoulder and left the library.

She didn't make it very far though. Her mind was far away as she walked and she ended up walking into someone.

"Hey," they cried, grabbing her before she could fall.

Her breath caught in her throat as she looked up at him. Fuck, the one person she didn't want to see. "Charles... I...uhm...I..."

She didn't know what to say to him. "Are you okay?" Charles asked.

She nodded her head. With embarrassment written on her face, she rushed away, her gaze on the floor. It was a miracle she didn't run into anyone else.

The amortentia hadn't quite hit at that point. Thank god, because she spent her evening thinking about him. Daniel and Lando entered the boys wing to find her on Landos bed, arms spread as she sighed dreamily.

"I love him," she said through her sigh.

Daniel and Lando looked at each other as they approached. "Love?" Asked Lando as he sat behind her.

She giggled. "You know who, silly!"

Daniel leaned against the bed post. "Suppose, hypothetically, that we don't."

"Charles, obviously!"

Daniel and Lando looked at each other before laughing. "Seriously? You have a thing for Charles Leclerc?"

"Not a thing, Danny! I love him!"

Gently, Lando combed his fingers through her hair. "Of course you do, love," he sighed. They just hoped she wouldn't remember this in the morning.

[lnfours]

That lando one was so cute!! I already need part 2 to see what max thinks when he finds out 😂

thank u nonnie!! 🥺 since u asked, here’s part 2 🥰

part 1 | ask me things abt lando 💌

“when max finds out what?” max’s voiced echoed down the hall, joining his two other housemates. niran’s eyes widened as he immediately shut the door, the two boys growing nervous as max approached.

“nothing.” ethan said with a fake smile.

obviously, max wasn’t stupid. he knew something was going on in your room, he just didn’t know what.

“mate, move out of the way,” max said and niran shook his head.

“you don’t want to know, mate, trust me.”

“no, i do wanna know,” he said, “what aren’t you telling me?”

“hey,” ria smiled, walking into the hallway, “have you guys seen lando? he’s got a package at the door.”

nirans eyes grew wide at the girl as ethan waved his hand in front of his throat. she looked at the two boys confused. max turned to face his two friends, ethan immediately stopping his actions and niran giving him a fake smile.

“no…” max trailed off, “you’ve got to be fucking kidding me right now.”

“no idea what you’re talking about.”

“move the fuck out of the way, niran.”

all the carrying on outside of your room woke you up, hearing your brother outside your bedroom door. you sat up, immediately shaking the sleeping lando next to you.

he hummed tiredly, “what?”

“you’ve got to get out of here!” you said.

“in a minute,” he replied, throwing his arm over his face. you huffed, pinching the bridge of your nose.

“we don’t have a minute!”

“niran if you don’t fucking move from the door mate, i swear to god.” your brothers voice is what made lando’s eyes pop open. he looked at you with wide eyes. he sprung out of the bed the same time you did.

“what do we do?”

“i don’t know,” you mumbled, biting down on your lip, “closet?”

he opened the door and looked inside, “who needs this many clothes, y/n?”

“you’re really going to ask that before my brother kills you?” you asked, helping him move some of the hangers out of his way. he smirked at you playfully.

“please, i could easily beat him in a fight.”

you rolled your eyes, fighting back a laugh, “would you shut up!”

he leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to your lips, you shutting the door to your closet before quickly getting back into the bed and pretending to be on your phone. the door opened and you looked at your brother, sending him a questioning glance.

“good morning to you too?”

he looked around the room and you spotted a confused niran, ethan and ria in the doorway behind him.

“have you seen lando?”

you shook your head, “no, why?”

however, he didn’t believe you. he walked further into your room, checking behind the curtains, under the bed, and when he neared the closet your heart sank.

“max,” you said, “what’re you doing?”

“bro, he’s not in here,” niran said, “he’s probably training or something.”

“it’s sunday, he doesn’t train on sundays.” max mumbled. ethan looked at you with a questioning glance and you sent him a look silently telling him you’d explain later.

your heart sank when your brother opened the door to the closet, but you immediately held back a laugh when you heard lando’s voice, “‘sup mate? howre you doing?”

ria’s jaw dropped, looking over at you. she scooted closer, whispering over to you, “since when?!”

“i don’t know a few weeks ago?” you said before your eyes went back to where max was dragging lando out of the closet by the neck of his hoodie. you, niran and ethan all stepped in, you pushing your brother to one side of the room.

“you fucking snake!”

“max,” you started.

“no,” he said, “he made a promise. a long time ago. it’s good to see that doesn’t mean a thing to you.”

you looked back at your brother, “max, it’s not a big deal.”

“oh, trust isn’t a big deal to you?”

“that’s not what im saying-“

“well, that’s what it sounds like,” he said, “and of all people, you choose my best friend?”

“what do you want from me, max?” you yelled back now, “were you too caught up in your own life to realize i’ve been out of my mind in love with him since i was eight?!”

max didn’t know what to say, but he let you continue, “i know you have this stupid rule with everyone but i’m the only one who has a say in who i date. me. not you,”

you backed up, standing next to lando as he smiled softly down at you, “and i chose lando.”

your brother’s face softened as lando met your gaze, pulling you closer into his side. he saw the way he looked at you and it was a look he had never seen his best friend have with any other girl. and the same went for you. you were glowing, a true and genuine smile on your face.

and who was he to get in the way of two people’s happiness?

lando looked over at his best friend, “i know i should’ve told you how i felt instead of going behind your back, that was fucked up of me to do. but, please trust me when i’m telling you that y/n is so special to me, id never do anything to hurt her.”

max swallowed thickly, nodding his head, “i know.”

lando sent his best friend a soft smile, extending his hand out to him, “if i hurt her you have permission to wreck my shit.”

max snorted before shaking his hand, “as if i wasn’t going to do it anyway,” you smiled softly at the two, thankful it didn’t turn into a blood brawl like you had imagined it would.

“treat her like a fucking queen or so help me god, norris.”

lando smiled down at you, “i don’t think we have to worry about that.”

“and don’t do that in front of me,” max said, nose scrunching up as he walked away, “be cute and shit, fucking gross.”

“a little heads up would’ve been great, mate!” lando sarcastically said to niran and ethan.

“we had it under control until ria waltzed in and asked where you were!”

“it’s not my fault you two don’t know how to give signals better!” the three argued as they walked out of the room, shutting the door behind them. you stepped in front of him with a smile.

“that went better than we had imagined, right?”

he nodded, pretending to check over his body, “i mean, i’ve still got all my limbs attached so, yeah.”

you laughed softly, wrapping your arms around his neck. he snaked his around your waist, forehead meeting yours as his nose brushed against your cheek.

“so,” he smiled, “‘out of your mind in love’ huh?”

“shut up.” you mumbled, letting him lean down and kiss you.

[nomtterwhere]

what comes next || jaime reyes x reader

summary: jaime and his girlfriend are graduating college and are ready for whatever else life throws at them, takes place before the events of blue beetle, so no spoilers!

author's note: this is just because i watched blue beetle and am obsessed with jaime, he's too cute so here is this little blurb. this can also technically serve as a prequel to the fic i'm currently writing

word count: 1.2k

The run throughout campus you had just made was purely off the adrenaline of the end of the semester. And not only the end of the semester, but the end of your college years. Four years, 135 credits later, and you were only one walk across a stage away from college graduation. The minute you handed in your final there was only one person you wanted to see and the 20-minute walk to his house became a 10-minute sprint.

You were panting by the time you were standing in front of his house and you took a minute to breathe. Thankfully the door was unlocked, so you stepped inside, toeing off your shoes quickly as you greeted one of Jaime’s housemates who was sitting at the dining table. He gave you a smile before you made a beeline to your boyfriend’s room. The door was open a crack so you pushed it all the way open and finally, your eyes landed on Jaime Reyes as he sat leaned over his desk, earbuds in and nodding along to whatever was playing in them.

You smiled as you shut the door before coming up behind him and plucking out one of his earbuds. His head popped up and he turned to face you, his face changing from one of shock to endearment.

“Hey—” Was as far as he got before you were cupping his face and leaning down to press your lips against his, tossing his earbud on the desk.

He didn’t miss a beat, reaching his hands up to grab your waist and bring you down onto his lap easily. You straddled his thighs, relishing in the feeling of his kiss, already high off the air of freedom. Jaime’s left hand pressed into your lower back and you sighed, letting your body melt against his.

There was a level of comfort that always came with his kisses and you needed that now. He managed to ground you just by existing and even when you were so happy you feel like you could float away, it was nice to know that he would be right there with you to share in that feeling. And it felt good. It felt good to be held by him, to be loved by him, and little moments like this reminded you of that.

“Mm, querida,” He started when you pulled away for a moment. “Not that I’m complaining, but what was that for?”

You beamed at him. “I just took my last final ever! I’m done!”

The smile on his face matched yours and he hugged you, keeping you secure in his lap. “Oh, I’m so happy for you. All that’s left is to graduate now, huh?”

“We’re so close.” You muttered, kissing him again, softer this time.

One of his hands slipped underneath your tank top, rubbing gentle circles into your skin and you sighed. Three years together and the smallest touches still caused goosebumps to appear, proven by the shiver that went down your spine at his continued action. Moving your hands to grip his arms, you were suddenly aware that he was wearing a cutoff tee, his arms and shoulders proudly on display.

Your fingers danced along the lines of muscle on his bicep, engaged in the soft skin beneath them. Your own skin prickled with heat from the feeling of his hands on you and you noticed him starting to deepen the kiss. You pulled back, relishing in the way that his head followed your movements, chasing your lips.

“Mm-mm, don’t think I’ve forgotten that you still have work to do.” You said, giving him a sly grin.

He groaned and looked past you at his desk, his notebook and pen abandoned from when you ambushed him. “Two more finals and then I’m free too. Then you won’t be able to get rid of me.” He said, smug smile on his lips.

“You worried?”

“Isn’t everyone?” He quipped, then let out a sigh when you gave him a serious look. “A little. But I know this stuff, I’ll be okay.”

You sit up a little in his lap, bringing your hands to his face once again and just took him in.

He met your gaze with a searching look. “What is it?”

You simply shook your head with a smile of your own. “I’m so proud of you.” He laughed, turning his head but you moved your own so you were still in view. “Jaime Reyes, with a degree in pre-law. That’s amazing.”

“I haven’t gotten into law school yet.” He said and you shook your head.

“But you will.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because you’re Jaime.” You made him look at you and didn’t continue speaking until you were sure you had his full attention. You had been by his side for three years now and in that time you had seen how dedicated he was to his studies, how sure he was that this was going to be his way to pay back his family for their sacrifices. You didn’t know anyone as intelligent, kind, and loving as him and you needed him to know that.

“Jaime, what you’re doing is incredible. You amaze me every day and I’m so lucky to know you. Your future is so bright, Jaime. There’s no doubt in my mind that you are going to do amazing things in this world. You’ve already done amazing things to mine.”

He tugged his bottom lip in between his teeth, holding back a smile. “I love you.” He whispered.

“I love you more.” And you meant every word.

He leaned forward and kissed you, then buried his head in your shoulder, holding you close. “I love you most.” He muttered into your skin, replying as he always does.

You sat like that for a moment, your breaths coming slowly and in sync. The gentle rise and fall of his chest against yours lulled you into a sense of security and you closed your eyes as you rested your head atop his. Below you, Jaime tightened his grip on you momentarily before relaxing again. It was quiet moments like this that made you appreciate your relationship even more. To know that you had someone you could go to and simply just be with, without expectations, was something you never wanted to take for granted.

To be that person for Jaime as well was a treasure you could have never saw coming. He was always the one with a plan, someone who consistently looked to the future and the life that was coming for him. You were glad that he knew he didn’t always have to be that person with you. That it was okay to be unsure, to feel scared. That when he felt like that, you would be the one to bring him back up.

“I can’t wait to do life with you.” You said, suddenly. All of these thoughts in your head needed to be released somehow, and this one sentence couldn’t begin to cover it, but you knew he would understand.

You felt him nod against your shoulder and he picked his head up as you did the same, allowing the two of you to look into each other’s eyes.

“This is only the start, I can’t wait for what comes next.”

[stillfoodforguys]

My housemate was a typical ripped, straight meathead with more confidence than he could ever need. He had no shame in being very vocal whenever he brought a woman back to his room, but I’d never heard him moan louder than the night he let me suck his cock myself. He was quite forward about wanting to experiment, and I was happy to be the one who would satisfy his curiosity.

I could feel the entire length of his shaft throbbing inside my throat as he pushed my head down firmly, making sure I couldn’t back away while he enjoyed being so deep inside me. It was completely unnecessary, not only because I didn’t want to stop, but also because my head was already stuck between his bulging, muscular thighs.

Once he got close to finishing, he told me there was one more thing he wanted to try while he was in this adventurous mood. I was surprised when he so readily admitted his secret kink, where he wanted to swallow another person whole. Perhaps I wasn’t thinking straight after sucking him off got me so horny, but I said I was willing to give it a try without hesitation. I switched places with him and sat with him kneeling at my feet, allowing him to slide them over his wet tongue and swallow both of them with one big gulp.

My housemate’s throat was just as muscular as the rest of him, my legs being dragged down his gullet by its powerful pulsating motion as he kept swallowing. They slid into his warm, soft stomach and folded up tightly as his lips travelled beyond my waist. His moans vibrated along my spine as he devoured my torso, my surroundings quickly turning dark as my head was gulped down soon after. The last thing I caught a glimpse of was his hand taking hold of his stiff member, probably hoping to finish off the job my mouth had started earlier.

Only my arms remained outside his mouth, which he slowly slurped down and packed behind his swollen abs alongside the rest of me. I could feel his body tense up as he came at the same time, getting complete pleasure out of this incredible experience. He gasped for air once he’d finished consuming me, exhausted by the amount of effort it took. So much that he fell asleep shortly after, despite all of my shouting and squirming to get him to release me from my uncomfortable position.

Unfortunately, my struggles failed to nudge him awake before I ran out of energy myself, leaving his gut free to churn me up throughout the night. The next morning, he woke up to a much bulkier belly than before, throwing his hands on his head in annoyance at himself for digesting me. We’d grown close in the time we lived together, so he must have been disappointed to lose a close friend like this, right?

“Ahh, shit. Who’s gonna pay the rent now?”

[lilacevans]

'*•.¸♡ 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒈 𝒎𝒚 𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 ♡¸.•*'

: ̗̀➛ werewolf!ari levinson x human!reader. background: werewolf!curtis everette x reader, werewolf!andy barber x reader, vampire!lloyd hansen x reader, hybrid!nomad steve rogers x reader, vampire!ransom drysdale x reader, werewolf!jake jensen x reader

: ̗̀➛ summary: the new moon triggers some unusual behaviours for ari, and you need to make more than one hard decision.

: ̗̀➛ part of the kills & kisses verse!

: ̗̀➛ word count: 5,110

: ̗̀➛ warnings: mild descriptions of violence, smut, oral (f!receiving), fingering, grumpy ari, ari in a rut.

: ̗̀➛ notes: this was supposed to be a blurb completed within a night; it's become whatever the fuck this is. i hope u enjoy it. this is my first proper fic on here. like, well, at least one of this length. pls lemme know what u think!! send me some asks & we'll talk about it. *this is unfinished

: ̗̀➛ playlist: the kills & kisses playlist is here!

In the days before the full moon, Ari usually struggled a little with his moods. This time, however, things seemed much worse. The week before, his mood began to deteriorate, he became tenser and less talkative. He'd tuck himself away more often in his study, finding comfort surrounded by dusty books, rather than in the company of his housemates. 

On the first day, you would notice nothing out of the ordinary, just a tightening of his jaw, downturned lips, and heavy, long sighs over trivial things that wouldn't normally bother him. A split cup of coffee, a mess in the living room, shared attention. 

Whereas a few days earlier, he would be patient and thoughtful; by the third day, he would become snappy and in some cases downright mean; cruel, even. His harsh words and sudden outbursts made tears flow down your cheeks, and your head hung low before you could hear him apologise and wrap you in a warm hug.

''Goddamn it, Pup!'' Ari suddenly explodes, interrupting your excited and enthralled ramblings over a new book, forcing you to jump out of your skin and clutch the book to your chest, and clam up. ''I'm trying to fucking work. Bother someone else!''

You stared at him, swallowed the lump in your throat, and willed the tears in your eyes to not fall. You took a step back and whispered a small apology before darting out of his study. You told yourself it was just the full moon, repeating it like a mantra in your head as you made your way to your room. As soon as the door closed behind you, you threw the book to the ground and sat by the window as tears began to fall while looking out at the manor grounds.

An hour later, Ari let himself into your room, closing the door behind him with his hands tucked in his pockets and a dejected look on his face. Seeing him stand so sheepishly brought back memories of when you first entered the house before it was your home; reminding you of how scared you were, how you never wanted to be ever again after you found he was safety disguised as danger. No one would ever know what a true, sweet soul he was. His softness was something he reserved for you in spades. 

''It's the moon, pup,'' he explained, cutting into the silence, still a tightness to his voice. ''I don't mean to be like this, and I'm overdue for a rut, it's just… Fucking with me. I'm sorry. I know this isn't fair on you.'’

''I know you don't mean it,'' You sniffled as you pulled your legs to your chest, wrapping your arms around them and resting your chin on your knees, peering up at him with wet doe eyes, ''I just wish you didn't have to feel like this. I can't imagine what it's like.''

''You'll find out once you choose what you want to be, either way, you'll be battling mastering control and suppressing gnawing impulses,'' Ari sighed, tightening his lips into a short smile as he made his way over to you. ''And, there ain't no way I'm letting you age past me, pup, so you better get to choosing,'' Ari said with a subdued laugh.

''Still thinking,'' You hummed, eyes falling closed as he leaned down to briefly kiss your forehead. You smiled despite still being stung by his off behaviour. ''Seeing you like this, watching the others struggle with their own things, I'm not sure I want to be either,'' you admitted, sighing as Ari nodded slowly. ''I just don't understand why the others don't get the same way. Yeah, Steve can be a little moody. Andy gets all quiet... Curtis doesn't seem to mind it much, not even Jake, and he's like, a newborn werewolf, but nothing like how you get.''

''Everyone handles it differently, pup. It affects us in different ways. I wish it didn't mess with us at all.''

By day five, getting him to talk to you became impossible. He'd be withdrawn and quiet, and everyone would end up walking on eggshells around him. He'd become more possessive, more handsy, you couldn't move without him following close behind. 

Even during the most mundane tasks, he was right beside you. 

You'd be making breakfast, and he'd be standing right behind you. His fingers crept under the hem of your shirt and rubbed at the skin of your hips, before smoothing his hands over your belly and nosing at your neck. Soft rumbles vibrated from his chest, wet lips grazed behind your ear. Sometimes, he'd dip his hands down your shorts and dance his fingers along the waistband of your panties. 

Every time you attempted to push for a little space, you'd earn a defiant growl in response, and he'd cling harder to you.

''Ari, I can't move,'' you whined, trying to wiggle out of his grasp. Ari nuzzled his nose further into the crook of your neck, a soft growl emitting from deep in his throat, fingers massaging the meat of your waist. ''I need to get to the stove,'' You tried again, but it was no use.

''Let her move, Ari,'' Steve instructed as he strolled into the kitchen, coffee cup in hand. ''We ain't gonna get to eat if you don't let the little lady cook for us.'

Before you even got the chance to laugh, Ari was gone from behind you and snarling in Steve's face. The men were so close, their foreheads were almost touching. Ari's shoulders were back, hands balled into fists, and breathing heavily. Steve had his hands up in defence, a feeble attempt to defuse the situation. You dropped the spatula and knocked the egg mixture to the floor as you rushed over to pull Ari back.

''Hey, none of that,'' You scolded, pulling on his arm. ''Come away from him,'' you said sharply, placing a hand on Ari's shoulder and waving for Steve to back up, which he did slowly and cautiously. You tried to gain Ari's attention, but his eyes stayed locked on Steve until he left the kitchen. The door swung heavily behind him. That's when Ari relaxed and closed his arms around you, pulling you close to his chest, his face buried in your neck again.

''What the hell was that?'' You demanded, but got nothing but a grumble in response as Ari ran his hands over your back. You let out a defeated sigh and lifted your arms around his neck. ''You're gonna end up killing someone,'' you murmured, shaking your head when you get nothing but a short growl in response.

You spent the rest of the day putting out fires. Ari had lunged at Curtis, teeth inches from his neck, for simply tucking a stray hair behind your ear. Attempting to pull Ari back from Ransom after he ended up with a bloodied nose for placing a hand on your hip. Stopping Ari from jumping up off the couch from where he has curled himself around you, Lloyd leaned down to kiss your cheek and earned a boot in the rib from the temperamental wolf. Andy was left nursing three broken fingers for daring to squeeze a hand around your waist while you welcomed him home. Jake was left with claw marks down his arm for attempting to cover you with a blanket during movie night.

Each incident was followed up by Ari dragging you close to him and snarling out a threatening, ''mine.'' The only word he had spoken in the past twenty-four hours.

''Yours, Ari,'' You agree, hands stroking the sides of his face, curling your fingers in his hair. ''All yours.'' Not entirely true, but it has to be during this time for the safety of your housemates. ''Let's go, come on,'' you say, and pull him up from the couch, mouthing apologies to everyone before guiding Ari away towards the bedroom.

'What am I going to do with you?'' You sighed as you closed your bedroom door behind you, eyeing the grumpy werewolf as he climbed onto your bed and reached out to you with a grumble. You tilt your head back, your shoulders dropping, letting out a sigh at the lack of response before strolling up to the bed. 

''You can't keep fighting everyone, I know the moon is fucking with you, but Jesus Christ, Ari,'' You scolded as you joined him, letting him pull you close to his chest, legs tangling with yours as you listened to his strong heartbeat pound through his chest. ''You're gonna have to stay out of their way, this isn't fair on them,'' You try again, looking up at him and snorting out a little laugh at his knitted eyebrows and sour look. ''It isn't fair on me,'' You stress and reach a hand up to scratch your fingers through his beard.

You spend the next two days hauled up in your bedroom, Ari only letting you leave to make food and grab snacks and drinks. The rest of the time, you were dressed in his t-shirts, wrapped in his hoodies, sat snugly in his boxers, reading a book out loud while Ari massaged your thighs and waist. He kept his face nuzzled into the crook of your neck, nose rubbing against the skin behind your ear, placing small kisses and licks. 

Having to deal with his protests of letting you shower unless you're using his shampoo and body wash, you need to be there to get his scent right back on you once you've washed it away. While you sat at your desk, he'd sit between your legs, arms snug around your waist with his head in your lap, soft rumbles demanding a kiss, or for you to comb your fingers through his hair and scratch the space behind his ear.

The night before the full moon, Ari was a wreck. Irritated growls, a sheen of sweat on his brows. Suddenly, he couldn't stand the smallest touch, pulling away from you each time you tried to; your fingertips were burning right through his skin. 

Pained whines as he clutched his stomach and gripped his thighs, making your heartache and your stomach twist in knots. He refused to eat, unable to even keep water down. He was too hot and cold all at once, causing him to bundle up and strip off within the next second. You pleaded for him to tell you what you could do to make him feel better, but never got a response. 

While unable to touch him, he still needed you nearby; shaking his head with a defiant growl every time you suggested talking to the others for a solution. You had never seen any of the wolves go through a new moon like this.

''Ari, there's got to be something I can do. This can't just be the moon. Please let me go and see what they can do.'' You pleaded, hands hovering over his curled-up form, not daring to touch if you caused more pain. ''Ari, please.'' You sigh in defeat as he let out another pained whine, followed by a throaty growl and a shake of his head. ''Just get on the bed, you can't be comfy here,'' You tried once more.

You wiped away a stray tear from your cheek as you got no response from him. You let your legs give out, sitting back on your legs, desperately wanting to reach out and pull him to you, while also damning yourself for not being strong enough to just lift him. You were lost, since meeting Ari, you'd never seen him in such pain before. The occasional grump, or low mood during the moon, sure, but never pain. 

That's when it hit you.

''Oh my God,'' You said slowly. You got to your feet and looked down at him. ''You're in a rut, aren't you?''   

''Not yet,'' Ari gritted out, baring his teeth, voice strained and coarse.

''Okay, okay,'' You nodded, trying to hide your glee at hearing his voice. ''But, you will be? Right? I can help. I can help you,'

''No,'' Ari growled out roughly, shaking his head as he strained and propped himself against the side of the bed, making you pause and suck in a breath as his face twisted up and a whine escaped his lips. ''I'll hurt you.''

''You won't,'' You tried to sway, kneeling in front of him. ''I'll be okay. Let me help you through it.'

Ari gave another shake of his head, eyebrows pulling together as his head lulled back, whining.

''Where does it hurt?'' You asked, only to be met with a telling glare from the werewolf, making you blush and laugh nervously. ''Oh, I thought- I thought it was your stomach.'

''It radiates,'' Ari explained bluntly, rolling his eyes.

''What about a hot bath, or a shower?'' You suggested. ''Get the sweat off you, might make you feel a little better. Then we can try and get some food in you.'

''It'll only come back,'' Ari brushed off, letting out a huff. ''Please stop making me talk, pup,'' he begged, letting his head drop to his knees as he wrapped his arms tightly around his legs. For such a huge man, you'd never seen him so small.

''Come on, let's get you in the shower,'' You pressed again as you rose to your feet and offered out your hand.

Finally, he placed his hand in yours and allowed you to help him to his feet. Your eyes immediately zero in on the prominent outline of his cock, sucking in a sharp breath, and eyes widening at the sheer size. Ari groaned and tried to cover his crotch, with his hand murmuring out a whined, ''don't look,'' and used his other hand, hooking a finger under your chin to move your head up, making you meet his eyes before he turned away and began to waddle towards the bathroom.

''Too late, I saw it,'' You snorted, rubbing a hand over his back as you kept close. ''Pretty sure that thing classifies as a lethal weapon at this point,'' You joked and laughed as he groaned and shook his head.

The night before the full moon, you faced challenges you didn't know existed when it came to Ari. Usually the perfect gentleman, he had turned into a feral beast. While you managed to usher him into the shower and curl up with the freshly washed werewolf, he still refused to let you help him with his rut. 

However, once cuddled in bed, wrapped in the soft, pink cotton sheets, he couldn't stop himself as he rubbed his clothed, rock-solid cock against the back of your thigh while he held you tightly against him. He had his face buried against your shoulder, teeth digging into the skin as he moaned and growled, desperate for release. 

You continued to beg him to let you help him, only to be denied by a shake of his head as he continued to rut his hips against you.

''Gonna have to go,'' Ari said breathlessly, but did not attempt to move or still his movements.

''You don't have to,'' you said, attempting to turn back to face him, only to be met with a tight squeeze on your hip telling you to remain still. ''Just let me see, let me help.''

''You are helping,'' Ari grumbled, panting and breathless.

''Then don't go,'' you pleaded. ''Stay with me, and keep doing what you're doing.'' You tried to rock back against his thrusts, but he kept you firmly in place. ''Do what you need to feel better.''

''It's not enough,'' Ari contradicted suddenly, whining and digging his teeth back into your shoulder, making you laugh irritably.

''So, let me help.'' You reached a hand back and placed it over his grip, rubbing your thumb over the back of his hand. ''Just my hands, nothing else,'' you offered. ''Lemme help, Alpha.''

That seemed to snap whatever resolve Ari had inside him. You were soon shifted onto your back, the large wolf of a man climbing on top of you with lust-filled eyes and hooking a hand under your chin, the pads of his fingers bruising into your cheeks as he crashed his lips against yours. Gone was the pain of fighting off the rut. 

The wolf seemingly allowed himself to be completely drowned in the throes of it. The kiss was filthy, teeth and tongue, almost like he was trying to drink down every gasp, whimper, and moan that tried to escape your lips. 

He was a man starved, feral, and unrelenting. 

You parted your legs and lifted them to encase him and keep him there, fearing clarity would set in and he'd suddenly be gone. Your fingers tangled and pulled his long locks, while his gripped your waist and kept snugly around your throat.

''Ari, please,'' You moaned breathlessly against his assault on your lips and rolled your hips up against him. You whined as you felt his cock firmly rub against your throbbing cunt.

''Alpha,'' Ari corrected, nipping your lower lip and with the grip around your chin and neck. He tilted your head to the side, began to pepper kisses, and licked down the column of your neck. ''Keep rubbing on me, pretty pup. Show your Alpha how much you want his knot.'

The whiplash made your head spin and your heart pound in your chest. Suddenly, the solemn and quiet wolf was talking filth in your ear while you rocked against each other and showed no signs of quietening down or slowing down anytime soon. 

Lost for words, you surrender to him, relaxing in his tight grip and moaning loudly into the open space of the bedroom, knowing all the other inhabitants would surely hear you and know exactly what Ari was doing to you.

''Wolf got your tongue, sweet baby? Where's my begging gone? Not gonna be able to hold back, gonna breed this tiny little cunt. 'Gonna fill you up and get you fat with my pups. You want that, little omega? I'm gonna split you apart on my knot, knock all those pretty thoughts out of your head. You sure you want this, honey? You sure you can take it? Can you take me, honey? All of me?'' Ari ranted into your ear, licking the shell of your ear and nipping at your lobe. ''Gonna fucking make you take it, sugar.'

''Please, please,'' You chanted. ''Please, Alpha. I want it, I need you, please.'

Ari detached his hand from your neck and lifted onto his knees just enough to give him the space to freely flip you over. You panted into the pillow as he got to work, literally tearing the clothes from your body, silk pyjamas in tatters on the floor, leaving you in your bra and panties. 

Ari quickly rid himself of his clothes before hiking your hips up, making your back arch and face press further into the pillow. You arched your back further as you felt Ari's fingertips rub over your panties, tracing the line of your folds, gasping as his ring finger ghosted over your button. You could feel the wetness pooling over your core, feel yourself throbbing under his touch. 

You felt his hands run down your sides, fingers meeting as he slipped down the arch of your back. You moaned in anticipation, feeling his breath on your thighs, before crying out as he began to mouth over your mound, wetting the fabric of your panties even more. 

You buried your face in the pillow, wanton moans muffled by the cotton stuffing as Ari hummed a needy growl over your core, sending vibrations that made your toes curl and your hands fist the sheets below you. His fingers massaged your thighs as he continued to tease you over your panties.

''Alpha, please,'' you pleaded, lifting your head to gasp in the air and look back, your view obscured by your hips and his large shoulders. All you could make out was the slight rocking of his hips, rubbing himself against the soft cotton sheets. ''Please,'' you whined. 

''Tell me what you want, pup. Tell your Alpha you want him to taste this sweet little cunt,'' Ari replied cockily, heavy-lidded eyes peering from around the back of your thigh while he nipped into the flesh and his hands moved to paw at your ass. 

You sucked in a shaky breath. ''Please, Alpha, please taste my cunt. It's all yours. It's yours. Please.''

Ari wasted no time, hooking his fingers under the band of your underwear and snapping the fabric, discarding it off the side of the bed. 

Ari crossed his arms over the dip of your back, face pushing between your legs, forcing your back to arch as much as possible. His lips attached over your clit, his tongue rolling with every suction; the rough scratching of his beard mixed with the tight suction of his mouth, the softness and heat of his tongue quickly brought you to the edge. 

You tugged on the sheets below you so hard, your pointed nails ripped through the sheet, and your loud cries of pleasure dominated the room, mixing with Ari’s lustful growls. You rocked your hips against his mouth, overwhelmed and overstimulated. A hot flash overtook your body, your thighs tensed, and a warmth spread over your stomach. 

Soon shakes overtook your body, your core fluttering as you came on his tongue; chanting his name with desperate moans. Ari held you still as you tried to wriggle away, trying to get a break from the assault of your sensitive button. He wasn’t finished with you yet. 

You reached back to try and push his head away, crying out and shaking your head, unable to form any words due to your mind swimming with Ari; everything was Ari. Ari let out a disgruntled grumble, and while his tongue flicked against your clit, he grabbed both of your arms and pinned them behind your back, using the grip on them as purchase to continue keeping you held in place. 

Your thighs were shaking at this point, your stomach doing flips, and your body was covered in a sheen of sweat. Ari hummed blissfully, seemingly feeling full as he continued to taste you on his tongue. 

The Alpha pulled orgasm after orgasm from your abused cunt, before finally giving you relief for a short moment. That’s when you felt his fingertip prod at your entrance, and they felt the bed dip as your arms were released and Ari rose to his knees. 

“Such a pretty pussy,” Ari cooed. If your face wasn’t already flushed red, it certainly was now. “Can’t wait to feel it around my knot,” Ari continued to you as he slipped a finger inside you. The large digit curling in search of your sweet spot. “Feel it cuming around me, so fucking tight, ‘mega, fuck.” 

“More, Alpha,” you moaned, thrusting your hips back slightly. “Need your knot so bad.” 

“Gotta open you up, pup. Gotta make it fit,” Ari replied, slipping a second finger alongside the first. The sting from the stretch makes you suck in a hissing breath. “Such a tight, little cunt.”

You didn’t know that pain could feel so good. The ache in your back paired with the ones in your thighs mixed with the tingles left from Ari’s beard, and his fingers spreading you open bloomed a need you didn’t know existed. 

Ari hooked his fingers in a come hither motion, finally bumping against that special spot inside you, making you cry out and become a boneless mess. Your shoulders sunk into the mattress, face squished against the pillows as you rocked your hips in time with his fingers curling. 

Ari growled and reached over your arched body to take a fist full of your hair, forcing your head up from the pillow. 

“Stop hiding, little one,” Ari commanded, his fingers pulling sounds you didn’t know you could make from you. “I wanna hear all those pretty moans. Wanna hear how good I’m taking you apart. I want all of it.” 

Wanton moans dripped from your parted lips as Ari continued to open you up. Your hole now stretched around three of his large fingers. He was unrelenting in his mission to get you prepped enough for his knot. Ari used the grip on your hair to spear you back on his fingers, your whole body rocking back onto his fingers. 

“Alpha, it’s enough, it’s enough,” you moaned, craning your head back to look back at him, hair stuck to his forehead, bicep flexing as he twisted his fingers inside you. “Please, I need it now.” 

''Not enough, pup,'' Ari argued. ''Trust me, it's taking every ounce of control inside of me not to tear into this pretty little cunt--'' Ari emphasised his words by scissoring his fingers inside you, making you gasp and hiss from the sting of the stretch. He curled his body over yours and chuckled in your ear before he nipped the shell. ''Gotta have you ready, pup.'' 

After what seemed like an eternity of fingers curling and twisting, obscene sounds of your slick around Ari's fingers; pornographic moans and dark chuckles, teasing remarks and filthy comments from Ari, he finally pulled his fingers from inside you and pulled a shocked gasp from you as he flipped you onto your back and lifted your legs to your chest. He locked one hand behind your knees, keeping your thighs flush against your chest, while he grasped his length in his other hand and nudged the tip through your folds.

You angled your head, looking around to see him slowly fuck himself through your slit. The head of his cock bumps against your clit, making little moans fall from your lips.  Ari was seemingly mesmerised, eyes locked on his cock slipping through your folds, and your delicate fingers rubbing the tip of his cock until he dipped too low and the head caught against your hole, making you both gasp and his hand tighten its hold on your legs. 

Ari let his cockhead rest against your hole as he guided your hand away, and readied himself on his knees, letting out a deep breath before giving you a checking glance. From here, you saw the man's sheer size, the wolf looming over to take his prey in any way he saw fit. You gave him a nod, mouth agape, and let your head rest on the pillow, fingers tangling in the sheets, preparing for the breach. 

''Holy fuckin' shit, sugar,'' Ari moaned out as the tip of his cock slipped past your hole, your hands ditching the sheets and reaching around to grip Ari's wrists. All you could do was chant his name, whine, and moan as he continued to slowly thrust into you. ''You can take it, omega. You can do it for me, can't you, pup? I know you can, look how well you're taking me, you can do it, pup.'' 

The stretch, the ache from your core, your legs, your back; the hands that clutched your thighs, the growls and moans from Ari, it was all too much. 

Ari parted your legs, slipping through the space to cover your body with his own, elbows planted beside your shoulders as he caressed the sides of your face, wiped sweat-stuck hair from your face, and smoothed his hands over your hair. Your hand stroked his biceps, kneading the flesh as he slowly buried his cock deeper inside you, dropping his head beside yours and moaning long and slow into your ear as he finally bottomed out. Your fingers tangled in his hair, whining his name as you lifted your legs and clenched them tightly around his hips. 

''Feel like heaven, pup,'' Ari moaned out, slightly rocking his hips into you, nudging his cock against the sweet spot hidden deep inside you. 

''Not yet, not yet,'' You chant, strung out and whining, stuffed to the brim. 

''Can't wait much longer,'' Ari growled, fighting against his feral urges. ''Need you, Omega.''

''You have me, Alpha.''

Ari lifted back onto his knees, fingers curling under your knees and holding them firmly as he slowly pulled out until only the tip of his cock remained inside you; pulling delicate moans and needy whines from both of you. 

From there, it was only a few short thrusts until Ari became unhinged.

The bed creaked and groaned from the brutal pace of his hips. Pain and pleasure mixed perfectly; intoxicating and addictive, under his sharp teeth and piercing claws, blooming red under his trail. Both of you were reduced to puddles, unable to form any words, completely lost in each other; consumed by need and lust. 

''Not gonna last long,'' Ari began to babble, moans and growls mixing with his words as he continued to spear you onto his cock. All you could do was cry out and grip him as he used you for his pleasure. ''Gonna breed you, gonna fill you up, keep you on my knot. Get you full with my pups, my perfect little bitch. My beautiful Omega. My sweet little pup.'' His fingers bruised into your hips, claws nipping the skin. ''So fuckin' good, 'Mega. So good for me, taking it all. You ready for my knot, pup? You gonna take it?'' 

''Yes, yes, yes,'' You managed to chant, eyes locked on Ari's and arching your back as the wolf pounded into you. 

Ari leaned back down, hand cradling under your head, the other cradling your cheek and keeping you close in the crook of his neck. Your heavy breaths coated his skin, while your fingernails left trails of blood down his back, making him rut harder, obscene noises filling the room. You locked your legs again around his waist, while Ari moaned nonsensical filth into your ear. Growls and grunts overtook him as he became desperate to fill you to the brim. His teeth pinched into your neck, locking you down against the mattress as he claimed you. 

You could feel his swelling knot catch against your hole, making your nails bite into the flesh of his shoulder. He lifted up onto his hands, heavy-lidded eyes and parted lips; snarls and teeth, and started down, watching himself fuck into you as he crept closer and close to his climax. His hips began to stutter and started to push the knot fully inside you, locking you together. 

Your hands find his face and draw his gaze to yours.

''Look at me, Alpha. Look at me. Wanna see you while you fill me.''

[sleepershell]

truth or dare

synopsis y/n convinces the Skittles to play truth or dare. It's all fun and games until Reggie doesn't like your answers. He storms out and, when you go to confront him, he's forced to admit how he feels.

Word count 1309

note loosely based on a prompt I saw @sufferingstarlight write from.

warnings a little sad, angst, mention of death eaters/the dark mark, some swearing

pairing Regulus Black x reader (no pronouns I think? Although I was writing it thinking f! Reader)

I couldn’t believe I’d convinced all these pureblood wizards to play a muggle game. But there they were, all my friends, sitting around me and playing a game of truth or dare. Evan charmed a Hufflepuff girl into giving us some weed for free, and we’d smoked it outside before running giggling back to the Slytherin common room. The seventh years all left at the first sight of us. They probably knew we were in the mood to start some trouble. 

It was never hard to sneak Dora in anymore, although that probably had something to do with Regulus’ clout among our housemates for being a Black. Or maybe our housemates’ fear of him being a Death Eater. Either way, it worked out well for us. Dora was leaning against Reg, her long legs splayed in front of her. I was in a similar position, my top half leaning on Cas so she could play with my hair. It was the most euphoric feeling in the world to have her hands in my hair, especially when I was high. Evan was between Cas and Reg, while Barty sat between Dora’s and my feet. It was a good position, since I could give him a good kick whenever he said something stupid. With all that brain of his, one would expect him to say less dumb shit. 

I was just recovering from a fit of laughter at Evan’s last confession when Cas asked “y/n, truth or dare?”

“Hm,” I pretended to think. Normally I would love a good dare but, knowing Cas, she’d try to give me something she knew I’d struggle with. No one quite knew how to push my buttons like my best friend. “Truth this time.” I cracked my knuckles for effect. 

“Alrighttt.” I could feel the vibrations in her chest as she spoke. “If you could kiss any of the boys at school, who would it be?” 

My stomach dropped. Of course, she still had found a way to torture me. Oh, that girl was going to get jinxed later. She’d never be able to sleep safely in our room again. There was no way I could tell the truth. It would be painfully embarrassing to admit who I really, really wanted to kiss in this group. I wouldn’t live it down. Barty was wagging his eyebrows at me, and Evan looked equally interested in my answer. I was always so careful to keep who I liked close to my chest, though I suspected everyone already knew. I had to think of something before the length of time got way too suspicious. I let a glance fly over at Reg. Like always, he just stared at me, eyes blank, a slight furrow in his brow. I should say Sirius. Then maybe he’d actually react to me for once. Then maybe I’d know how he felt. Saying Potter might hurt him even more… But I couldn’t do something like that to him. 

“Uh, Remus, I guess.” I shrugged. 

Barty wrinkled his nose at that. “That boring friend of Sirius’?”

“He’s not boring,” I protested, “he’s… nice.” 

A scoff from Regulus. 

 I sat up straight, ready for a fight. “Is there something you want to say?”

“Nope.” Cocky asshole.

“Fine.” I crossed my arms. “Reggie: truth or dare?” 

“Truth.” His dark eyes were still blank but I could see tension in his lips. 

“Who in school would you kiss?”

He shook his head with a small laugh. “This muggle game is ridiculous.” 

All at once he was standing and stalking out of the common room with the haughty grace typical of all the Blacks. Pandora looked shocked when he disappeared from beside her and nearly fell over. Other than she and I, everyone gave a collective shrug. It wasn’t out of character for Reg to leave so abruptly, to get rumpled over nothing. But this time I hopped up from my spot as well. He couldn’t just leave like that. 

“Where are you going?” Evan asked. 

“I’m going to find that fucker.” I called back over my shoulder.

“Oh boy.” I could hear them all break out into laughter as I slammed the door behind me.

Regulus wasn’t hard to find. When I didn’t see him in the dungeons I knew where else to look. It was late in an October evening, and I had to wrap my arms around myself as I followed the edge of the Black Lake. There was no moon above, the only reflections cast on the water from the monolith of a castle behind me. So many days we’d spent out on the bank of the lake, on the side closest to the Forbidden Forest. There was nowhere else he’d go.

And there was Reg, pacing back and forth, his hands held out in front of him grasping the cold air. Strong hands. Piano hands. Writing hands. Hands I’d almost reached out for so, so many times. He appeared suspended in an argument with nothing.

I held my tongue until I was near, but had to speak when my presence wasn’t acknowledged. That close, I could finallyI see emotion on his face. Twisted up and white as a sheet. 

“Reg, tell me what’s going on.” My voice was soft, barely more than a rasp. 

“Nothing.” Still not a glance at me, though he’d stopped pacing. His chest was heaving as if he’d been yelling. “Go back inside, y/n.” 

He loved to give orders. As if anyone had any reason to obey him. 

“I’m not going anywhere.” The words flew out of me with a bite, and he looked up as if he’d been slapped. Maybe my tone was too close to his dreadful mother’s for comfort. But I couldn’t worry about that. We’d been playing pretend for too long. “Do you have a problem with Remus or do you have a problem with me?”

He scoffed again, his eyes up to the moonless sky. “You have no idea what I’ve got going on.” He always had to play superior. Always had to play prince. 

“Salazar, Regulus, I’m not a bloody idiot! Do you think that little of me?” 

He glared down at me, his eyes glistening. I took a step closer. The gap between us was so small I could feel his breath. 

“Either you’re jealous and you want me or you don’t and you’re the blood purity asshole Black family heir you want everyone to think you are. Just say which.” 

“Stop.” He shook his head at me.

“I’m already in. You can’t scare me away.” 

“Please stop.” Head still shaking. 

“I am in love with you, Regulus. I won’t take it back because it’s true and you can’t ignore it anymore.”  I could see the water welling in his lower lids. It was in mine, too. 

“We can’t,” he breathed. 

My hand, out of reflex more than anything else, lifted to his chin. I brushed my thumb along his bottom lip. He didn’t shy away from my touch like he had so many times before. 

“Please walk away.” There was so much desperation in those eyes. “Please.” 

“Why?”

He grasped his sleeve and wrenched it up. I didn’t have to look; I already knew. 

“If I have to take the mark myself, I will. Anything. Anything.”

“Fuck,” he sobbed, the tears finally falling. He let himself fall forward with them, our foreheads bumping against one another. 

“You love me.” I didn’t ask, but it was a question. A desperate question I’d asked myself about him a million times before. Does Regulus Black love me like I love him?

A nod that shook my own head with it. His red-rimmed eyes bore into me. “I love you.”

I moved my hands to cup his face on either side. “You never told me your answer.” 

And then I felt the softness of his lips on mine. 

xx

[bijouxcarys]

Little Wayward Girl

Masterlist (requests are open)

Summary: As the result of a bet, you must prove to your friend that not only have you experienced the magic of Robert Plant once before, but that he will definitely remember you four years later. Right?

Warnings: NSFW, minors DNA

Word count: 9.6k (got a bit carried away)

Tag list: @brownskinsugarplum76 @firethatgrewsolow @chromations @whothefuckisanja @ourshadowstallerthanoursoul @callmethehunter @strsmn @m-faithfull (if you'd like to be added, just let me know!)

1975

I huffed, brushing down my skirt after fighting my way through the hoards of fans that so desperately wanted to get backstage. There were displeased looks from surrounding girls, but it was their bloody faults for leaving a gap next to them!

"What are you looking at?"

"Don't know, but it's got a right face on it," my best friend, Ally, grimaced back at the scantly-clad ginger and her friends beside us.

"'Ey," I nudged Ally, sending her a look of disapproval.

"What, she's being a c--"

"Chill out, you're the reason we're back here anyways."

"Oh, yeah, because you wouldn't have wanted to come back here."

"Why do you say that?"

"To try and meet them, since you have never met them before." Ally smirked at me, making me roll my eyes.

"You're not budging, are you?" I asked her with a sigh.

I could see her lunging for the chance to make some kind of snarky remark, but chaos ensued further when the door in front of us cracked open, revealing a tall and large man with a noteworthy beard.

"Right, can't let all you birds in, as much as we all want you to," the man huffed, scanning his eyes over the huddle.

Squinting my eyes, I tried to place my finger on who this guy was, as he was staggeringly familiar. You'd think after four years, I'd recognise such a man immediately, but it took an embarrassingly lengthy amount of time for it to click.

G! Oh shit, it's Peter Grant--Y/N, you fucking idiot...

Peter, barely giving us a once over, let as many of us through as he could. Ally's hand grabbing onto mine, we sidled past Peter, finally entering the grounds of my mission. With a sigh, I glanced at Ally and rolled my eyes. I can't believe she's talked me into this...

...Earlier that day...

I stood behind Ally in front of the mirror, bobby pin between my teeth as I intricately braided the top layer of her blonde hair, ensuring there wasn't a lock out of place.

"I'm so excited!" she squealed. Her excitement made me grin, a similar feeling rippling through me.

"I just feel lucky that I get to see them again," I said through the bobby pin.

"I'm so jealous that you've already seen them live."

Smirking to myself, I took the pin from my mouth and secured the underside of her layer to the rest of her hair, followed by a thin hairband to secure the end of the braid. "All done."

Ally turned to her side, getting a good look at my handiwork and clapped giddily. She turned and gave me a tight hug, rocking me side to side. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

I giggled, patting her on the back before letting her go. I needed to fix my hair. Nothing too special, just a blow-out look that made my hair fluffier and larger. I liked the way it framed my face and sat along my shoulders; I loved the way it hung down my back.

Then again, so did he.

It wasn't that I was nervous to be seeing Zeppelin again in concert, it was purely the fact that memories from the night I saw them for the first time played out very vividly in my mind the whole week leading up to this day.

I did a once-over in the mirror of our hotel room, catching glimpses of Ally shuffling around on the bed, trying to force her feet into the pair of platforms she'd innocently swiped from one of our housemates.

"I still don't know why you don't just wear your own."

She looked at me as though I was speaking cling-on. "Are you insane? I've worn those so many times, as if I'd go to a Led Zeppelin show in shoes I've worn close to a hundred times before."

"If you say so, Al..." I shook my head in amusement. Once I concluded that I was happy with the outfit I had chosen, I decided that now was as good a time as any to tell Ally what I'd been waiting to tell her since we bought the tickets for the gig.

"So... I think there's something I should probably let you know before we head out," I started, spinning on my heel to look at her.

"Go for it," she struggled, falling onto her back with one leg in the air as she pulled on the heel of the platforms.

Amused by her blissful ignorance to the bombshell I was about to drop, I leaned back against the wall. "You know how I've seen them live before?"

"Yup!"

"Did I ever mention that I, uh... met them?"

Her leg dropped, the chunky heel thudding on the ground. "You did what?!"

I grinned, keeping my nonchalant position against the wall. "You heard."

"I'm not sure I did."

"You did," I laughed with a nod of my head.

"But... how?" she breathed out with wide eyes and an open mouth.

I shrugged. "I just found my way backstage with some girls I'd met that night. They're actually lovely lads."

Ally narrowed her eyes a bit, sitting up on the bed. It was like she was analysing my demeanour.

"What?" I asked.

"You're bullshitting me."

"I promise you, I'm really not," I shook my head. "That's not even the most unbelievable part about it."

"Fuck's sake, Y/N, tell me already!"

"You clearly don't believe that I met them, I highly doubt you'll believe the other part."

"Please! Tell me, I promise I won't jump to any conclusion," she pleaded through puppy-eyes.

"Fine!" I feigned defeat, as though I didn't want to tell her the sordid details. "I may or may not... have had... an... encounter..." I contemplated my choice of words. "...With Robert Plant."

"Yeah, right," she immediately fired back.

"See, I told you you wouldn't believe me!"

"You're telling me that you, Y/N, shagged Robert fucking Plant?"

"Well, I did!"

"Lies."

"Just 'cause you're jealous."

"I would be jealous if it were true," she sang, standing up and giving herself a final look in the mirror. "Well," she sighed, turning to face me with her hands on her hips. "There is one way you can prove it to me..."

"I'll be honest, I'm not overly bothered about you believing me or not, because I know it did happen," I said matter-of-factly, heading over to where I kept my bag and taking out the necessary things I needed for the night, sticking them in the deep pockets of my velvety brown blazer-jacket. "Besides," I turned, "he liked my hair. And my tattoo."

"Your shitty tattoo that you did yourself when you were sixteen?" Ally asked in subtle shock.

"Yeah, he said it..." I stopped myself, smirking. "No, you don't believe me, what does it matter?"

"So much for you not caring about me believing you or not..." She sighed dramatically. "Well, if you're comfortable with me shagging Harry--"

"Since when are you shagging my brother, Al?"

"Since you decided that it's not important to prove to me that you shagged the sexiest man on Planet Earth. Apart from your brother, that is..."

"Ew, gross, okay," I groaned. "How am I supposed to prove it?"

With a mischievous smile, she stepped closer to me. "Easy. We get ourselves backstage."

I shook my head, running my hand through my hair.

"Unless you don't think he'd remember you..."

Her smugness was irritating me now. It really shouldn't have mattered if she didn't believe me. But the more she was insistent that it didn't happen, the more and more I wanted to prove to her that it did. Just for the petty reason of being right.

"He'd remember me." I narrowed my eyes, but completely knew that I was being ridiculous. The chances of someone like Robert Plant remembering little old me were second to none.

"Yeah, okay," she disregarded. "I'm not considering it until you prove it to me. And if you can't prove it, and he can't remember a single thing about it... I get to have my encounter with your brother."

I groaned again, sitting back on the bed. "Fine. Fucking whatever. But I'm telling you... it did happen, and... h-he will remember."

"You don't sound too sure, Y/N, but we shall see..."

....Now....

Ally was having the absolute time of her life backstage; two roadies had already offered her a drink, which she obviously accepted, and she'd already gelled with multiple people.

I, however, felt uneasy about this whole bet.

How desperate to prove my friend wrong was I to insist that Robert fucking Plant would remember a night with a random girl from four whole years ago?! I spent a majority of the first half of the night mentally slapping myself and trying to figure out a way to get myself out of this situation.

But it proved to be too late as those four well-known rockstars entered the room to an abundance of cheers and applause for yet another electrifying performance.

First came Bonzo. I always remembered him as this big teddy bear, and he maintained that disposition. His hand was quickly occupied by a bottle of San Miguel. Some things never change.

Then came Jonesy. He was nothing but gentle from what I remembered of my brief time with the band. If I understood correctly, it seemed that he steered away somewhat from the sordid escapades derived from post-show adrenaline.

Jimmy had grown his hair out a little more, something I immediately noticed throughout the night. His eyes were laser-focused on the two girls waiting by the door for him, one of which were instantly taken under his wing. She was clearly his for the night. Probably the other one, too, now that I think about it...

I swallowed hard and glanced over at Ally, who was both in awe and anticipation. I can imagine she tackled with two mentalities. The first one being that she was seeing her favourite band up close, and the second itching to be right regarding Robert and I.

Larger than life, he strode in last, blouse open, yet tied across the bare expanse of his stomach. The jeans... God, those jeans. From where I had cowered in the corner, I had a prime view of the full picture. The pure perfection of one Robert Plant.

Heart hammering against my chest, I wished for the moment to pass quickly, knowing that come sundown the next day, my dear brother would be in bed with Ally.

I made no attempt to make myself seen. If he saw me, congratulations to him, but I wasn't going to intentionally put myself in the crossfires of embarrassment. Not that easily.

Ally was far too smug beside me, her mouth angled upwards in a smirk. I looked at her and rolled my eyes.

"Shut up," I mumbled, resorting to biting at my nails to relieve the growing anxiety.

"The moment we've been waiting for..." Ally started dramatically through a sigh. "...You shall be proven wrong, and I shall be between the sheets with H--"

I nudged her with some force, cutting off her provocation. She's so right, though...

My breath completely stilled in my throat when the enigmatic God of a vocalist scanned the room casually. And just like that, his eyes met mine. The moment was far too long for my liking.

Eventually, his eyes continued their surveillance around the room.

Nothing.

Not even the miracle of a second glance.

I cringed internally, lowering my gaze to the floor. Ally cackled beside me, before patting my back. "Damn, Y/N. Seems like he can't remember little old you..."

"Seems so," I mumbled, running my hand through my hair and shaking my head. Obviously, Y/N. You knew that would be the case.

All I could think back to was the moment Robert looked at me for the first time and didn't just pass me by.

1971

Ugh, you don't belong here.

I stood awkwardly amidst the small group of well-groomed girls that took me under their wing for the night. They were nice enough, and didn't look down on me like a lot of the other females in the audience did.

The hallway was eerily vacant as the final rings of the show erupted in precedence to the roaring yells of adoration. Vicky, who must have been about twenty-two, claimed it was best to get ahead of anyone else that may have wanted to come backstage.

I felt small and irrelevant with these girls. They were tall, beautiful, made-up, decked out, experienced... Everything that I was not. And when we heard an approaching cluster of footsteps, I quickly remembered that.

What are you doing, Y/N? This isn't your place.

My hands fist up into balls, hoping that my decision to extract myself from the situation would go unnoticed.

To my relief, it did. By them, at least.

Taking a few steps back, I initiated a turn, aiming to make a swift exit and retreat home. Perhaps in the comfort of my bed, I could indulge in fantasies of what might have been.

"Woah, easy there, love."

Startled, I collided with a broad chest, and in mere moments, I found myself locking eyes with the man who had elicited screams from thousands of girls just minutes ago.

Speak, Y/N! Don't be an idiot!

"S-Sorry," I stuttered dryly, lowering my head to walk past him. But he stopped me, reaching out to gently touch my shoulder.

"Are you alright?" I looked back at him, and tried my hardest to avoid his eyes. If I looked into his eyes, I'd melt. "You look shaken up."

My eyes darted to the floor, willing myself not to succumb to the beauty ahead of me. I nodded. "I'm fine. Just..." Muscle memory sabotaged my intentions, and I found myself finally looking back up at the blue pools of passion. And I couldn't look away. "I... was just... leaving."

"Already?" He tilted his head to the side as a charming smile took his features, embellished by the endearing tussle of facial hair I had swooned over all night. "Night's just started, darlin'."

His voice...

"Y-yeah, I know," I laughed pathetically, wanting nothing more than for the floor to swallow me whole. "You won't..." I glanced down the hallway at the girls I had left, their attentions fully on Jimmy by this point. "...won't be missing anything with me gone."

"Oh, I doubt that. The more the merrier."

I didn't answer him, I just pulled my gaze away from down the hallway and looked back at him with an unconvinced expression.

"Okay, well how about we start again normally?"

I scrunched my eyebrows up. "Wh--"

"Hello, my dear, I hope I don't seem too brash, but I can't help but notice how lovely and alluring your hair appears to be. I'm Robert, the silly prat that's just been jumping around on stage for the last two hours," he gallantly introduced himself with an exaggerated bow and an amused smirk.

My mouth hung open a bit, stumped at his energy. Not at all what I was expecting, but his subtle humour gave me a small sense of security, and I caught myself restraining a smile.

"I know who you are..." I said shyly.

"Yet, still, I haven't had the pleasure of knowing you who are," he pointed out, reaching out to cautiously take my hand in his.

Robert Plant is holding my hand. Robert. Plant. Is holding... My hand.

"Y/N," I managed to squeak out.

Robert grinned, squeezing my hand. "Names out of the way, may I ask why you don't think you'd be welcome?" Smoothly, he began to guide me in the direction of the dressing room where everyone else had convoluted. I barely even noticed, I was so caught up in his mere presence.

"Like I said... Don't think I'd be much fun." I shrugged. Robert's brows furrowed, an unconvinced expression on his face. "This is my first concert," I admitted through a nervous laugh.

"Ah," he chuckled, nodding his head. "I understand now."

By now, we'd stopped just next to the dressing room door. Robert turned to me, inadvertently trapping me between the cool breeze block wall and his heated, tanned body.

"Well, sweet Y/N with the pretty hair," he leaned down, lowering his voice to one laced with reassurance and the slightest hint of something else. "If you'd allow me, I'd very much like to be the one to... put an end to your post-show celibacy."

I swallowed hard, eyes wide as I stared up at his. He certainly has a way with words. So much potential to mean something entirely different. Without another word, I nodded, feeling my palms clam up at the realisation that I had agreed to something I only ever mustered up in my wildest dreams.

1975

Baffled by my own annoyance at Robert's complete lack of recollection, I grappled with the realization that my frustration stemmed from Ally being right and me being wrong. In that moment, I was an inconspicuous figure, a nobody.

Seeking refuge on a plush sofa, I settled into a comfortable spot, keenly aware that the majority in the room would soon migrate to an after-party in the hotel where the band was staying.

My gaze involuntarily returned to Robert, positioned at the opposite end of the room. A cigarette dangled from his fingers, and he was encircled by an eager flock of girls. Observing them, a wry thought crossed my mind – someone among them was in for an unforgettable night.

I couldn't pinpoint why his obliviousness bothered me so much. Was it wounded pride or misplaced expectations? Regardless, the scene before me unfolded like a vivid tableau, and I found myself grappling with a mix of emotions amid the impending revelry.

"What's with the long face? We're literally backstage at a Zeppelin show!"

I looked at Ally, unphased by her giddiness.

"Are you upset that you couldn't get away with your little fantasy?" She pouted. I could tell she had no real intention to upset me, and it didn't. It did, however, make me want to backhand her. In a friendly way, of course.

When I didn't answer, simply looking back over at Robert, Ally sighed heavily and shuffled closer to me. "Listen, just because it's not happened before, doesn't mean it can't happen tonight."

"Oh, sure," I rolled my eyes. "I'd have to get in li--"

Too engrossed in conversation, I was completely caught off-guard when I felt the chill of some liquid splashing onto my bare legs. I flinched backwards and looked up to see a very apologetic John Bonham.

"Oh, bloody hell, I'm sorry!" he exclaimed, his voice booming over the chatter. He immediately looked around for something to help, settling on a nearby napkin. "Here, let me..."

I waved him off, laughing nervously. "No worries, it's just beer. I'll survive."

As he attempted to mop up the spill, our eyes briefly locked, and he grinned sheepishly. "Guess I'm not as nimble as I thought. Mini skirts and beer don't mix, do they?"

Still as lovely as I remember.

I chuckled, appreciating his good-natured attempt to diffuse the situation. "Lesson learned, I suppose." As I stood up to mop up the rest of the spilled beer myself, I knew it was fruitless, and I sighed lightly. I could have sworn I caught a glimpse of familiar blue eyes from across the room as I turned to pass Ally my own bottle. Wishful thinking.

"There's a restroom to the right down the hallway, love, I'm so sorry."

"You're okay, honestly. It was gonna happen at some point, might as well be by the best drummer known to man," I joked, giving Bonzo a genuine smile. "Be back in a sec," I said to Ally before taking off for said restroom.

1971

"Shh," Robert's lips moved against my jaw as I whimpered. "I've got you, darlin'."

My hips involuntarily ground upwards against the heel of his palm, searching for any semblance of friction. Robert's throaty chuckle tickled my ear with his beard.

"Have to go slow, sweetheart," he whispered. "Don't want to hurt you."

"Y-You won't..." I weakly whispered back.

Robert lifted his head to peer down at me, an unconvinced look splashed across his perfect features. "Oh, Y/N. Sweet, sweet Y/N," he breathed.

My hands clasped around the back of his neck, wanting nothing more than him flush against me. His eyes glued to mine, looking into the depths of my soul as he maneuvered his fingers below, tracing the outline of my underwear. "You need to be soaked, Y/N. If you want to take all of me..."

All I could do was nod in response, allowing his lips to cover mine in a searing kiss, his fingers very delicately navigating my untouched centre.

As soon as the pads of his fingers swiped gently over my folds, my hips ground upwards instinctively. I felt like I could unfold, just by his soft grazes.

With a lush swirl of his tongue around mine, he hummed into my mouth. Breaking the kiss with a subtle smacking sound, he gazed down at me with hooded eyes.

I could only imagine how desperate and needy I seemed below him; wide-eyed, flushed, barely touched.

"Am I correct in the assumption that you haven't done this before, Y/N?"

My throat closed up and I swallowed. Shit, I really didn't want you to figure that one out...

I stumbled in my response, diverting my eyes to the side, but unable to escape his ethereal clutches in the form of his fingers. He was still making slow strokes along my weeping folds. Even as he spoke to me with that voice.

"Hm, it's nothin' to be ashamed of, honey." His words came as an encouraging murmur, almost with a sing-song cadence. He put a stop to the movements of his hand, resting it on my abdomen. His head dipped down to pepper small, light kisses along my chin, along my jaw, and then down my neck. "I'll take such good care of you, darlin'..." he whispered. My skin tingled in response to his hot breath against it.

Robert nipped lazily at my neck before dragging his lips back up to mine with a chaste peck. "That's if you want, Y/N. Just say the words, and I'll take you there."

How can I say no?! You could have had me in the fucking hallway!

All it took was a feeble nod and a weakened "please" for Robert to spring into action. His gentle hands took their time in undressing me, and his eyes conveyed a novel's worth of intrigue, admiration, and pure lust.

A carnal desire; I to entrust, him to liberate.

1975

You know, you could just leave right now, and nobody would even notice. Maybe Ally. Shit, Ally. Why did you get me into this situation? Pfft, no, Y/N, it was you, you idiot. But still... you could make a run for it. Crawl into bed. Forget any of this even happened. Hopefully wake up and realise this is just a horrifying dream.... fuck.

The mental argument I was having with the reflection of the bathroom mirror went on, and I couldn't rationalise with myself. I should have left, but I didn't want to. I couldn't bring myself to. Something in the back of my mind told me that it was worth staying.

So, I huffed out, hoping to expel as much of the stress as possible, and did a once over in the reflection.

At least you can't see the beer anymore...

Leaving the restroom, I vowed to make the most of what the evening had to offer, and if that involved being completely ignored by Robert fucking Plant, then so be i--

"Woah, easy there, love."

Turning the corner, I walked straight into that broad chest I'd been ogling at for a majority of the night. With wide eyes, I craned my neck to look up at him.

Shit.

"Not the typical 'hello', but whatever suits you best," Robert chuckled.

"Oh, great, I said that out loud," I cringed inwardly.

There was a horrible moment of silence, of him just looking at me, studying me. It was hard not to revert back to that shy, scared 17-year-old that ran into him in an eerily similar way.

"D'ya enjoy the show?" he asked, leaning against the wall and folding his arms. God, those arms. I remembered how easily he hoisted my legs up with them. How they completely engulfed me when he held me for the night.

I found myself unable to speak. So I opted for a nod and a hum of approval. I was met with the signature side smirk, his dimple deeper than I remembered. Then again, he did have that beard back then. It felt great when he settled his head betw--

"Sorry 'bout Bonzo," he cut off my inner thoughts, "He's a clumsy sod when he's drunk."

I stifled a small chuckle, keeping my eyes anywhere but on his. That's how he captured me last time. Not that he fucking remembers... "Yeah, I know," I answered quietly with a nod.

My attempts at avoiding his gaze were cut short. His fingers rested under my chin, gently tilting my head up so I had no choice but to look at his face.

"I may be tall, but not tall enough that you can't look at me, love."

Jesus, the way he said that...

Swallowing, I pulled my head back. "Yeah, I know."

"You don't say much, do you?" he though aloud with a slight tilt of his head. Proving his point, I neglected to answer. "Were you planning to hang around tonight? We're going to head back to the hotel soon. Could have some fun, maybe loosen you up a bit, darlin'."

"I don't need loosening up. And my name is Y/N."

"Ah, my Little Wayward Girl speaks." He grinned.

"Yeah, well, it's a bit different when you wait outside of the ladies' restroom for someo--wait, what?" My eyes widened once again as I snapped my head back up to look him head on.

Robert's hand smoothed over the side of my head, stopping to cup my cheek as he dipped down to hover over me. Inches away.

"I'll see you in a bit, yeah?" he whispered.

Before he strode back down the hallway, leaving me dumbfounded and relieved all at once, he stole the lightest kiss from the tip of my nose.

1971

Robert's curls were soft and lush against the bare skin of my stomach as he laid facing the ceiling. He watched as the reflections of the sun danced in patterns above him, suggesting the break of dawn.

His arm was hooked around my bent leg, and my fingertips brushed over the mass of hair on his chest. My eyes were shut as I tried to capture the exact feeling of this moment, hoping to solidify the warmth of his presence in my memories forever.

Soon, my fingers were playing with his tussled beard, feeling the contours of his perfect jaw that were hidden under the natural mass.

"Tired?"

I forced my eyes to open. He was gazing up at me. The zeal in his eyes drew a shy smile from me, and for what felt like the hundredth time that night, my cheeks flushed.

"Yeah..." I answered in a hushed whisper, almost hoarse from the extent of which my voice had been exercised throughout the night. "I think you wore me out," I added with a silent giggle.

Robert responded with an amused hum, his hand idly tracing patterns along my thigh. "As long as you enjoyed it, darlin'... Though, I think it goes without saying."

I smirked at him. "How'd you figure that one out, then?"

He pulled himself up and turned over so that he was now hovering over me. Using his forearms to support himself, he pressed his clammy forehead to mine. "Those, sounds, darlin'... such a beautiful symphony." He lowered his head down, lips grazing the shell of my ear. "Music to my ears," he whispered. My teeth clamped down on my lips to subdue the idiotic grin that threatened to appear.

"What else?" I dared to ask.

Bringing his lips back up to mine, he melded us together in a searing kiss. His tongue teased my lower lip, but withheld the satisfaction of it going any further.

"Aside from the whimpers, the panting, and the dirty, dirty moans that fell from your pretty little mouth?" He licked his lips, eyes trailing down, his lips following suit. "The way your skin glistened..." He mumbled down my throat. "The goosebumps that you still have, by the way," he chuckled. Then, his journey travelled west and east. "The way your nipples became so taut, so early on." A light kiss to each of them. He continued south, dragging his soft lips and his rugged beard down my stomach until his chest was lined up with my used core. Broken into for the first time by this God of a man. "Then there's the perfect drip of your honey... Never tasted one so sweet, darlin'," he purred, daring to rest the palm of his hand over my mound. "You clenched around me so earnestly. You were so good."

Finally, he tilted his head back up at me. "Does that answer your question, love?"

I was breathless. It was like he was making love to me all over again, only lyrically. Like he did in his music. But for me, and me alone.

I wordlessly nodded, my lips parting in a shaky exhale.

"Good." Robert's playful smile returned, and he turned his head to pepper loving kisses on my thigh. He paid specific attention to the self-modification I made on my thigh. Then, he took a minute to ogle at it. "I like this."

I raised my eyebrow, an amused smirk on my lips. "Oh, the tattoo?" I laughed airily. "It's silly. Don't even know why I did it..."

"It's sweet. A little smiley face, the tongue sticking out." He looked up at me. "Innocent, yet... unruly and defiant. You're like my Little Wayward Girl..."

1975

Ally cackled, right in my face, as I gave her a quick rundown of what just occurred in the hallway.

"Yeah, okay, Y/N," she snorted with a shake of her head.

"I'm telling you the truth, Al!"

"I'm not judging you for lying about it, it's okay. You don't have to keep up with it."

"I'm not lying," I almost whined, running my hand through my hair. I near desperately scanned the room. Where the fuck did he go? It would be really helpful if he showed up and relieved me of this torture! I huffed, crossing my arms in frustration. What if I'm imagining things and what happened in the hallway was all in my head? Fuck, now I think I'm going crazy, thank you, Ally.

"Ally, you know me," I steadily began, "If it didn't happen, and you caught me out in a lie, I'd have given it up by now."

She squinted her eyes at me. "Yeah, but it's not every day you get to make something up about Robert fucking P--oh my god." Her eyes widened, looking behind me. Her hand reached out to grab at my wrist. And before I could turn my head to scope out what cut her off, I felt a steady touch on my lower back and a looming presence beside me.

"I don't believe I've had a chance to speak to you two yet," his distinct, velvety voice rang in my ears as a muffled shock, mixing with the rest of the noise in the room.

"N-No, you haven't," Ally croaked. She was starstruck. Who could blame her?

"I apologise for that. Y'see, there're always so many people waiting for us after shows, it's hard to get around everybody." I could tell without looking at him that he was speaking through his characteristically crooked smile.

"Just being here is crazy enough, I wouldn't even be mad if you didn't notice us," Ally said through a nervous and clumsy laugh. I couldn't withhold my stifled chuckle at her tone, very atypical for her. It was satisfying to watch her cool demeanour crumble with every word.

I could see Robert's head turn in my direction, and I instinctively looked back, my heart banging against my rib cage.

"Well, I've definitely noticed you, now." Even though it was in response to Ally, he was looking directly at me. The hand on my back bared a little more pressure. It was fleeting when he gave me another one of those smirks, before looking back at Ally. "So, how do you know my Y/N?"

My Y/N.

Ally blinked a few times, her eyes darting to me. I gave her a smile, silently screaming "I TOLD YOU," as I so wanted to out loud. I just froze in the moment, letting it unfold as beautifully as it seemed to be.

"U-uh, she's my friend--I'm sorry, you know her?" Ally's voice rose in pitch as he pointed at me.

"Know, knew, whichever suits you best," Robert shrugged. "Uh, when was it, love?" he asked me, once again looking at me.

Finally regaining an ounce of my confidence, I smirked ever so slightly as I answered him. "'71, I think."

"That's it," Robert grinned and nodded. Ally's mouth hung open a little, unable to form a coherent sentence.

"Y-you were telling the truth!" she whisper-shouted at me.

"Uhh, yeah," I told her matter-of-factly.

"Fuck!" Ally slapped her hand on her forehead, most likely cursing the fact that she would not, in fact, be in bed with my brother this time tomorrow.

Robert's brows wrinkled in confusion, and he glanced at me. "Wha--"

"Don't ask," I answered before he could finish his question. "It doesn't matter anymore, does it, Ally?" I raised an eyebrow at her, an unrestrained smirk on my own lips now.

"No," she said through a clenched jaw.

"Okay, then," Robert exhaled, taking his hand away from my back to move his hair from his face. "Well, we're heading back to the hotel now," he said to Ally. "You're welcome to come along. However, I will be stealing Y/N for the evening." He looked down at me. "If that's alright with you, love."

Just like that, he had me again.

1971

I was grateful that they had a day off. It meant Robert and I could sleep well into the afternoon before they had to fly out the next day.

Robert seemed to adopt a somewhat domestic demeanour, though I suspected that was just how he was when he wasn't in the throes of making love--be that on stage, or off.

In essence, he dedicated the remaining time I spent with him to after-care. He truly looked after me after making my first time the most memorable, magical, and otherworldly. I couldn't help but let my mind wander, as he disappeared into the bathroom at 3pm, how lucky his wife must have been if he treated the women he didn't even know like this.

Lucky, ha. Her husband is off sleeping with countless women on the road. Luck doesn't seem like the most appropriate word to use in this situation, but anyone who came within a half-mile radius of Robert is naturally deemed lucky.

Lost in my thoughts, tangled up in the bedsheets, Robert blocked my vacant gaze at the ceiling by extending his hand out to me. He'd run us a bath.

He'd taken me there, twice more, in that hotel bathtub. Once with his fingers, once with his cock--and both times accompanied by the melodic moans, grunts, and murmurs of his platinum voice.

By 5pm, he was ordering more tea with lemon and honey to the room. He taught me about the importance of honey when it came to protecting the vocal chords, prompting a detour of innuendo and even more charm.

Out on the balcony, overlooking the city, we both took in the cool breeze. The much-needed fresh air. We laughed over the wind's assault on both of our hair, igniting a playful back and forth over whose hair looked the best all dishevelled and out of place.

Desperate to prove his point of mine looking "enigmatic and resplendent," this led to a series of photos taken on the balcony with the camera Robert had brought along on tour.

"You really do like my tattoo, don't you?" I giggled when he asked me to pull back the robe and maneuver my body so the inked smiley face was on show.

"I told you I liked it, love," he said as he focused on snapping a few shots. "You should, too," he grunted as he stood up, stretching up. "Anything that makes you different, you should love it."

Eventually, he took me as his guest for dinner with his band mates, along with one of Jimmy's girls, and the two men who I quickly got to know as Peter Grant and Richard Cole. My attention was solely on Robert, though, and his on me. Offering me cigarettes, drinks, introducing me to different foods I'd never tried before.

And before he gave me another night of mind-blowing, leg-shaking orgasms, we sat out on the balcony, listening to records, and talking about what music struck him in the heart the way Zeppelin did with me.

He even sang to me. Rough lyrics and melodies, originals that hadn't yet been released to the world. I was honoured. I couldn't believe I was in the right place at the right time. Little old me.

But there I was, sat on a balcony in Robert Plant's hotel room, as he hummed the first or second draft of what the world would come to know as Stairway to Heaven.

1975

I would have been an idiot to turn down another offer from Robert Plant. To deny him of that limousine ride to his hotel, where the others piled in after us. Ally had attached herself to Bonzo, falling into deep, drunken conversations. And in my own tipsy--not drunken--haze, I looked up at Robert and chuckled when the car started moving.

His arm was draped over my shoulders, burning holes into my jacket with the mere graze of his fingertips, up and down my arm.

"So, you gonna tell me how you figured out it was me?" I said up at him. "And why you waited to follow me to the restroom to let me know of that fact?" I tilted my head further back, with me being so close to him.

The audacity he had, in front of all these people, to slide his other hand up my leg, stopping just as his fingers disappeared under the hem of my skirt.

"Honey, a skirt that short leaves very little to the imagination, and can expose your most unique qualities..." he trailed off, glancing down at his hand as he carefully teased my skirt a few centimeters further up, enough to unveil the stamp of innocence that had led him to dub me his Little Wayward Girl.

"And, of course... yer one of the only lasses I've had the pleasure of meeting to have this particular unique quality," he jested with a smirk, before gently squeezing the flesh of my thigh.

He leaned into me, lips parted inches from mine. "Just need to get reacquainted with another treasure hidden away up there, don't I?" He didn't let me answer, he just captured my lips in a searing kiss.

That kiss took us all the way up to Robert's hotel room, where he had me pinned against the back of the door with his lips hot on my neck.

"And you're sure Ally will be alright with--" I cut myself off with a gasp as I felt Robert's teeth steadily bite down under my ear.

"I already told you, love, she's perfectly safe with Bonzo," he said lowly. He kissed where he'd bitten, and dropped his voice to a provocative whisper. "Now, no more about anyone else tonight, Y/N..." Pulling back, he cupped his hand over my cheek, looking into my eyes. "Just us, darlin'... You..." His free hand trailed down my chest, fingers delicately teasing away the covering of my jacket. "And me."

I let him push my jacket off my shoulders, barely feeling it pool around our feet. I couldn't take my eyes off of his, and I fell deeper and deeper into his allure--exactly how I wanted it to be.

"No more distractions," I whispered back with a slow nod.

"No more distractions," Robert smirked, tilting his head to the side. He took a step back and held his hand out. "Come, my dear."

His hands were gentle, but a fiery presence on my skin as he took his time to remove every stitch of clothing from my body. In that moment, I felt like the most sublime creature on Earth. Every inch of my body was doted on, appreciated, cherished...

Robert was still clothed when he took my face in his hands, delicately placing the lightest kiss to my lips. Then down to my chin, my throat, as far as his tall frame could reach without having to bend at the knees. His fingers threaded through my hair, causing my eyes to flutter shut and my thighs to instinctively clench at the thought of him applying pressure to my roots.

"Set the pace, love," he muttered.

"I'm not 17 anymore, Robert..." I reminded him, my eyes flickering down to his lips. "I can handle whatever pace you wish to set," I told him with a confident exhale. My fingers worked on removing his blouse, all whilst distracting him with the want in my eyes.

And I watched as his darkened with something akin to epicurean, sovereign desire.

With an unfaltering stare, his hands gripped my wrists in the process of me pushing his shirt from his shoulders. Bringing my hands up to his lips, he kissed them, almost like a Godspeed to his gallant complexion. Then he let me go, ushering me backwards with maintained eye contact until I had no choice but to sit back on the plush bed.

I took in the delightful view of Robert shrugging off his blouse. My stomach clenched when the veins in his hands flexed whilst unbuckling the stylish belt he had secured around his hips. It wasn’t hard to tell that those jeans were starting to become an issue. The two of us shared a small, knowing smile as he caught me eyeing the obvious bulge.

“You do it on purpose,” I stated, leaning back on my hands.

He had a permanent smirk on his face as he peeled off his jeans and underwear. The heat between my legs fluttered already once his large cock came into view, springing up, proud and prominent. “What do I do on purpose, love?”

He knew exactly what I meant.

“Don’t play innocent, Percy, it doesn’t suit your God status.” I slipped my lip between my teeth, using the well known nickname for the first time.

“God status, eh?” He grinned, stalking towards the bed and hovering over me, steadying himself of his hands. “My, my, where as my Little Wayward Girl gone?”

I glanced down at his lips, shivering internally at how close he was to me. The tension was palpable. Thick enough to saw in half.

“If I remember correctly,” I started in a whisper, gazing up at his eyes. “A Golden God took the time to school me. And he stole away with that Little Wayward Girl before sunrise.”

“And who exactly assumed my Little Wayward Girl’s throne, my dear?” He whispered back, trailing kisses along my jaw. When he got to my neck, nipping and sucking marks into the sensitive skin, my hands instinctively came up to hold onto his biceps. “A Goddess, perhaps?” He breathed hotly into my ear.

The natural sandalwood musk of his body drugged me. I was high on his presence, rendered unable to answer with anything other than a shaky breath.

Robert’s hand moved up to hold the side of my neck, tilting my head in his direction. His eyes were clouded and hooded. Hungry with desire.

“Why don’t you show me what that Golden God taught you, baby?”

He didn’t have to ask me twice. In what seemed like a momentary flash, he’d returned to a standing position with me perched on the edge of the bed: face to face with his cock.

Tentatively holding onto the base, I gave the tip of his cock a kitten lick. Testing the waters. I glanced up at Robert, seeing he had one of his huge hands rested on his hip. Like he did onstage. Fuck.

I kept my eyes on him as I wrapped my lips around him, steadily taking his length into my mouth. Cheeks hollowed, I sucked gently, a spark shooting through my core when his lips parted with a sigh.

“That’s it, darlin’. Mmm…” he grunted, shutting his eyes and hanging his head back once I set a satisfactory pace.

I let my saliva coat him, I swirled my tongue around his hot tip, I did anything I could, and more, to work this leviathan into a state of ecstasy. I wanted to see his chest shimmering in his sweat, the rogue blonde curls plaster to his forehead, and the taut muscles under his abdomen tense with an unbearable urge to take control.

He looked down at me, almost taken aback by my boldness when I started to pay attention to his tight, full balls. Flattening my tongue, applying pressure with the tip of it in the right places, even teasing him with the odd suction.

“So perfect… Fuuuck…” he moaned, and his free hand held onto my head. “Damn it, I schooled you well, babe…” Before he lost it completely and cut the night short, he pulled me up to my feet, barely having room between him and the bed. He crashed his lips into mine, tonguing my awaiting lips and grabbing onto my hips with mammoth hands.

My own hands flew up to bury them into his mane of hair, meeting his frantic kiss with a matching ferocity. He leaned down slightly to wrap his arms tightly around my thighs and hoist me up for a brief moment before ultimately dropping me down beneath him on the bed. The kiss was forcefully broken, and I needed more.

Robert kneeled in between my legs, keeping me completely at his mercy. Caressing my face, he studied me intently. As though he was thinking about all the things he wanted to do to me. His thumb tugged at my lip, and I earnestly took it into my mouth, grazing my teeth over it.

“My girl…” He traced the pads of his fingers down my chin, down my throat, down between my breasts. He stopped to cup them, thumbs teasing over the taut nipples that were electrified from his simple touch. “…you…” His fingers ventured lower, tickling down my sides. “…are…” Up my legs, under my thighs, over my tattoo, to my abdomen. Finally, he reached my centre, adorned with a small mass of soft curls. “A Goddess.”

One hand pressing lightly against my lower stomach, he used his other thumb to venture over my folds. Two little swipes, barely there, drew a gasp from my lips. He acknowledged this for a fleeting second, and smirked to himself when he brought his thumb up to his mouth to wet it. His appetiser.

His eyes were fixed on the sight below him as he placed his hand flat over my mound, pushing against it to open me up ever so slightly—enough to allow the pad of his thumb access to the bundle of nerves that had been throbbing with need for the past hour. He made continuous movements over it with his thumb, taking pleasure from my reaction.

“Sensitive baby…” he hummed, keeping up with his actions. He watched my form twitch lightly, hips automatically rolling upwards, and my mouth fall open.

There was no doubt that he could have made me cum like this. Just by rapidly swiping his thumb back and forth over my clit. He knew it, too. And for a moment I thought that was his goal. But he worked me up to such a high, to where it was impossible to miss the swelling his ministrations enforced and the progressive rise and fall of my chest.

Then he pulled away.

“Robert…” I whimpered, rolling my hips upwards again.

“You were so close, darlin’… so beautifully enthralled…” he practically moaned in response to my whimpers. He grasped onto my thighs, slowly pushing them forward towards my chest so I opened up entirely. “Do you want to cum, Y/N?” I nodded wantonly. “Tell me… let me hear it…” he coaxed, smoothly lowering himself to my thigh, where he pressed the lightest kiss. So, so close to my aching heat.

“I… Please… I want to cum, Robert…” I sighed, toes curling at the anticipation he had built. “Please… m-make me cum, baby, I need it.”

“I know, my sweet… I know…” he mumbled, kissing lower down. Just a little more… “You need it so bad, honey…” His face hovered over my weeping heat, having the sheer audacity to blow very lightly against it. “Speakin’ of honey… does my lady taste just as sweet as I remember…” He drawled, more of a vocalisation of his inner thoughts than a direct question.

“Robert! Please…” I whined.

He dived in, completely catching me off guard. Face buried as far as it could go, lips latching to my swollen clit, suckling, slurping, and flicking his tongue. He slobbered over it like a starving mongrel. His hair covered my thighs, curls bouncing with the movements of his head as he feasted on my nectar.

“Fuck!” I cried out, my hands shooting downwards to grasp onto his hair, tugging at the roots. He responded with a growl, the vibrations adding to the growing sensations between my legs.

He was feral. To him, this was his last meal.

“Oh…God… Robert, yes! Fuck, don’t stop!” I panted, once again allowing my hips to grind upwards in tandem with his tongue. He skipped further teasing by plunging two of his long fingers into me, curling them upwards and building a strong rhythm to match the way his tongue ravaged my pearl. “Y-yes… I’m… fuck…” I incoherently moaned.

Instead of verbally encouraging me, he simply moaned loudly against me, briefly nodding his head, letting me know it was okay to cum for him. He let out a sharp exhale, putting his all into his assault.

Instinctively pushing his head down, I felt my climax hit. Hard. I arched off of the bed and my head was thrown back into the fluffy pillows. I let out an almost animalistic groan, my breath halting in the process as I rode out the intensity of my orgasm.

Robert gave me the courtesy of letting me rest for a few moments, kissing my core in the process of the comedown. With glistening lips, he watched the aftershock contractions, admiring his work. Then he finally crawled back up to me, grabbing my face and meeting my lips with his, coated in my essence. The kiss was sloppy, and we had very little care for the mixture of fluids that covered both of our faces in the process.

“Robert…” my voice was muffled by his kisses. “Need…need you inside…”

“Already on it, darlin’,” he gasped, pulling himself up onto his knees. He eagerly guided his cock to my awaiting entrance, lubing himself up in the juices he’d conjured. He looked me in the eye as he steadily pushed forward, the thick girth of his manhood stretching me by the second.

My body tingled with the reminder of the burn and sting that accompanied a night with the Golden God. It was delicious.

Robert watched my face, looking for any indication of hesitation on my end. But my body welcomed his, and he easily settled to the hilt within me.

“‘S’that feel okay, baby?” he asked with a hurried whisper.

“Uh-huh…” I clamped down on my lip as I nodded.

“Yeah?” He got as close to me as he could whilst still on his knees. Once again, my legs were being pushed up towards my chest, allowing his cock to press against the most sensitive part of my body.

Robert didn’t waste time. He was unbridled. Primal. Insatiable. His thrusts were quick to set an intense pace, eliciting those lewd slapping sounds each time we collided.

“So good… baby…” he moaned, clenching his jaw and breathing heavily from his nose as he continued to fuck me into the mattress. My own moans and whimpers of ecstasy spurred him on, rolling his hips in a circular motion and maintaining pressure on my sweet spot.

“Oh fuck! Yeah, right there, baby…” I keened, having no choice but to fist at the pillow beside my head.

“Yeah? That the spot, darlin’?” He purred, before bringing one of my legs over so that both of them were pressed together. He rested them both on one of his shoulders, one arm holding onto them, whilst his other hand reached out to grab at my breast, rolling the nipple between his fingers as his thrusts intensified. “Ohhhh… fuuck, you’re so perfect around my cock, sweetheart.”

The positioning of my legs caused every contraction and flutter to be felt with ferocity by Robert. Nobody had ever taken me like this. But then again, nobody is quite like Robert.

“Oh my God,” I gasped, the unexpected rise of another release crawling up through my body. It wasn’t a progressive swell. The warning signs of another orgasm crashed into me, taking me by surprise, which only served to make the experience even more intoxicating.

Robert still had the ability, through his animalistic venture, to flash me that signature smirk as he caught onto my sudden response. He shook his hair from his face as he continued to pound into me. “You there again, darlin’?”

“Y-yeah… oh fuck, yeah, I am…” I whimpered, my chest rising and falling. This was going to be an intense one. And he knew it. So, he moved my leg back to rest atop his other shoulder and leaned down completely over me, folding me in such a visceral manner, though one of my legs fell slightly in the midst of him now slamming in and out of me.

“Come on, Y/N…” he hummed down at me, focusing on my second release before his first. “Show me how hard you can cum, little girl… I know you have it in you… I can feel it…” he breathed out hotly against my lips. His piercing blue eyes were glued to mine, and we maintained intense eye contact.

I huffed and panted in his face, digging my nails into the shoulder my leg had fallen from. It was coming. So close.

“Ah… R…Robert!” I gasped.

“That’s right, honey… you’re almost there… let go… make a mess of me…” He was so lost in the moment that he didn’t care that his thrusts were causing the headboard to start slamming against the wall.

His landscaped pelvis was grinding against my clit, and I could feel his tight balls slapping against me with every movement.

Then it happened.

“Fuck, I’m… I’m c—“ I cut myself off with a shriek, and the loudest cry of pleasure I’d ever mustered up. I came so hard around Robert’s cock, and my nectar wept and wept, soaking the sheets, and soaking both Robert and I. My body jerked and my ears rang, and I heard Robert offer up a breathless chuckle.

“My good girl… fuck! Shit, get ready, baby…” he warned, clasping onto my legs as he chased his high. “Fuck!” He let out the loudest guttural growl, his thrusts transitioning from inconsistent to completely stilled. He steadily and sharply pumped his load into me, filling me up with every inch of his love.

I felt so owned. Claimed. Possessed. Potent with the power and energy of this otherworldly human above me.

Robert writhed in the aftershocks of his release, and he soon let my legs fall back down onto the bed, followed by his own collapse onto my chest. He nuzzled me as we both fought to catch our breathes. I found comfort in the lewd sensations that came with him pulling out of me. I was dripping—soaked.

Robert eventually lifted his head up to look at me and he gave me a long, gentle kiss, accompanied with a sigh. “Sublime…” he whispered hoarsely. “We… definitely need to…get in that…bath, though…” he panted steadily.

I laughed weakly with a feeble nod of my head, “I… absolutely agree…” We had made an absolute mess of the bed, but it was entirely worth it.

“Sorry you only came…twice,” he playfully apologised, shifting to the side so only half of his weight was on me. “Ah well…” he sighed, sweeping some of my damp hair from my face. “Just have to give you…about five next time.”

I raised my eyebrows and turned my head to look at him with hazy eyes. “There’s a next time?”

“Oh, my sweet Little Wayward Girl,” he smirked, “There’s always a next time.”

[etirabys]

ok. time to post @femmenietzsche beef

they came over the other night to help me and my housemates sample alcohol so that we could pick which ones would be on the drinks menu for my wedding. (which is in two days so you know how disorganized we are.) agent cooper leapt up on the seats, trod over various people (slightly unusual), and then sat down on femmenietzsche's lap (extremely unusual).

I see him sit on my or a housemate's lap maybe four times a year. (Caveat: his favorite human to both snuggle and maul is my housemate @toasterabyte, and I know he sits on her a lot, but it's in her room where I don't see.) I've never seen him sit on a non-housemate's lap.

I stared at femmenietzsche, boiling with jealousy, and said, "At least you can make a sadistic post about how our house cat likes you more than he likes me."

And. They said, "Oh, I don't think I'll do that. I don't really like cats, so..."

[down-in-the-rainbow-square]

Hi, i just like to say that i loved the concept of welcome home- housemates. And i was wondering if you can do more of it? Or maybe make ut into a series? But i hope y oh you have a good day/niget/aftternoon 👍

Drink your food and wat your water t and getyour pre-sleep-nap in bbye

(Sowry for spling mstakes i tird and it 3am)

Welcome Home x Reader - Housemates (Pt. 2)

(Part 1)

Hello! You're lucky, I just got my pre-sleep nap in yesterday! Sounds like you need a bit of a reminder for a nap yourself, though, haha! Anyways, the person who requested the previous installment of this series also asked if I could continue it, so here it is! Lowkey this reminds me of that AU I've seen floating around of the Welcome Home crew meeting an ex-Playfellow worker.

Also, I changed Eddie's colour to orange to keep him unique from Sally.

Not proofread!

Words: 2685

Type: Fic, platonic

Tw: Death mention, murder mention, gore mention, swearing

You sat on the couch in your living room, scissors still in hand. You said nothing. Looking around you, eight puppets of varying sizes and variety stood before you, all staring back. The smallest was a yellow puppet with a spiraled blue pompadour. The tallest was a mostly-red-partly-rainbow bird... Thing (you couldn't quite make out what she was supposed to be), whose neck was forced to bend down just to fit in the house. And by far the largest was a giant blue beagle dog that wore a vest and stood on its hind legs.

The puppets stared at you with varying degrees of nervousness. The bird was probably the most nervous considering she was actively shivering looking between you and the scissors. You reckoned the least nervous was the blue pompadour puppet, but it was hard to tell since he had the same dazed smile he had since you first saw him.

The puppet in the middle - about five feet, yellow with orange hair, wore a mailman's uniform - raised his hands. He was the one who had coaxed you to the couch, and the one you recognised as the voice that had spoken to you when you were under the bed. It was quite the ordeal getting you to the couch, actually. Involved a lot of screaming.

The puppet took a deep breath and spoke. "So," he said, "we obviously are not from here."

"Yeah, I guessed that," you replied, gritting your teeth. Your eyebrows were furrowed, and your mouth turned down into a deep frown. Truth be told, you were really scared. But you thought it was best to assert dominance in this situation.

"And we would really appreciate your help in getting back home," he continued. "We- we don't know how we got here yet, or what this world is, but we just want to go back to Home. Please."

You stared at the puppet. He looked you dead in the eye before glancing down and away, fiddling with his three-fingered hands. Next to him, a grey puppet with dark blue hair and a black unibrow sighed and took a small step forward. They stepped back as you grabbed your scissors tightly.

"We can't tell you why we're here of all places, or why it's us," they said. "Frankly, we barely remember anything at all. This world is... Strange. First of all, there's the lack of colour in the nature - have you ever seen so much green and brown? Secondly, there's you; I don't know what you are, but you're clearly not one of us. But you're intelligent nonetheless, and that's frankly quite scary."

You crossed your arms and leaned back. "Why should I help you?" you asked. "You could be murderers, vicious monsters that will tear me from limb to limb. Why should I trust you?"

"Don't you have any compassion?" another voice called. Looking to the source, you saw the yellow creature you had spotted in the stairwell earlier. Now you knew she was some sort of star puppet, and quite a short one at that. "We are from a distant land; one far beyond your wildest imagination. We come from a land of wonder and peace, now ripped from our grip and tossed away who knows where! And we come to you for support, for help, and yet you toss us aside like nothing! Where is your humanity?!"

You paused. "Wow, you sure are theatrical," you replied. The puppet huffed and crossed her arms. You sighed and leaned back into the soft red cushion of the couch, hand pinching the bridge of your nose. You sighed, "will you even tell me who you are?"

"Well, I'm Barnaby." You looked up to see the dog puppet talking to you, hand - or paw - resting on his chest. He pointed to the bird on his right. "And this is Poppy, and next to her is Frank." He pointed to the one with the monobrow. "And then there's Eddie, Wally, and Julie," he said, motioning to the yellow mailman, the blue pompadour puppet, and another puppet with ridiculously long blonde hair and a bell-shaped red dress. Next, he motioned to the star puppet and the green puppet you recognised a the one you saw outside your front door. "And that's Sally and Howdy."

"Okay, well, I'm Y/N," you responded. "And I'm a human, in case you didn't know."

"But I'm a human," Wally stated. "Are you sure you're a human?"

You looked at the puppet confused. "What? Yes, I'm a human. You're a puppet."

Wally stared at you before replying, "am I a puppet?"

"Oh, for fuck's sake."

"Okay, let's move on!" Howdy exclaimed, rushing to put a barrier between the two of you with his arms. "Anyway, there's one neighbour we haven't mentioned." You raised an eyebrow.

"And who would that be?" you asked. Suddenly, the floor lamp turned on. "Oh, right. So, is that like, a ghost or something?"

"Nope! That would be our very own Home," Barnaby explained.

You scoffed, "what, like a house? You're telling me a house possessed my house?"

The group paused.

"Well, I'm not quite sure what else to tell you," Frank deadpanned.

"Bloody hell," you groaned. Standing up, you began to pace around the living room, trying to take all the new information in. "Alright, so, there's eight puppets and a house in my house. Or eight puppets in my house and a house possessing my house - I don't know. And these eight puppets and one house expect me to magically send them back home to... Where do you live again?"

"Home," Frank answered.

"Right, Home. Uh, so you expect me to take you home to Home despite me having no knowledge of what or where that even is." You put your hands to your face and sighed. "You know, this was supposed to be my mental health break today. I'm supposed to be eating popcorn and watching Dirty Dancing, not dealing with this."

The group didn't say anything. Looking at them, you saw none of them wanted to meet your gaze. Each puppet looked elsewhere; either out the window, at the roof, or admiring the old school furniture cluttering up your living room.

Suddenly, you were sparked with an idea. Hurrying to the back of the house, you opened one of the many dark wooden doors and entered your study. The room was lined with a variety of colourful wooden bookshelves filled with a vast collection of books and other knick-knacks. Facing away from the window was your main desk, featuring a pen cup, a stack of paper, and a typewriter. And lining the walls were several maps, a bin full of other rolled up ones below it.

Hurrying over to the wall, you ripped the maps off the Blu tack holding them to the wallpaper. Also taking the bin of leftover maps in your hand, you speed walked out the door and back to the lounge room. Dropping most of the maps to the floor, you spread the world map out on the coffee table.

"Okay, this is the map of this world. Do you recognise anything?" You said. The puppets crowded around the table, a little too close to you for comfort. Frank leaned down and dragged his index finger over the map, stopping every once in a while to read the names of the countries. Eventually, he straightened up and spoke.

"No," he said.

"Are you sure?" you asked.

"I'm sure."

"Are you sure you're sure?"

"I'm certain." He furrowed his eyebrow slightly.

You sighed, "well, I'm out of ideas then."

The group shared a worried look before staring at you. Howdy opened his mouth to speak, but quickly shut it. Julie played with her hair while Eddie adjusted his tie. Finally, Eddie stepped forward.

"Can we please stay for the night, then?" he asked. "It's just- we have nowhere to go."

You looked at Eddie. He seemed... Genuine. The way he gripped his hat in his hands and held it to his chest reminded you of the period dramas you watched on television. You noticed him fiddling with the brim of his hat every so often and adverting his gaze for just a moment. Looking at the others, you could see the worry in their eyes. Sally, who you had assumed to always be loud, was silent. And Howdy had his many hands behind his back and looked out the window. Even Wally, who seemed to be perfectly content, had a vibe about him and a look in his eyes that spoke otherwise.

You couldn't believe you were about to say this. "Fine. I'll let you stay. But this is my house, and you have to follow my rules, got it?"

"Really?" Julie exclaimed, jumping up onto her tiptoes and interlocking her fingers in front of her. "Thank you!" She ran the short distance between the two of you and enveloped you in a tight hug.

"Hey!" you yelled, pushing her off.

"Sorry," she replied.

"Anyway, you got what I said? My house, my rules. And that goes for you two, house that's possessing this place. I don't care what you are, you're doing as I say until I can get you out of here." You pointed a finger at the roof. You got a cacophony of creaks in response.

"He agrees," Wally said. You gave him a confused look before quickly brushing it off.

"So, what do we do first?" Julie asked. "Cooking, baking, gardening? Oh, we could even play a game of tag!"

"No! No, no, no. No games, no cooking, no gardening, no nothing. We need to work out where you're going to sleep, first of all." You waved your hands in front of you. "I only have two beds and two mattresses, and there's eight of you. Three of you are going to have to take the shed."

"The shed? My feathers!" Poppy shivered.

"Don't worry, it's not that bad," you replied. "Just follow me and I'll show you."

Walking out of the lounge room and into the kitchen, you headed out the back door into the yard. Instantly, you were hit with the fresh air of the countryside: oxygen with a hint of pine and wildflowers. Looking out over your vast expanse of land, you took in the sight of the bright green blades of grass bordered by tall middle growth conifer trees. Almost immediately, you felt relaxed.

Stepping down the concrete steps and onto the steppingstone path, you walked around to the side of the house. You brushed your hands against the white wooden exterior of the house, taking in the feel of the chipping paint and wood. Behind you, you heard the sounds of the group of puppets making their way out the door and talking.

Finally, you came to the front of the shed. It wasn't quite the size of your house, but could constitute as a small one, nonetheless. The wavy metal roof combined with the metal sheets of the walls made quite the start contrast to your rustic farmhouse. There were few windows, and what ones there were were high up and small. Flowering shrubs dotted the outside, bringing a bit of colour to the otherwise grey building.

You turned around to face the puppets, saying, "voila! Isn't she a beauty? Stainless steel, insulated, cost me a fortune to build."

The group stepped forward towards the building. Heading to the door first was Poppy, who gripped the door handle with her wing and slowly opened the door. Ducking her head inside, she gasped.

"My feathers!" she exclaimed.

Pushing her way past Poppy was Sally, who also gasped when she saw the inside. "It's so dusty!" she yelled - and sneezed.

"It's a little cluttered, yeah, but I make good use of it." You walked over to the shed entrance. "I store all my old stuff in here. Better than getting rid of it."

Squeezing your way past Poppy's mound of feathers, you stepped inside the building. Inside, each inch of the floor and walls were taken over by boxes and furniture. Everything was retro, from old floral print couches to tacky ceramic animal-themed salt and pepper shakers stored on the shelves. And Sally wasn't wrong; it was covered in dust.

"Who is supposed to sleep in here?" Frank asked, a hint of fear in his voice.

"Not it!" Sally yelled, quickly followed by Julie, both of them putting their fingers to their noses.

"Not me, either," Frank said, repeating the action.

"Or me." Barnaby followed suit.

"I'd prefer not to, sorry," Eddie apologised as he put his whole hand to his nose.

You were a little offended, to say the least. "Well," you began, "I guess that just leaves you guys." You motioned to Wally, Howdy, and Poppy.

"But I don't want to stay in here," Wally said, still somehow smiling.

Barnaby shrugged. "Sorry, bud, but you didn't say 'not it' quick enough."

"Oh..." Wally looked down.

You watched as Howdy walked around the shed. He leaned down every now and then to wipe some dust off the furniture. He turned around to face you with a smile on his face.

"This isn't so bad!" he said. "If we were to just..." He lifted up one of the boxes and stacked it on another. "See? Already making progress!"

"Oh, I know! Why don't we make this a game?" Julie suggested. "Whoever can clean up their area first wins!"

"Julie, I'm not quite sure that cleaning counts as a game-"

"I'm in!" Sally yelled, cutting Frank off. She ran over to one of the boxes labelled 'Grandma's clothes' and picked it up, stacking it on top of another box in the corner. She then repeated the process, jumping over chairs and around shelves to get where she wanted.

Barnaby laughed, "don't leave me out of this!" Walking over to a stack of three large boxes in the corner, he leaned down and picked them up with his paws like it was nothing. Walking over to the corner where Sally had dropped her boxes, he placed them down.

"Hey!" Sally called out. "No fair! I can't pick up that many boxes at once!"

Soon the whole group was in on the game, picking up boxes and moving furniture to the sides of the room. You watched from the door as they hurried to get the most boxes down. Barnaby and Howdy had the clear advantage with their strength and Howdy's extra arms. It occurred to you that you hadn't even asked him why he had those in the first place, or why there was yellow and orange antennae on either side of his forehead. Perhaps he was a bug.

Eventually, you were so lost in thought you didn't even notice the group of puppets standing in front of you with wide smiles on their faces. They each high-fived one another (or low-fived, in the case of Barnaby, Howdy, and Poppy meeting the others). It was only when your gaze drifted to Julie's flapping arms did you snap out of your trance.

"Uh- what?" you stammered. Looking around the shed, you saw they really had cleaned the place out. The room looked... Nice, for a change. Now, normally you took pride in the shed either way, but that was more based on collection rather than presentation. But now, with the sofas set up facing each other, shelving units used as room dividers and boxes stacked neatly in the corner the space looking liveable.

"What do you think?" Julie asked.

You paused. "It looks... It looks good."

The group looked around at each other and smiled. Howdy patted those closest to him on the back. You looked down at your watch; it was only eleven in the morning. You still had plenty of time left in the day.

"Well, um, I'm probably going to go scroll through social media now," you said, turning to walk out the door. "Don't cause a mess, or I will kill you." You walked out of the shed, shutting the door behind you.

I will make a part 3 to this! Hold tight!

[bloodonherknees]

Nameless Ghouls pt.1

So this is part one of a series I’m thinking? Polyghouls vibe, gender neutral reader?

No warnings for this part

You couldn’t decide wether being the ghouls handler was the best, or the worst job in the world.

On the one hand they may have looked scary but they were the most adorably kind creatures, deep down. They had accepted you into their pack almost immediately. On the other hand though they made the absolute WORST messes you had ever seen.

Walking down the the ministry corridors, you were almost complete knocked off your feet by Dewdrop bowling past you, followed by Rain, then Swiss. They were coming in from outside and left a trail of mud, leaves and twigs along the corridor.

“What the fuck guys?? I just swept up!” You yelled after them, only Swiss seemed to hear you, turning back and blowing you a kiss, without stopping. He shouted “We’ll make it up to you!”

“Ugh.” You’d clean it up in a minute, you were still stiff from kneeling on the floor of Aethers room brushing fur out of the carpet.

To be honest you didn’t know why they each had their own room, especially the band ghouls as they tended to sleep in puppy piles. The boys in one bed and the girls in another, sometimes all in one huge pile in their common room. It did look awfully comfortable though.

Walking into the kitchen you saw Cumulus peering into an open oven with a confused look on her face, after a few seconds she closed it and huffed. “My cookies are burnt.”

“I’m sorry honey, do you want me to make you some more?” You asked, using nicknames was reserved for the Ghoulettes.

“Please.” She nodded.

“No worries” you said getting to work “Hey do you know why the boys were outside? They left a huge mess for me clean in the corridor.”

“Nope, sorry.” She had sat up on the counter and was swinging her legs.

“I dread to think with them.” Cirrus chimes in making the three of you laugh.

***

At the end of the day, after making multiple batches of cookies, and sweeping the hall a second time, you finally retired to you room. It was at the end of the ghouls quarters, small but quaint, with a little kitchenette so you could enjoy some time away from your noisy housemates if you wanted to.

You never wanted to.

Opening the door you saw a thin black vase with a single rose standing in your counter, with a small note beside it.

“Sorry we’re a lot, we love you!

/A Nameless Ghoul”

You recognise the handwriting, Swiss. He had probably gotten the rose from mountains greenhouse. You inhaled it’s gorgeous smell and smiled. They were definitely a lot, but they were yours.

[theodorenmyth]

IM ABSOLUTELY SHOOK NO ONE HAS DONE HARRY POTTAH! 😵‍💫 but like I would like to request Harry Potter fluff with him having a s/o (reader) who also wears glasses and they are just chilling around and then suddenly they switch glasses. Just pure giggling around as Harry Potter felt like he fell in love again. lol

-😵‍💫

Through Each Other's Eyes

Pairings : Harry Potter x M! Reader Summary : In the cozy warmth of the Gryffindor common room, you and Harry share a playful moment, swapping glasses and giggling at the blurry vision. Settling back into your favorite armchair by the fire, you reminisce about your first meeting and reaffirm your love for each other. Wrapped in each other's arms, you cherish the peaceful evening, feeling a deep sense of contentment and connection. A/n : Enjoy (⁠・⁠∀⁠・⁠) Warnings) : Nothing! Word count : 1k+

You were lounging on one of the cozy couches in the Gryffindor common room, the warm glow of the fire casting flickering shadows on the walls. The common room was unusually quiet tonight, with most of your housemates either off studying in the library or already retired to their dormitories. You adjusted your glasses, feeling the familiar pressure on the bridge of your nose, and glanced over at Harry, who was sitting next to you with a contented smile on his face.

Harry’s emerald green eyes were focused on his book, but every so often, he would glance up at you, his expression softening. You caught him looking and raised an eyebrow, a playful smile tugging at your lips.

"What's so interesting?" you teased, nudging him lightly with your elbow.

Harry chuckled, setting his book down. "Just thinking about how cute you look when you're all focused like that."

You felt a warm blush creep up your cheeks. "Oh, please," you said, rolling your eyes playfully. "You're the one who looks cute with those glasses of yours."

Harry laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Do you think so? I've always thought they make me look a bit nerdy."

You shook your head, reaching out to gently touch the frames of his glasses. "Not at all. They make you look distinguished, like a proper wizard."

He smiled, his gaze tender. "Well, I think yours make you look absolutely adorable."

Feeling a burst of affection, you leaned closer to him, resting your head on his shoulder. "Harry, you're too sweet."

He wrapped an arm around you, holding you close. The two of you sat in comfortable silence for a few moments, the crackling of the fire and the occasional turning of a page being the only sounds in the room. You closed your eyes, feeling completely at ease in Harry's embrace.

After a while, a mischievous thought crossed your mind. You lifted your head, looking at Harry with a playful glint in your eye. "Hey, Harry, have you ever wondered what you'd look like in someone else's glasses?"

He raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. "Can't say I have. Why? You thinking of switching?"

You grinned. "Let's do it. Let's switch glasses and see how we look."

Harry laughed, a light, carefree sound that made your heart flutter. "Alright, let's give it a go."

You carefully removed your glasses, handing them to Harry, who did the same with his. As you put on his glasses, the world around you blurred slightly. You blinked a few times, adjusting to the new lenses. Meanwhile, Harry was doing the same, a comical expression of surprise on his face as he tried to focus.

"Wow," he said, blinking rapidly. "Everything looks so different!"

You giggled, feeling the same way. "I know, right? Your prescription is really strong."

Harry squinted, leaning in to get a closer look at you. "You look… so different," he said, his voice full of wonder. "But still so beautiful."

You felt your cheeks heat up again. "You're such a charmer, Harry. But I have to say, you look quite handsome with my glasses on."

He struck a silly pose, making you burst into laughter. "Do I? Maybe I should start a new trend," he said, winking at you.

"Definitely," you replied, your voice full of laughter. "Glasses swapping could become the next big thing at Hogwarts."

Harry laughed, the sound filling the room with warmth. He leaned closer, his expression turning serious for a moment. "You know," he said softly, "seeing you through these lenses… it's like seeing you in a whole new light. I feel like I've fallen in love with you all over again."

Your heart swelled with affection, and you felt tears prick at the corners of your eyes. "Oh, Harry," you whispered, reaching out to cup his cheek. "I feel the same way. Every moment with you is like falling in love all over again."

He closed the distance between you, pressing a gentle kiss to your lips. The world seemed to melt away, leaving just the two of you in that moment. When you finally pulled away, both of you were smiling, your foreheads resting against each other.

"Let's keep doing this," Harry said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Let's keep finding new ways to fall in love with each other."

You nodded, your heart full. "Always, Harry. Always."

The two of you sat there for a while longer, talking and laughing, swapping glasses back and forth just for the fun of it. It was a simple, silly moment, but it was one that you would cherish forever. In that quiet, cozy common room, surrounded by the warmth of the fire and the love you shared, you felt like the luckiest person in the world.

For a moment, you just gazed at each other, the connection between you stronger than ever. Harry's thumb gently brushed your cheek, and you leaned into the touch, closing your eyes.

"I love you," he whispered, his voice filled with sincerity and warmth.

"I love you too, Harry," you replied, your heart swelling with affection.

He pulled you even closer, and you both sank deeper into the armchair, wrapped in each other's warmth. The firelight danced around you, casting a soft glow on your entwined forms. It was moments like this that made all the hardships worth it. The quiet, peaceful times where it was just you and Harry, lost in your own little world.

As you lay there, wrapped in his embrace, you felt an overwhelming sense of contentment. Harry's steady heartbeat beneath your ear was the most comforting sound in the world, a constant reminder that you were not alone.

"I wish we could stay like this forever," you murmured, nuzzling closer to him.

"Me too," Harry replied, his voice a soothing murmur. "But even if we can't, we'll always have moments like this. Just you and me, no matter what happens."

You smiled, closing your eyes as you let his words wash over you. "Just you and me," you echoed, feeling a deep sense of peace.

The fire continued to crackle softly, its warmth enveloping you both as you drifted off into a peaceful slumber, wrapped in each other's arms. In the safety and comfort of the Gryffindor common room, with Harry by your side, you knew that everything would be alright.