#oh and i'll need a phone charger too probably

[southislandwren]

oooooh okay so boy 1) texted first, and texted to ask if i made it to town safely. 2) asked about my class schedule. 3) we work together for 5 hours every monday lets fucking gooooo

[nb-octopus-writes]

once you’re in the hive, the other bees assume you’re supposed to be there

[Masterpost]

Chapter 4: Second Morning

wordcount: 1.9K

~~~~

The next morning, Virgil wakes not to birdsong, but to the sound of his alarm.

Blech, mornings. Morning jobs are evil and should be abolished.

Virgil reaches for his phone, but it isn't on the nightstand where it's supposed to be. The nightstand isn't on the floor where it's supposed to be. Virgil reaches out further, searching, and overbalances.

He falls.

This is going to hurt.

Virgil lands, and the floor is a lot closer than it's supposed to be, and also a lot cleaner. The wind is still knocked out of him, but he didn’t land on anything but carpet. It's carpet that was recently vacuumed, even, judging by the lack of dusty smell.

Too many things are not how they are supposed to be. Virgil opens his eyes and looks around.

This isn't his bedroom.

The alarm is still going off. Virgil spots his phone on the floor near him, and he turns off the alarm.

This isn't his bedroom. Virgil yawns. He'd been sleeping on a couch, but it wasn't his couch, either.

Oh, yeah. He'd fallen asleep at Remus's brother's house again. Oops.

…

He has work.

He hadn't meant to still be here right now. He's supposed to be in his own bed, in his own tiny apartment, sleepily snoozing his alarm. Not here.

He'll have to figure out a different bus route. Does the bus even go by here? He's pulling up the bus schedule when his phone informs him that it has been way too long since he plugged it in, and fucking dies.

“Fuck,” Virgil whispers, with feeling, and then again, a little louder, “Fuck!”

He scrambles off the floor, trying to think. An adrenaline spike does wonders for chasing the sleep-fog out of his brain, but it doesn't usher in logic.

Deep breath. Okay. What does he need?

He needs to get to work on time.

Breathe.

What are his obstacles, and what can he do about them?

Problem: He's not home to catch the bus. Solution: Catch the bus from here. Problem: He doesn't know if the bus goes by here or which one or when or what connections he'd need to make. Solution: Look it up. Problem: His phone is dead. Solution: Plug it in. Problem: No charger. Solution: …

Solution: …

Solution: Ask for fucking help.

Virgil spins and leaves the room. They might not have a charger that'll fit his phone, and it would take too long to get it to a level where he can actually look anything up anyway, but they can at least tell him if there's a bus stop nearby. They might even be willing to look up connections for him.

Luckily for Virgil, his hosts are all in the dining room when he bursts in.

“Good morning,” Calico says, already looking concerned. “What's wrong?”

“Is there a bus?” Virgil asks.

“A what?”

“A bus,” Virgil repeats. “A bus, does a bus go by here? I have work, I'm going to be late, and I can't look up the bus schedule because my phone is dead!”

“Hey, hey, it's okay,” Calico says soothingly, and Virgil wants to scream because it is not okay, he's going to be late for work. He doesn't scream, because that would not be helpful and Calico is just trying to be nice, but he wants to. “Roman can drive you. Right, Roman?”

“Absolutely,” says Princey, whose name is apparently Roman, and gets up. “I'll get my keys.”

Calico portions out some omelette from the pan in the middle of the table, and gives it to Virgil. “Here, eat,” he insists. “You slept through dinner, you shouldn't miss breakfast too.”

Virgil scarfs it mechanically. If Princey is going to drive him, he probably has enough time to eat, but the lingering edges of panic tell him not to waste any time savoring the flavors.

“Do you have any things you need to gather before you go?” Nerdbot asks. Virgil shakes his head.

Well. “My pool noodles I guess,” he says. He probably shouldn't just leave those here for them to clean up. Nerdbot nods and leaves the table as well.

Roman comes back as Virgil finishes the plate of omelette. “Ready to go?” he asks.

“Yeah.”

Nerdbot hands Virgil the pool noodles, and Calico hands him a buttered bagel. “Eat it on the way,” he says. Princey leads Virgil out to the garage, and they get in his car.

It's red, and fancy-shaped, with a swoopy silhouette instead of what Virgil considers the car default.

Roman hands Virgil his phone once he's buckled, open to the map app, and starts to back out of the garage.

Virgil hesitates. “Can we stop at my place first?” he asks. “I could really use a change of clothes.” He'd really rather not go to work in a Halloween costume he's been wearing for over thirty-six hours.

“Sure,” Princey says. “Which way?”

Virgil puts in his address, and the phone gives him directions. “Left,” he says, the tight band of anxiety finally loosing from around his lungs. It's not entirely gone yet, and won't be until he clocks in, but he's doing better. Princey pulls out of the driveway, and they're off.

Soon, they're pulling up in front of Virgil’s apartment. He'd managed to eat the bagel and navigate at the same time, and they've arrived a bit before Virgil is usually out the door. He really might make it to work on time.

“I'll wait here while you run up and get changed,” Roman says, and Virgil nods. He shifts the pool noodles so he's holding them with the same arm as the phone, and uses his other hand to open the car door.

He dashes up the stairs, unlocks his door at the speed of fright, and dumps his armload on his bed. Virgil strips quickly, and grabs his apron and the first set of clean clothes he sees. He wishes there was time for a shower, but there really isn't. Even if there was, he isn't about to make Princey wait that long for him.

He smears some black eyeshadow on to hide the tired bags under his eyes, grabs his necessities from his previous pockets, and he's back out the door.

“Very fast,” Princey compliments as Virgil rejoins him. “I saw a bus go by.”

“Yeah, that was my usual ride to work,” Virgil says, buckling up. “We can take a more direct route and beat them there. Head out the way you came in, and then take a right at the light.”

They do, in fact, beat the bus there. Virgil heaves a sigh of relief.

“Thanks, man,” he says. “I owe you my life. Do you want some coffee? I can give you my employee discount.”

Roman smiles at him. “I would love some coffee,” he says, and turns off the engine.

There aren't any other customers in line when they go in, just Jayden behind the register.

“Morning, Sunshine,” he greets. Virgil rolls his eyes and comes round to clock in.

“Oh my gosh I love your hair,” Roman enthuses. “That is absolutely gorgeous, did you do it yourself?”

Jay's hair is gorgeous. It's mostly dyed in deep shades of blue, with a few streaks of greens and purples and the natural black. He has it in at least fifty slender box braids, which today are tied back in a loose plait running down his back. 

“Oh, no, my friends and I had a styling party,” he answers, which is the short version of the truth he uses for casual conversation with customers—especially white customers. Virgil happens to know that said styling party had been stretched out over more than a week, working their hair in increments so as not to damage it. Virgil had been invited to a few of the sessions, and is responsible for several of Jayden's braids, and some of the color.

“That is a fabulous idea; I should arrange one the next time I dye my hair,” Princey exclaims. “I've been planning to do it in every color of the rainbow!”

“Nice,” Virgil says. Princey's ear-length hair is currently what appears to be a natural brown, with reddish tips. “Stripes running front to back or side to side?”

“You know, I hadn't considered that part,” Princey says, and Virgil laughs. “What do you think?”

Virgil shrugs, and Jay considers Roman.

“Front to back, with the red on top and purple over your ears,” he says. “Perhaps with the red a bit off-center so the stripes are different sizes. That way if it’s not perfect it'll look intentional.”

Roman grins. “I like you,” he declares. “Do you want to come to my styling party?”

Jayden grins back. “Let me know when you plan it and I'll check my calendar.”

“Have you ever dyed your hair?” Roman asks Virgil, whose hair is in fact currently dyed.

“Uh, yeah,” he says, then admits, “I'm actually blond.”

“You're blond!?” Princey cries. “Oh, that is unfair, Gerard Gay! Please trade with me, I beg of you!”

“Why?” Virgil asks.

“Because then I wouldn't have to bleach!” Roman says. “I could redye my hair as soon as the roots grew out, rather than having to wait until enough has grown that I can bleach it without touching the last dye job!”

“Well, unfortunately I don't know how to trade hair colors,” Virgil says. “I think it's genetic.”

Roman groans dramatically, slumping against the counter. “The world is against me,” he complains into the glass. “You wouldn't even miss it, you dye it black! Brown is as easy to make black as blond! Easier, probably!”

Virgil reaches over and pats him sarcastically on the shoulder. “There, there,” he says. “Would coffee make you feel better?” That is why they'd come in here, after all.

“No,” Roman says grumpily, but he straightens and looks at the menu.

“Give him my discount,” Virgil says to Jayden while Roman decides. Jay flashes him a thumbs-up.

“Are the chocolate croissants good?” Roman asks.

“Not as good as what you're served at home, but yeah.”

“Hmmm.” He considers a bit longer, then orders a croissant and, with a decent amount of dithering over flavors, three coffees to go.

Jayden tells him the total and Roman pays, dropping his change and some extra bills into the tip jar. Virgil passes him the croissant, and he eats it while Virgil finishes making the coffee.

“You want a carrier for these?” Virgil asks, already putting them in one. Roman's only got two hands, after all.

“Probably best,” Roman agrees, and Virgil slides the coffee over to him. “Do you need a ride home after work?”

“Nah, I'll take the bus,” Virgil reassures him.

“Alright, if you're sure. See you later!” Princey balances the coffees in one hand so he can wave with the other, and he's off.

“So,” Jay says once the door closes behind him. “Where'd you get the suave edition of your trash rat?”

“Two-for-one special,” Virgil says. “Met him at a Halloween party Remus dragged me to.”

“Well, keep him.” Jayden nods toward the door. “Man just tipped us double what I charged him.”

~~~~

Chapter 5: The Most Accidental of Thefts

[lync-lay]

my cute barista

ੈ✩‧₊˚ - barista jake! x coffee hater reader!

ੈ✩‧₊˚ - word count: 2.1k

ੈ✩‧₊˚ - not proofread

ੈ✩‧₊˚ - genre: fluff

ੈ✩‧₊˚ - synopsis: your best friend, jay, drags you out to the local coffee shop on campus for a study session. the catch is, you hate coffee and no barista has ever successfully made you something you actually enjoyed. until, one does. as each day passes, you return to the shop, not only for the drink, but the cute barista who makes it.

summer has just recently ended, marking the official start of comfy sweaters and ugg boots on campus. the leaves are starting to change colors and the weather is much colder. this is the time of year that calms you down and keeps you in bed all day. and i love it.

its morning, and as i'm laying in bed casually watching a movie, i feel my phone begin to ring next to me. rolling over to grab it off the charger, i see that my best friend, jay, is calling. jay and i have been best friends since elementary. we are inseperable and were lucky enough to be accepted into the same university.

"hello?" i say into my phone.

"goooooood morningggggg y/nnnnnnnn!" jay says, on the other line, accentuating his words. ever since we were kids, he has always been a morning person. me on the other hand, is not.

"omg jay why are you so loud its like 8 am right now." i expressed.

"its a great morning. im honestly surpised you're even up at this time."

"yeah same but i woke up like an hour ago and couldn't fall back asleep. so im just watching a movie and admiring this very calming weather."

"well im glad you're up because i was wondering if you would want to go to the cafe on campus with me and study?...please?" he asked.

i hate coffee. the taste is bitter and unpleasant and occasionally, the smell gives me a headache. jay knows this so to say that i am surprised he even asked is an understatment.

"jay i-"

"look y/n i know you despise coffee but please. you don't have to get that, theres so many other options. and i also need my study buddy with me...please?" he pleads.

jay isnt aware of how many times ive been to a coffee shop, ordered something other than coffee, and hated it. so i doubt i will be ordering anything but he's my best friend so, i agree to go.

"fine, i'll go with you but i can't guarrantee ill have a good time." i say with a sigh.

"be so for real y/n...it's a study session, you won't have a good time. but ill be there, so you will have a good time." he explains.

silence hangs over the call for a few seconds.

"jay...im gonna hold your hand when i say this...that made no sense" i confess.

"mhm i know. ill be at your dorm in 15" he hangs up.

jay arrives when he says he will, 15 minutes. and next thing i know were off to the campus coffee shop. i'm kind of dreading going because i don't know what i'm gonna get. probably just an ice water. at least i can try and get some work done.

on our walk, jay tells me about a girl he's trying to impress and i give him advice per usual. he then goes on to explain how he really needs to study some form of math formula. im too busy admiring the autumn weather to respond. suddenly, we arrive at the coffee shop.

walking in, the aroma of coffee hits me immediately. the sound of cups shaking, ice, and brewing machines reminds me why i stopped coming to coffee shops.

"what are you gonna get" i ask jay.

"im gonna get an iced americano" he responds.

"what is that..."

"it's like cold black coffee poured over ice water"

"that actually sounds terrible. how do you enjoy that?" i ask, my facial expressions scrunching.

"it wakes me up niceeeee and gooooood." he taunts me.

"next" the barista yells.

oh my gosh. the barista is hands down, the finest man i have ever seen in my entire life. as jay and i walk up, i have suddenly lost the ability to speak. my legs feel like jelly and my heart is beating out of my chest.

"what can i get for you guys" the barista asks. my eyes suddenly make a b-line from his face to the name tag on his apron. jake, his name is jake. while jay places his order, my eyes are glued to jake. the way his hair is slicked back with a strand hanging by his forehead, the way his veiny hands type in the order, the way he flashes that perfect smile. i'm so entranced, i didn't even realize that he asked me a question.

"im sorry what did you say?" i apologize.

"i asked what i can get for you" jake asks me, flashing that deadly smile of his.

"um, i actually really dislike coffee. so i don't really know what i want."

he shakes his head slowly and places a finger over his mouth, obviously thinking of an alternative to my problem. wow, he is beautiful.

"this is gonna be a little risky but i'm gonna recommend that you try a matcha latte. it's kind of a hard drink to describe but i really enjoy it and its nothing like coffee." he explains.

"okay, i'll try that." i respond with a smile, my cheeks heating up from our small interation.

"alright perfect, so just an iced americano and an iced matcha latte. and because its your first matcha, it's on the house. so the total is $4.50" he states.

"omg really? thanks bro. this girl has hated coffee for so long so hopefully she'll like this." jay says with gratitude.

"no problem! i hope she likes it too." he flashes me a warm smile.

"whats the name for the order?" jake asks.

"jay".

"alright, that'll be done here shortly".

we walk over to find an empty table and take out our school stuff to start studying. all i can think of his jake and his charm. i turn over to see him taking orders and working on drinks. the way he moves around to different stations is so attractive.

"y/n will you please stop making googly eyes at the barista?" jay says, snapping me back to reality.

"i can't help it. he is actually so cute jay." i expressed with a sigh.

only a couple minutes pass when jake suddenly calls for jay, notifiying that his order is ready. jay grabs the order and the entire time im looking at jake. jay grabs the drink from him and jakes eyes pan over to be, giving me that smile once again. he's so attractive.

"here, he says he made it extra special in hopes that you would like it". jay hands me my drink and sits back down.

i'm a little nervous to try it. the green color is very offputting and i almost don't want it. but nonetheless, i gain some courage and take a sip. jay eyes me very seriously as i do so. i can understand why jake said it was a hard one to describe. i contemplate about the flavor, going back in for another sip.

"do you...like it? he asks me.

"suprisingly, yeah i do. a lot actually" a smile forms on my face as i continue to drink it.

"thank god you actually like something. now lets get to work".

unbeknownst to me, jake was behind the counter watching me. his heart began to be beat and smile creept on his face once he noticed that my drink was almost half way gone.

the sun rose slowly the next morning and the thought of going to class is killing me. all day yesterday, i couldn't stop thinking of that insanely cute barista, jake. his smile lingers in my head and that drink he made me was so delicious.

as im laying in bed, im suddenly hit with the craving of that drink and the cute barista who made it. i throw on my clothes for the day, grab my bag, and head to the coffee shop before my first class of the day. i have no idea if jake is working but i sure hope so.

as i walk in, i immediately see him. my heart begins to beat and my face is turning red. i realize that this time i dont have jay to hide behind and i contemplate if i should turn back. but it's too late because his eyes find mine, and he gives me the same sweet smile from yesterday.

the lines moves quickly and im suddenly at the counter, face to face with jake.

"hey, there." he smiles.

"hello." i smile back.

"no boyfriend today?" i give him a confused look. boyfriend? what boyfriend? oh, he must be thinking of jay.

"oh jay hahaha, he's not my boyfriend. he just my best friend who followed me to college." i laugh.

"oh okay i wasn't sure. it's not often a pretty girl like you walks in by herself." he tilts his head and winks.

oh. my. god. my cheeks begin to heat up and i can't help my smile from coming out. y/n get yourself together.

"well what can i get for you" he leans down on the counter, now being eye level to me.

"well i still hate coffee but i loved what you made me yesterday so that's what i would like." i say with a smile

"haha the iced matcha latte, you got it pretty girl. whats the name for order." he asks, eyes never leaving mine.

"y/n. and how much?" i ask.

"don't worry, i got this one."

"what? no, you got it yesterday jake. let me pay for it." i pleade.

"nope, like i said, i got it. it'll be done soon" he explains.

"thank you." i walk over to an empty table and immediately text jay. i explain to him how jake thought we we're together, then how he called me pretty twice, and gave me my drink for free. minutues pass and me and jay geek over mine and jakes interaction when i feel a soft hand being placed on my back.

"here ya go y/n," jake says with an endearing tone.

"oh thank you. i wasnt expecting you to bring it to me." i explain to him.

"well it's not busy so i thought i would come see you before you left." this man's charm is insane. his smile is something i could look at forever, and the way his aussie accent rolls off his tongue is so attractive.

"well thank you for the drink, im off to class now."

"will i be seeing you here again?" he ask, his brown eyes sparkling with hope.

"yes, i'll be back jake." i say with a laugh.

and i kept my word. everyday for the next two weeks, i went back to the cafe. i love my morning matcha (that he never let me pay for) but i also love seeing jake. his charm keeps me coming back for more.

this particular morning, i wake in the cafe to see jake already waiting for me with the matcha in his hand. the place wasn't busy so the boy walked straight up to me, and embraced me. his touch is warm and he smells of warm coffee and autumn spices.

"well isn't this a pleasant surprise" i say with a laugh as i reciprocate his embrace.

"we havent been busy and i was missing you so i made your matcha so you wouldn't have to wait." he confesses, cheeks turning slightly pink.

"aw well that's very sweet jake, i am actually in a rush so this is perfect" i smiled at him.

"well i wanted to ask you something, but you're in a rush so i wont keep you" he states, looking a litte disappointed.

"wait tell me, i can make some time for you." i expressed.

his eyes lock with mine and i can see a little bit of worry and nervousness in his expression.

"well, i know we havent known each other long but i really enjoy having you around. i come to this job everyday in hopes of seeing you every morning. i love making your matcha for you. and i want to get to know you more. what im trying to say is, would you want to go on a date with me?" he confessed, his entire face in worry.

"awww jake i absolutely would go on a date with you. i hate coffee but why do you think i come here everyday? to see your cute face" i explain.

he pulls me in for another hug. "oh my god, im so happy". he pulls away to look at me.

"it wouldve been really embarrassing if you said no cause i um, already wrote my number on your cup."

who wouldvr guessed that my hatred for coffee would turn into me falling for a barista who smells just like it.

ੈ✩‧₊˚ - a/n: hellooooo. hopefully you guys somewhat enjoyed this. this is my first fic after not writing since um...2020...so its definitely not perfect but i wanted to get something out there. nothing too long but i still hope you enjoyed.

[sweetiesicheng]

mingyu - airport

word count : 511

-

"here's your coffee," mingyu said as he stopped in front of you, handing you the hot, caffeinated beverage. he took his sunglasses off that he still had on top of his head from when you left this morning and hooked them to the collar of his shirt.

"thanks," you replied, holding the cup with both hands. "it's so early," you whined again, probably for the fifteenth time that morning. you took a sip of coffee and happily sighed.

"and it's your fault that you chose such an early flight," mingyu said to you before sitting next to you. "but with the other layover, we'll still have enough time to relax for a bit before the next flight," he said to you and started scrolling through his phone. "want to take a nap? we still have time."

"i'll sleep on the plane. i'm just gonna try to stay awake for as long as possible right now," you said to him and took another sip of your coffee.

he chuckled, "watch you not be able to sleep later. that's gonna be so funny," he said to you. you smacked his arm in response, making him squirm. "that hurt, babe."

"if i don't sleep, i'm blaming you," you said to him.

"i'll be sleeping myself, so you won't be able to blame me," he said to you and lifted his backpack up from between his legs. "need a charger?" he asked as he pulled out one of the chargers that he had packed in his backpack.

"sure, it wouldn't hurt," you answered. he gave you the charger that was in his hand before fishing for another one.

you plugged your phone into a charging port while mingyu pulled out another cable. he plugging in the charger and started charging his phone as well.

"wanna be in my weverse post?" he suddenly asked you once he was back on his phone.

"huh? oh, sure," you replied.

mingyu held up his phone and took a picture of the two of you. afterwards, he started typing a message on weverse and you looked at his screen as he typed.

"me and y/n are going on vacation. she looks so cute right now because she's tired. hahaha."

"can you leave the "hahaha" part out please?" you asked him.

"no."

"i swear to god, mingyu, i'll hit you again," you said to him.

he started laughing, "too late." on cue, you hit him, making him whine again, "ow..." he started typing again, and you watched him post something before turning his screen off.

you went on your phone and went on weverse to see what he posted.

"y/n hit me because i kept the "hahaha" part in. she's glad i love her."

"really?" you said to him, showing your screen to him.

"yes," he said and sipped his coffee. "you hurt my feelings," he dramatically said with a sigh.

"if i kiss you, will that make it up to you?" you asked him.

"maybe."

"okay, no kisses then."

"wait wait wait. i forgive you. come here, pretty."

[xotaemintol]

𝘛𝘢𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘒𝘪𝘮 𝘑𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘹 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 “𝘈 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘸”

Word count: 3280

Part: 1/2

Pronouns used: She/Her

No TWs (for now) ENJOY!

Gif by: dazzlingkai

▁▂▃▅▆▓▒░✩ ✩░▒▓▆▅▃▂▁

It was the last two days before the end of your trip in Seoul, your best friends had every day planned out but the last two because everyone expected to be out of commission from a week-long of activities, but fortunately, everyone was still on their toes and ready to experience more, and unfortunately, no one had planned or looked into anything other than what you've already done, and no one wanted to redo anything for the last two days, Hell no, that would be too boring. So your best friends suggested a nightclub they saw when taking you home a night ago, they said that it was an adult-only club and that it looked pretty interesting.

Now you were going to turn it down since clubbing with the two of them, is usually them trying to set you up, getting too drunk to do so, and then you babysitting, but the thought that you'd probably never get to go to an adult-only nightclub in Korea without them anyway, you jumped to agree saying: "fuck yeah! Let's go tonight!" And just like that, the three of you began getting ready, you spent the next five hours getting ready, showering, listening to music, dancing, helping each other with your outfits and makeup, and even giving each other tips on flirting and things to avoid. "If you sit a cup down and walk away, then that drink is?" Your best friend asks loudly, you and Gennie laugh and say in sync: "Not yours!" She laughs and nods her head while high-fiving you both, "Good job!" She says, "And if any guys offer you a drink, only take it if he's fine and looks like he could fuck good."

You playfully hit her shoulder while laughing, "Only take it if you saw it getting made, don't just take it if he's fine" You say, playfully correcting her, she laughs and brushes you off while slipping her glittery purple pumps on, "yeah well if a fine man with nice hair and a pretty smile offers me anything, he better be offering head with it..." Gennie says in a joking tone, you put your hand on your hip and look at her as she leans on your shoulder for support while putting on her sliver glittery strapless heals, "you and head...I'll never get it." You shake your head and click your tongue, Lisa laughs and pats your shoulder while leaning down to adjust her heel with her other hand, "that's because your ex couldn't give it."

Gennie snickers and high-fives her as she stands up, they laugh together, making jokes about how your ex was too scared of eating you out because he wasn't good at it. "You remember when we walked in on them and he was trying to figure out where the hole was?!" They both practically scream while cackling at your embarrassing ex, you don't mind though. They never mean any harm, so you laugh along a little. "Okay! Okay! Enough! Both your exes had shitty stroke game anyways so let's relax!" They both gasp and laugh, "at least he knew how to eat it." They walk away while bumping hips with satisfied grins on their faces, you roll your eyes with a smile while sitting down to put on your glittery red heels.

"Oh shit! Our cab is here!" Gennie says, you curse and rush to adjust the strings on your heels, tying them up to your thighs as Lisa grabs your purse and her own. "Everyone got everything they need?" You all nod, "Chargers?" You nod, "Pepper spray?" Again you nod, "GPS?" You nod again, "Phones?" After making sure everyone had all of their things for safety, you rush out of the hotel, the lobby was just becoming active again since most of the people were coming in from parties around the tourist areas, as you walk through the lively lobby, you can feel their eyes on you, and hear their whispers as you pass them by. You can't blame them though, you look good.

As the three of you get into your cab you thank the driver and start to talk amongst yourselves.

JONGIN POV

  The place is as busy as always, the main lobby is full of drunk men and women flirting, dancing, making out, and hooking up with anyone who even looked their way. It's kind of gross, how they just fuck anyone who lays eyes on them but who am I to judge? My whole job is making people want to fuck me with just one look, even still I prefer being in the V.I.P section. Not only is it more tolerable because of the lack of loud yelling, horny drunks, and heavy lights; but it's also the best place to flirt with desperate girls who come in to find a perfect boyfriend.

It's always the same too, locals come in the most, with foreigners being a rare occurrence, but they're all alike. They see me after I've finished a show and offer to buy me drinks, they play shy and ask me about why I work here, as if they give a shit, and ask me if they could have a dance. That's when I start to reel them in, I flirt a little, give them a little tease and let them get a small taste of touching me. Now of course, I don't do anything sexual besides dancing with them, but its enough to drive them wild, the locals love to feel me up while I dance on them, and even though it's not enjoyable for me, I love the way they go crazy over me and I used to love how their friends would hype them up, and how they'd squeal shyly with their faces turning red from the heat, but I can't help but crave something different.

"Yo! Kai!" I look over my shoulder seeing Taemin coming from one of the VIP rooms, his body is covered in glitter and his hair is messy, "You'll never guess who's here tonight" he says, I immediately roll my eyes as I realize what he's going to say. "Jungkook?" He nods and laughs while patting my chest, "and your regulars are eating him up," I roll my eyes again and shrug. It's not that I don't get along with Jungkook, he's a pretty cool dude and all, but he takes a lot of my regulars when I'm on break or out sick, and even though it keeps business buzzing, I can't help but feel competitive and possessive over my regulars.

They've spent thousands of dollars on me, some have spent four thousand in one night just to get me to dance on her with only my underwear on; so when he comes in and steals them while I'm away,  it gets under my skin more than it should. "Of course he is..." I sigh and shake my head, although it bothers me I can't help but laugh. I feel happy for him actually, he has a girlfriend who is open to the idea of him working here and customers know yet they still throw their money at him for a chance to have one night with him. "Good for him, they pay a lot" Taemin laughs and shoves me a little, "Yeah I know," he says, "That chick that came in last night looking for you spent six grand to spend four hours with me."

I shake my head and scoff a little, it's so shameful how these women would throw their life savings away for a chance with us. No matter how attractive or attracted to a person I am, I'd never do what they do. "Oh..." Hitting my arm Taemin points towards the entrance, "I've never seen them before" he motions to a group of three girls walking into the main area, my eyes follow them as they stand together, right away I get that sudden feeling of excitement, the one I haven’t felt in years. "They look good,” he says, I nod, eyeing them more as they laugh, they all look amazing, they’re so eye catching, especially the one in the red dress, her hair is decorated with jewels and shells, her blood-red dress is short and low cut with a subtle shine to it, and her heels make her legs look amazing. The glitter makes doesn’t even begin to take away from the glow of her beautiful brown skin, and the strings pressing into her thighs make her look so soft.

"The one in the red...she looks so good," I say, she smiles, I can see her laughing at something one of her friends said as she hits her shoulder. Dear god, she's so beautiful, the way her two toned lips curl into a cute smile, and her brown eyes sparkle makes me feel weak in the knees, good god, I’ve never seen a woman so beautiful. As they pay for their tickets the urge to talk to her becomes too strong to ignore, so I turn to Taemin and say: "Let's go talk to them" Taemin clicks his tongue and looks at me, I can tell he has the same idea as me, just from the way he slowly tore his eyes away from them and put them on me, I know he has his eyes on her too "Why? You want to burn their pockets too?" He asks, unlike Jungkook and I, Taemin doesn't usually play dirty when it comes to getting women to throw their wallets and lives at him, he knows how I am, and usually I'd be quick to empty the pockets of a foreign woman, but she's different, I don’t care about her money, I just want her. “No no no, I mean let’s talk to them,” I clarify quickly, “this isn’t work related.”

Taemin laughs, “okay fine,” he high fives me and shakes his head, “but remember,” he looks at me and raises his eyebrows, “sharing is caring.” I laugh and nod, “if she thinks so too,” Finally, we begin to approach them, I make sure to adjust my red jacket, although there's no shirt underneath but I at least want to look nice, I can’t let her slip away.

THIRD PERSON POV

As Gennie is given her access to the main floor pass, you look around at the room, it's split into four different sections but the last is more closed off. The first is the room you are in now, the entrance which was right next to the main floor, it had the bar, lights, and seating, then there was the dance floor, there was a giant disco ball glowing in the middle with streamers hanging from the ceiling, and lights flickering and flashing with thick smoke covering the floor. And the last area you could quite see since it was more closed off, "You ready Y/N?" You smile and look at Lisa saying: "Of course I am!" She laughs and grabs her phone out of her purse, "I should take a picture before we go, so I can log the night you finally get laid by a guy who knows how to fuck."

You laugh and playfully hit her shoulder, "Stop being embarrassing!" She laughs and takes a picture of the two of you, she puckers her lips and squeezes your face softly, “you’re so cute,” she says after taking the picture, you smile and push her away playfully, “you’re so embarrassing,” you say jokingly, “how am I supposed to get laid if you act like this?” Lisa gasps and bumps you softly, “what? You’re actually thinking about it?!” You shush her and look around a little, while muttering: “maybe…” they both squeal and laugh, as Gennie begins to talk about how she’s excited for you to experience the pleasures of a man who only wants to make you feel good, you awkwardly listen, you weren’t awkward because of what she saying, but because you could feel eyes on you again, you know it's a night club so most people are going to be looking to hook up and will watch the entrance for potential partners, but it felt like you were being undressed, it made you shudder a little.

“Excuse me,” you jump as a slightly deep voice comes from behind you, right away the three of you turn around, your eyes go wide as a tall, attractive, tan man wearing a red suit with nothing under it stands in front of you, with an equally attractive man wearing black by his side. "I couldn't help but notice you from across the room," The taller one says, his accent is thick and heavy but his English is fluent and good enough for you to understand, "I can't imagine that you're here to sit in the main room, are you?" He asks, the three of you stand in silence while staring at the pair. To say that they were attractive was an understatement, the one in red had beautiful thick, red lips, gorgeous golden skin, pretty black hair, and sharp eyes with a sharp jawline to match.

Just looking at him made you feel shy, sure you’ve seen attractive men before, you aren’t new to things like that, but he’s so unreal, it’s like he was made by God’s hands personally, and the man standing next to him looked angelic yet sinful at the same time, you head almost spins as you look at him, where do men like this come from? His thick pink lips paired with his fair skin, sharp eyes, and prominent collar bones made him look like something out of a movie, and the look in his eyes, it’s so intense and intimidating, yet enticing at the same time, just from one look you feel butterflies in your stomach. Good lord, he’s so attractive, your knees feel weak as he grins, it’s almost like he can tell just how captivated you are by his looks, you look away shyly, feeling even more embarrassed from looking at him.

"Yeah, it’s our first time here, so we didn’t really know where to go,” Lisa speak up, already from her tone you can tell she has a plan up her sleeve, and you don’t blame her, you’re just curious as to which one she’s plotting to set you up with tonight. If you could, you’d take both. “Oh? Then how about you come to the V.I.P section with us?” The one with blond hair says, you look back at him again, his eyes are fixed on you for a second before he looks away slowly, “really? But we don’t have passes,” Gennie says, the one in red looks at you, his expression is blank yet telling, his lips curl at the ends into a toe curling grin as you look at him from the corner of your eyes, your legs feel like jelly. “That’s fine,” you hold eye contact, not really listening as they speak, “we work here so, you can come for free,” finally you look back at the other male, your eyes focus on his lips since his eyes are too much. “And don’t worry about trying to pay us back, just enjoy yourselves,” you can’t help but feel like he’s talking to you as he smiles.

“Well, if you say so,” Lisa agrees right away, not wasting a second to take the offer, “great, follow us.”

JONGIN POV

As Taemin and I lead the three girls back to the VIP section they whisper behind us, I grin a little as I make out them saying: "I want them both." And "which one do you think gives better head?" Although all three of them are beautiful, I hope that the one in red was the one saying that, the way she looked at me tells me she’s interested, but the way she looked at Taemin tells me she’s deciding who she wants to spend the night with more, hopefully she’s open minded. As we reach a table in the far back of the deep purple and black room they stop and sit down, with the other two sitting on the opposite side of the table from the one in the red, right away I can tell that those two might have a boyfriend while the one in the red, might be single and being set up by the others. As Taemin and I sit on opposite sides of her she shudders and closes her legs tight, I can't help but grin as I imagine that she must be nervous being sandwiched between us.

"So what're your names?" The one in the purple asks that's right, we never did tell them our names. Usually, people who come in know right away, they usually come for Taemin, Jimin, Jungkook, and me, so I never have to introduce myself, "I'm Taemin", "And I'm Kai." They smile and glance at the girl between us with grins on their faces, "I'm Lisa, that's Gennie, and the beauty between you two is Y/N." Y/N? God that's a beautiful name. I lick my lips and lean against the wall of the booth, I try my best not to glance down as her thigh presses into mines, "So I'm guessing you are here on a trip?" I ask, they all nod and avoid eye contact, "What brings you here?" Taemin asks while throwing his arm over Y/N slyly.

I notice right away how she bites her lip to hold back her smile, even though Taemin is making a move this is still a good sign for me, "We were just passing by yesterday when Y/N go too drunk and saw this place," Gennie says while laughing, I smile and watch as Y/N pouts and whines, she’s so cute… “I was just fine! And it was your fault anyways!" She says, she sounds so cute and her whiny tone is so adorable, it's almost unbelievable how she's completely grabbed my attention like this, I can't help but be captivated by her beauty and her pretty voice, and now that I’m closer, the smell of her is just as capturing as her looks. "Speaking of, would you like any drinks?" Taemin asks, they all nod and reach for their wallets, but I stop them with a smirk on my face. "It's on us," I say, "don't worry."

I can feel Y/N shiver next to me as she bites her lip trying to hide her smile again, god I haven’t felt this weak in so long, if all I had to do was pull out my wallet to see her make that face, I’d be dirt poor in a day, "Are you sure? I mean we made sure to bring enough for drinks and-" I put my hand up and stop Lisa while shaking my head, "don't worry, it's fine I promise" Taemin waves over a bartender and gives the names of a few simple drinks, luckily he orders drinks with less alcohol in them than the others, not knowing rather of not she’s a light weight, I wouldn’t want to flirt with her if she was drunk "just see it as a thank you for bringing such a pretty girl with you," as I lean back and look at Y/N her friend's squeal, but she doesn't react.

YOUR POV

"Just see it as a thank you for bringing such a pretty girl with you." As he says this Gennie and Lisa squeal and kicks their feet under the table, he leans back, his arm resting over the back of the booth while he lays the other on the table and looks at me with a smirk on his face. If I could I'd jump out of my clothes now to have him, but I didn't know how to react, I've never had someone so attractive come on to me like this before, to outwardly call me pretty instead of complimenting all of us at once, and his body language; both of theirs. They keep their bodies close and glance at me often, and the heat coming off of their body, it's making me feel hot myself. If they keep this up, I’ll leave with both of them. "T-Thank you..." Kai laughs, his laugh gives me butterflies.

God, I’m gonna scream.

THIRD PERSON

Kai laughs playfully, it's such a beautiful and deep laugh, it shakes you to your core as you discreetly squeeze your legs together more. "You don't have to be shy," he says, "I don't bite unless you beg..." Your eyes widen and Taemin laughs beside you along with your friends, but his laugh is more like Kai's like their in on some type of secret, "Don't worry angel, he's just joking" He says, "Kai here, is a sucker for pleasing women just for being as beautiful as you are." You nervously laugh and shuffle in your seat a little, you aren't uncomfortable; just caught off guard. "You say that like you aren’t too,” Kai rebuttals, Taemin shrugs and cross his legs while looking at you, “could you blame me?” You laugh again, trying to ignore the soft throb between your legs from the sudden drop in his tone, a chill runs down your spine as Kai’s leg brushes against yours and you shiver, “Okay now boys, not too much," Gennie says in a stern tone, "while she appreciates the compliments, don't go overboard."

Lisa nods, "let's all just get to know each other a little first," She says, "okay?"

~

After two hours of talking Gennie and Lisa were eight drinks deep and talking to a friend of Kai and Taemins; Jungkook, he had come over after noticing the three of you and after Kai pulled him aside he focused his attention on the two of them, while you; were sitting in between Kai and Taemin with your glass half full. You have only had two drinks and were still sober, and so were they, so as they softly spoke to you, you weren’t at all worried that they were only flirting with you because they were drunk. Your friends hadn’t really noticed though, not even when Kai whispered in your ear to compliment you, or when Taemin gently grabbed your chin and turned your head towards him so he could ‘see your eyes better’, you were glad though, because even though your friends are stuck on helping you get laid, they aren’t the best wing men possible, so with them distracted, you could relax into the provocative energy from Taemin and Kai comfortably.

"You know, it's feeling a little crowded down here," Kai says with his hand on your bare shoulder, “what do you think Taemin?" You look over to Taemin and he grins with his lips puckered while nodding in agreement, "yeah it is..." he licks his lip and places his hand on your upper thigh. "You get some more space, angel?" You look up at him with wide curious eyes, the soft throbbing becomes so strong that your legs clench together, are they being serious? "And have a little more privacy?" Kai does the same and you snap your head over at him, the grin on his face makes you want to scream from frustration, as Taemin leans into your shoulder you sit conflicted, your u friends were too drunk and busy flirting helplessly with Jungkook to notice, and you didn't want to leave them with some random guy but you also didn't want to pass on being alone with the two of them.

"So?" Taemin says as he grabs your face gently, making you look at him as your lips pucker, your eyes lock on his right away as your stomach starts to swirl with heat, "you wanna private show baby?" Kai asks.

[kay-wren]

I'll Come Running - R.C. - Chapter 50

Rafe woke up around noon the next day. He awoke to Jessie still asleep right beside him, naked of course, after the long night they had. Rafe couldn't forget it even if he tried, and of course he didn't want to. It was just like when they were teenagers, the Coke doing its job of taking over their mind and bodies, creating a never ending night that would leave them with the best sleep of their life. Strung out sex was always their favorite, and as much as Rafe didn't want to admit it, that fact still remained true no matter how much he hated it. He couldn't believe he actually gave in. Then again... Jessie always had her ways.

Rafe was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt Jessie stir beside him. He looked down to see her turning her head over to face him, slowly opening her eyes and blinking away the blurriness. She had a sweet smile on her face that suddenly made all of Rafe's worries take a backseat. He reciprocated by propping himself up on one arm and tilting his head, displaying a loving smile as he swept some hair out of her face. Jessie couldn't help but notice how perfectly his arm was flexing as he held himself up.

"Hi." Jessie said sweetly as she scrunched her nose up a little. Suddenly Rafe remembered his second favorite thing about nights like last night... the Jessie he got the next morning. She always seemed particularly lovey the next morning, although it was always short lived back then considering one of them always had to leave almost immediately to sneak back into their respective houses.

"Hi." Rafe responded simply, barely above a whisper. Jessie quickly brought herself closer to Rafe, snuggling up into his chest and wrapping a leg around his torso. Rafe simply laid back down and cuddled her closer, knowing this was customary for Jessie after long nights like the one they just had. Jessie brought her hand up to one of Rafe's that was laying contently on his chest, slowly intertwining their fingers and playing with them. Rafe didn't dare say anything, out of fear of ruining such a perfect moment of just being together with no interruptions. In the entirety of their relationship, that was something they never got much of. Peaceful moments like this were odd for them, and both of them were too scared to break the silence because of it. But of course, leave it to Jessie to never let her fear determine her next move.

"Did you have fun last night?" Jessie asked, not bothering to look up at Rafe. She felt the subtle rise and fall of his chest, indicating a slight laugh. She could almost bet he was smiling and shaking his head in amusement.

"Yes I did, baby." Rafe replied. Jessie now brought her face up to meet his with a shit eating grin. Rafe could read her mind.

"I knew you would!" Jessie responded knowingly with a subtle point of her finger upwards. Rafe just scoffed and shook his head once more at Jessie.

"You need to get that cocky little attitude under control." Rafe demanded as he grabbed the pillow behind Jessie and started whacking her with it, not enough to hurt of course. Jessie just kept screaming and trying to block the blows through laughter. Eventually Rafe let up on the brutal beat down and found himself back in the same position he started in, staring down at Jessie once more. He sighed in contentment as he noticed a peculiar look on his wife's face.

"What time is it?" Jessie asked, suddenly growing a little more concerned. Rafe looked over at his phone and grabbed it.

"Almost noon." He said with surprise laced in his voice.

"Oh my gosh!" Jessie exclaimed as she sat up. "I didn't realize we had slept that late! JJ's probably blowing up my phone!" Jessie said as she frantically rummaged through her bedside table to find her phone and take it off the charger. Jessie's surprise turned into disappointment as she realized she had no missed calls or texts from her brother. Rafe noticed her change in demeanor and he looked a little closer at her, bringing his hand to her face.

"Hey..." Rafe whispered, trying to get Jessie's attention. She looked up at him with sadness in her eyes.

"He hasn't called... not even a text..." Jessie trailed off, concern evident in her words. Rafe just smiled and tilted his head.

"Well maybeeee that's because he's trying to give you some time to actually enjoy yourself. You'll hear from Charley tonight I bet."

"But what if somethings wrong, what if-"

"Jess, they're adults. They can handle it. That's what you've been trying to convince me of this whole time, right?" Rafe insisted. Jessie just sighed and let go of the tension in her back.

"Yeah..." She admitted with a hint of embarrassment as she realized how dependent she was on her child. Rafe didn't mind at all, though, of course. He secretly worried too, but that wasn't for Jessie to see. He made sure to send his brother in law a quick text to encourage him to send some pictures of their daughter her way just to ease her mind.

"Let's go get some breakfast." Rafe suggested as he got up from the warm bed, quickly regretting his decision and scrambling to put some clothes on. His feet hit the cold wood floor and the cold mountain air that couldn't help but seep through the cabin walls gave his shirtless chest goosebumps. Jessie followed suit, quickly finding a sweatshirt and pants for the same reasons.

The two of them headed downstairs and as Jessie was walking into the kitchen she noticed Rafe stopped in the living room. She turned her body back around with an inquisitive look.

"What're you doing?"

"I'm starting a fire, it's cold in this bitch." Rafe said as he rubbed his hands together for dramatic effect. Jessie just laughed in agreement as she watched Rafe put the cut up wood in the wood stove. After a few minutes of coaxing the kindling, they finally had a fire that would roar all day.

Rafe met Jessie in the kitchen and wrapped his arms around her from behind as she admired all that was in the fridge.

"How do we have food when you haven't been here in years?" Jessie asked, not letting her eyes wander from the plethora of fresh food in front of her.

"Baby... my dad had someone specially hired to iron his business ties... you think I can't call someone to get some groceries delivered?"

Jessie just laughed and shook her head at the statement. She wasn't even surprised.

"Kook shit." Was all Jessie could muster through a judgmental chuckle as she turned her body to see Rafe laughing along with her. He knew it was Kook shit too, but sometimes it has its perks. Jessie wrapped her arms around Rafe's neck and began to rub her hands along his back. He reciprocated by pulling her closer and looking contently into her eyes with a smile. Suddenly Rafe saw Jessie's eyes turn a little darker and her smile turn into a smirk.

"I know what we could do to keep us warm." Jessie hinted. Rafe returned the look with a smirk as well.

"What's that?" Rafe asked as he gently swayed them back and forth. Of course, the question was rhetorical. He knew exactly what they could do to keep themselves warm... or he thought he did.

"Those high noons in the fridge will keep us nice and toasty." Jessie replied with a cheeky smile and an innocent nod. That's not where Rafe was expecting the conversation to go, and of course he was a little let down for more than one reason.

"Jessie..." Rafe sighed with an eye roll. Clearly he was judging her, and Jessie could tell. She suddenly became defensive.

"What?" She snapped with a disgusted look on her face as she leaned back a little more from her husband, not enough to get out of his grip, but enough for the both of them to notice the newfound distance.

"We're not getting drunk, okay? That's not gonna help anything and you know it. Besides, when we get drunk... one thing leads to another... you know that... you saw that last night."

Rafe prepared for the impending lecture based on the storm brewing behind the eyes he was staring at.

"First of all... I don't need to get drunk to make the decisions I did last night. I don't even need alcohol in general to make those decisions, so I don't regret it, and neither should you. This is our trip where we get to do what we want when we want and we don't have to explain ourselves to anyone." Jessie explained.

"Yeah, but..." Rafe sighed as he searched for the right words to say. "You and I both know that nothing good comes out of what we did last night."

Jessie understood where Rafe was coming from, but this was always the game they played. Jessie teaching Rafe to live a little more, and Rafe teaching Jessie to live a little less. Rafe still thought that Jessie wasn't afraid enough of the consequences of her actions. Even after years of growing up, that never changed.

"You need to change your definition of good." Jessie simply said. The answer threw Rafe. He didn't understand what she meant by that. Jessie decided to ignore his look of confusion and shimmy out of his grip and back to the fridge to grab some milk and chocolate syrup.

"So the question is..." Jessie asked nonchalantly as if she hadn't just had a serious conversation about impending consequences. "Since it's past noon, are we gonna eat breakfast or lunch?" Jessie asked as she grabbed the contents she was looking for and set them on the counter, looking up at Rafe for an answer. He still had his brows furrowed in confusion, clearly still trying to figure Jessie out. He was still always amazed at how she could just flip a switch and change the conversation like nothing just happened. Although, he knew her well enough to know it was simply a defense mechanism. This time, he wouldn't give in and change the subject. This was important... this was why he was here: to get Jessie back on the right track. She seemed to only be regressing further into the woman he had seen before she left. The wild child once again trying to convince the wallflower to "live a little", and he had seen that movie before... and hated the ending. Rafe shook his head to try and pull himself out of his thoughts.

"Jessie..." Rafe scoffed as he looked around the room in disbelief. "You can't ignore this conversation. You're slipping- slipping back into old habits that made you leave in the first place and-"

"My habits was not what made me leave Rafe!" Jessie interrupted with a pointed finger at her husband and venom in her words. "Are we seriously still on this? You're seriously still throwing it back in my face that I left?!"

Rafe grunted as he threw his hands up in the air and pinched the bridge of his nose with his other hand on his hip, clearly unsure of what to say. Finally, he found the words.

"Jessie." Rafe snapped. "I'm not blaming you for leaving, I'm just saying I've seen where this leads, and you have to! We can't keep doing this! We have a daughter now. We can't keep getting drunk, we can't keep smoking weed, we can't keep doing coke! Don't you get it?!"

The room went silent as Rafe caught his breath, his chest heaving slowly up and down. Jessie took notice of his chest becoming slightly more defined under his white tshirt and the veins in his arms sticking out a little bit more. She looked down at the counter in front of her and swallowed the lump in her throat, knowing that he had a point.

"It's just that..." Jessie squeaked out, now looking up at Rafe. "I've lived my whole life being the adult for everyone in my life. My dad, JJ, and especially Charley... you were the only one I didn't have to be the parent to. Doing all the things we used to do just... just brought that feeling back. That weightless feeling." Jessie explained through a broken voice. No tears. She had no tears left to cry. After all, she was never a cryer. Still, Rafe never took her lack of waterworks any less seriously when she opened up like this. He moved a little close to her with sympathy in his eyes.

"Jess..." Rafe whispered with a slight laugh and a smile that she didn't understand. "You've always been weightless. Before you met me. You never needed drugs, you never needed alcohol." Rafe explained as he cupped the side of her face, begging her to understand. Jessie just looked away from his chest and up to his eyes, this time with tears brimming and an angry frown.

"That's what you think." Jessie simply replied as she played with the skin on her lips. In all their late night talks, their marriage, and their reunion, and Rafe just now understood what she meant. Jessie had never made it so clear before. She partied. She did drugs. She drank alcohol. All to numb the pain and relieve the pressure of the parentification she had been a victim of her entire life. No words needed to be said, and yet Rafe understood. He felt like he had unlocked a new level in their relationship and gone into the deepest part of Jessie's soul. Jessie felt the same way, and she physically felt the hurt it brought her to do so. But Rafe could see the pain in her eyes, and all he could do to try and stop the aching of her heart was to hold her precious broken face in his calloused hands. He slowly and gently wrapped his arms around her and pulled her delicately into his chest. Suddenly he felt unworthy of holding such beauty in his arms. Rafe understood Jessie better than he ever had before. Yet she didn't cry, hardly a sniffle, only falling into the warm embrace of her tenderhearted husband. When Rafe felt it was time, he finally broke away, but not before taking Jessie's face in his hands once more and looking deep into her eyes with a look that showed he really wanted her to listen.

"We don't have to be those people anymore." Rafe whispered with tears in his eyes. Jessie's lips quivered and quickly turned into a sob, this being the first time anyone had ever really told her she did not have to hold onto any semblance of her past to keep her safe. Rafe held her there, finally proving to her that she didn't have to fall prey to a vice of any kind, and that he would be her safety.

[okinawa-division]

ARB Birthday Special: Evelyn Rose

~~ December 20th ~~

"If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, then I know I can achieve it."

Login Lines:

"I wonder why my producer, like, cancelled practice for today. He told me to just go out and relax today. He said it was an early 'gift' for me, but I don't, like, understand what he meant. Was he referring to Christmas or something? Not that I, like, mind or anything. That just means, like, more time for me to do some, like, shopping! ...Hmm? A text from my mom? Probably, like, checking up on me again. 'Happy Birthday, sweetie!.' ...Wait? It's my... birthday?"

"...Holy crap... it's, like, my birthday! How could I, like, forget? And why didn't anybody, like, tell me? I guess that explains why my producer canceled practice. But seriously, why didn't anybody, like, tell me sooner! I've got, like, tons of stuff to get done and now I'm, like, totally late doing it!"

Voice Lines:

"Wow, hard to believe this is, like, my first birthday since I've been here to Japan. I won't lie with the way Acey talked about it, I was sure this place wasn't, like, going to be anything nice. ...But I've actually grown to love this place! The people here are, like, so unique and, like, cultured and stuff! There's, like, so much stuff here you'd probably never see anywhere else, even in New York or L.A.! I still miss home from time to time, but Japan is still a nice place. ...Yeah, I, like, really love this country!"

"A lot of my fans wished me a 'happy birthday' or sent me a lot of gifts. It was, like, really cool of them! It's always nice having people to, like, support and encourage you! I think without them and my friends, I would have, like, never been as famous as I am now. I still often, like, think negatively about myself. Like, I wonder if I'm really doing my best and being all I can be. ...But, I know I'll, like, reach my full potential someday. I, like, owe it to myself and everyone who helped to, like, get me this far!"

"Thank you so much, Acey! And it's no problem! As long as I, like, get to celebrate it, then I'm, like, happy! ...Oh Acey... That means a lot to me! Thank you so much! I really love you! ...Haha! No need to be embarrassed, Acey! We kiss in public, like, a lot! ...What's this? A necklace? It's beautiful! A message? ...Oh! Acey, you... I really love you! Haha, you really need to be, like, more confident, Acey!"

"Thanks so much, Rashaad! I'm glad Acey and I, like, got to know you as well. I'll admit, I was, like, really bummed out when I found out her hotel was, like, being renovated or something. I wasn't sure about rooming in a bar, but I'll say it now: Eagle's Nest, like, beats any hotel, any day! ...Aww, thanks Rashaad! That really means a lot!"

"Ohh, what's this? ...A phone charger? But it charges more than my phone? Ohh! I've seen these before! But I, like, never thought of getting one! Thanks so much, Rashaad! This is definitely going to help! You are awesome, with, like, a capital 'A'!"

Ace Lines:

"Happy birthday, Eevee! Sorry you have to celebrate your birthday here in a foreign land instead of in America, but I'm glad to be able to celebrate another one with you! I... I know I don't say it often enough, but... I'm truly glad and grateful to have you as my girlfriend. I know I'm probably not the easiest guy to be around at times, but despite that I'm glad you're still here. So... thank you. ...Gah! Okay, okay, I-I love you too, Eevee, really!"

"A-anyway, here's your birthday gift. I know it's probably tasteless, but I hope you like it. It's a charm necklace with a message inside. I had it custom-made and ordered. ...You like it? I'm glad. I hope the message proves to be true. But... well, that's just part of the suspense of a relationship, right? ...Eevee? Gah! Wait, Eevee! It's appreciated, but not in public, please!"

Rashaad Lines:

"A most joyous and happy birthday to you, Miss Rose. I'm truly happy to be able to celebrate your birthday with you. I know it's been well over a year since you and Master Ace first came to Japan. I know you both probably didn't plan on staying here this long, but personally, I'm glad you both made the decision to come here. If not, I never would have gotten the chance to know either of you. I'm truly glad to have the friendship of both of you."

"Haha. Thank you, Miss Rose. Now then, for your gift. You mentioned the other day that your phone charger was acting up. I was planning on buying you a new one, but that would have just been boring. So, I purchased this, instead. It's a 3-in-1 charger, so you can charge more than just your phone. I hope it serves you well. ...Thank you, Miss Rose. I'm glad you like it. And again, a most joyous birthday to you."

[the-fiction-witch]

Seventeen P31 - 39

Media TMR AU X Seventeen Series

Character Newt

Couple Newt X Reader

Rating Sweet + Flirty af

I smiled so wide my cheeks hurt, I didn't even care how little sleep I had gotten. I smiled and pulled my pillow even tighter wrapping my legs around the pillow too peppering the soft cotton with kisses.

"Good morning y/n" I smiled squeezing the pillow even tighter "ummm did you sleep well? Yeah? Hummmm" I smirked biting my lip "Yeah? You wanna snuggle? No? Ohhh you wanna make love? Hummm well who am I to deny my darling her desires" I smirked squeezing and kissing my pillow and grinding against it playfully

"Isaac sweetheart you want fruit loops or cinnamon toast for breakfast?" My mum said as she opened the door to my room

"Mum!" I yelled moving the pillow away and grabbing my covers to conceal my erection though as it was pretty obvious through my boxers

"Ohh goodness-" she gasps shutting the door again "Oliver! I think you need to have another one of those... chats with your son" she yelled

"What are you going on about Alice?" My dad yelled back from their bedroom

"Ughh! Mum means Newts Wanking again!" Sonya yelled from her own room

"Again? I think he needs to skip the cereal love, it's increasing the libido and production far too much"

"Privacy. In this house. Can I have some please!" I yelled

"You get privacy when you're eighteen" my mum warns hitting my door "Now leave that pillow alone and come down for breakfast"

I sighed and got out of bed getting some fresh clothes on even if I had to give myself a decent adjustment given I was still very hard but I slipped my orange and black button-down on as an overshirt I heard a noise.

Buzz buzz

My phone!

I bolted over grabbed it from its charger and opened it up to see the most wonderful of notifications from the name I put in yesterday

Y/n <;3:

Morning Newt x hope you had a nice night just got to the gym with the girls

So I happily texted her back

Newt:

Morning love X yeah I hope you had a good night too :) you have fun with the girls at the gym, don't work yourself too hard

Y/n <;3:

You're are so sweet x but that's really up to Teresa she makes the plans for everyone I will work as hard as she tells me to

Newt:

Oh, well if she does push you a little too hard maybe I can treat you to another slushie on Monday xx

Y/n <;3:

I'll hold you to that &lt;3

Ummmmm y/n my darling, I put my phone in my pocket and headed down to the kitchen where everyone else sat having breakfast there was silence at the table as I poured some cereal and milk having a couple of spoonfuls before my dad broke the silence.

"Okay. We need a chat"

"Newts in trouble" Sonya laughed

"Dad I wasn't wanking. I was just in bed that's all"

"No no this isn't about that." He says folding his Sunday paper and setting r down beside his coffee "I am sick to death of the name calling, arguments, bickering, complaining, tadletailing, the fights for the bathroom every morning, the constant complaints about space and privacy. I have had it. And you kids can't seem to be mature adults and put it aside so after much long debate your mother and I have come up with a solution." He explained

I merely chewed my cereal sheepishly

"We are clearing out the basement"

For a moment there was a stunned silence and a mild wave of confusion as too if that's what he meant to say and then how that sentence connects to the first.

"Okay... as a bonding exercise?" Sonya asks clearly as confused as me

"Well to some extent," he shrugs

"No we are going to clean out the basement and one of you will be moving down there"

"Into the basement!" Sonya yelled

"Yes, it's a very large room bigger than both your bedrooms, with its own bathroom"

"Yeah and probably a million spiders!" Sonya complained

"I take it you don't want the basement?"

"No!"

"Newt do you have any issues with the basement?"

"...can I do anything I want with it? Furniture? Wallpaper? Can I mount my own TV?"

"You can do whatever you want provided you don't disturb the water heater"

"I'll take it!"

"And what about me?"

"And once Newts emptied his room... well call a contractor. Put an arch in that wall"

"So I get my room and Newt's room!"

"Yes, is this agreeable?"

"Yes!" We both jumped

"But you two have to get it cleaned out"

"Will you take me shopping? To furnish my new basement?"

"Yes but you keep your bed and you keep to a budget"

"Deal!" 

As soon as I finished with breakfast I bolted to the basement door and down the stone stairs clicking the light on to show off the room better.

The large room with grey walls and floor, a bunch of boxes stacked around the place with various household junk, the old sofa from the living room, a small bathroom under the stairs with a shower and bath, toilet and small sink but no door, the water heater in the back corner two small windows to the outside garden, and one light bulb on a old wire. Immediately I sat on the stairs and began to plan my first job to remove all the boxes of stuff. So I started on those closest to the stairs most of it either needed to be tossed or to be put in the attic with other seasonal and memory stuff

"Hey" sonya says as she came down and began to help

"Your helping me?"

"I want your room, I'm gonna use it as a walk in wardrobe. The quicker this gets done the quicker I get my huge room"

"Fine, and I don't have to deal with fighting you for the shower anymore. And I get my cool basement room"

"Whatever" she said as we got on with the slow work but we made good progress finishing the last few boxes by lunch "where's your phone?" She asks as she dug thought a box

"On the sofa," I answered absentmindedly as I looked through a box. It was mostly old family pictures and things, weddings, parties, grandparents and such but I spotted one that for a moment gave me pause.

It was a fairly aged photo with speckled white grain the corners slightly folded and rubbed, for a moment I thought it was me but that would have been stupid.

It was dad.

Sat on the same bleachers that still sat on the track field at school, brown trousers higher then they likely should have been, a white button down with a orange and brown striped knit sweater vest, his face so much like mine I finally get why so much of our family compares me to him the only real difference the thick black frames and darker hair as both Sonya and i's blonde class far more from our mother. But in one hand were some books and the other around a young girl in a flag girl uniform with blonde hair up in a bun.

It's strange I suppose to see my parents like ... people. To remember they had a whole life before they became my parents.

I put it away in the box and picked it up taking it to the top of the stairs for dad to decide what to do with

"Here" Sonya says as she handed me back my phone a she delt with another box

"Thanks what did you want It for anyway? Check the time?"

"My phone's upstairs" she shurgs "and I found his cute, adorable picture that I just had to share"

"-What - what picture?" I stuttered

"This one, I figured y/n would love to see it. Aren't you just so cute? In your little bath with your ducky. You can even see your little butt" she smiled showing me a photo album that did indeed have a photo of me.

I couldn't have been any older then a year old maybe less laid on my stomach butt naked in a bubble bath with my old duck plushie

"Bye newt!" She giggled taking her box and scampering upstairs before I could chase after her

I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. 

Buzz Buzz

Oh dear god please tell me that's not y/n. Please tells me that's just tommy asking about the science homework.

I was almost too scared to look but I knew I had to I forced myself to look and saw it was y/n so quickly opened her message seeing she had seen the phone and has responded

Y/n <;3:

Awwww, newt I didn't know you had a baby brother

Ohh she doesn't think it's me! Okay I can work with that I can fake having a baby brother... can I? I mean it can't be that hard right. I highly doubt my parents are going to be thrilled about me faking having a baby brother, I don't know how well I'd be able to keep that up. And I really like y/n do I want to start our relationship on lies?

Newt:

No, no I don't. we're cleaning out the basement. Sonya thought it would be funny send you that old picture of me I'm really sorry about that.

Y/n <;3:

I thought that might have been the case,

You were a very cute little baby newt X

Don't worry about it I thought it was sweet have fun clearing out x

And then she sent a picture of her in little blue shorts, some trainers, a loose fitting top and sports bra her hair up tightly her headphones in clearly on the treadmill at the gym

Newt:

Thanks X awww you look really cute too x

Have fun at the gym.

I smiled putting my phone away and cleaning up sweeping, moping, dusting, cleaning the years worth of dust from the bathroom dumping loads of chemicals down the drains, letting all the taps run and such as the bathroom has pretty much been inaccessible for a good couple of years. All while thinking to myself what I was going to do with the place.

"Oohh lovely, you've done a good job. Now DIY store closes at four shall we get going?" My dad says as he heads down

"Ohh yeah absolutely" I smiled grabbing a pad and pen from my room and getting into the car with him starting on my list as we drove

"Planning?"

"Yeah"

"I'm sure you'll add your personal touches"

"What's my budget?"

"Let's say three hundred bucks today. That's the usual price for the work needed to turn your old room into an extension of Sonyas anymore we'll sort accordingly so it's fair"

"Thanks for this dad"

"It's fine. Sick of the bathroom fights. Plus that room was getting small for you anyway, especially after you finish school"

"True."

"And... give you and this little lady some privacy"

"She's not my girlfriend dad. Atleast not yet"

"Do you want her to be?"

"Very much"

"Then you'll need the privacy." He says as we parked up.

My dad and I headed through the store, luckily there weren't many people around My dad had the pallet cart as we went around grabbing various things I wanted for my basement room. grabbing some towels, a bathroom shelf for in the shower, a little set for soap, my toothbrush and such, a nice mirror with some lights on, a few nice pillows and a cover for the sofa, a little shelf unit for my collections, a little coffee table, a little wooden unit for my tv stuff, some little curtains for the small windows, a new fitting for the one light, and a couple of other homewear stuff to personalize the place not too much given pretty much everything from my bedroom is coming down with me, and my dad grabbed some stuff and the card for a contractor to come and open up the wall between me and Sonya's rooms. 

"You done?"

"I think so," 

"You'll have to remember to add your bathroom utility bits to the weekly shopping list"

"I will do" I smiled 

"You sure you don't wanna ... grab a little container?" He asks offering a little wicker container from the side 

"Uhh what for?"

"For in your bathroom," 

".... Okay"

"For lady items," he said "Ladies appreciate when boys have stuff for them makes them feel supported"

"Good point" I nodded adding it to the cart 

"When do we get to meet this y/n anyway?"

"I don't know, we're not like dating or anything Dad"

"But you texting?"

"Yeah"

"and walking each other home"

"Yeah"

"Have there been kisses?"

"....Maybe" I blushed "Little kisses, cheek kisses is all"

"I'm sure we'll be seeing her soon then" he chuckled as we headed to the check-out "How about when we get home we throw everything down into the basement and move all your stuff down there then we can just leave you to your design work" 

"Sounds good" I nodded helping as we scanned everything and dad paid so I happily helped excitedly heading out to the car 

"You excited?"

"Of course, I weirdly like interior design"

"What are you most excited about?"

"Uhhhhh.... hummm"

"putting your Tv on the wall?"

"Kinda, I think I'm most excited for my little self unit I can finally property display stuff" 

"Alright lets get your butt home then so you can get working" 

As soon as we got home we moved My stuff downstairs box after box and eventually my furniture too meerly leaving it in the basement.

"Right you have everything you need, call you for dinner"

"Thanks dad" I smiled before he headed up and out the basement or well my room now.

I put on some music and got to work moving furniture and generally sorting the place out which took a good while until At Last collapsing on my bed. And looking at the place.

The large gray basement with the staircase up to the house in the bottom left corner with the bathroom under the stairs, the bottom wall now had my little TV and game stuff set up with the sofa pushed close with a rug and the small coffee table, the water heater in the back corner, my desk with my computer setup at the side along with the shelf where I had set up all my snow globes and other little accumulations, as well as my wardrobe and chest of draws with the wardrobe in the top right corner, the curtains on the little windows and my bed against the wall with my beside table. Of course I still had some stuff to do like the light and a few things I'd need to buy online but I was so happy having a nice private space.

Buzz buzz

I quickly grabbed my phone and smiled as I saw her text

Y/n <;3:

Hey x all done at the gym How'd it go with the basement?

Newt:

Whoa you were there a long time, all good now it's my bedroom

Y/n <;3:

Wow! I bet it looks great

Newt:

I can send a pic if you wanna see?

Y/n <;3:

It's okay I can wait, I'd rather see it in person xx

Newt:

Well you'd more then welcome maybe one night your free you could come over? I could show you the basement and we could run lines?

Y/n <;3:

I'd love to newt x

Just maybe... call it your bedroom, not gonna lie I think it's gonna scare some ladies away if you invite them to 'Come over and spend the night in your basement'

Newt:

Yeah good point x

"Newt! Dinner!' My mum yells

"Coming!" I called back

Newt:

Sorry dinner, got to go

Y/n <;3:

Me too maybe we can chat again later x

Newt:

I'd like that love X 

I got up with my alarm and yawned as I rubbed my eyes pushing back the covers and climbing out the bed

"Ahhh cold floor!" I whined as met feet touched the ice-cold floor so I scampered to the rug "note to self by another rug" I nodded I put my music on and headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth while the shower heated up checking my phone as I did

Y/n &lt;3

Good morning x

Ummm my little y/n, she such a sweetheart.

Newt:

Good morning love X sleep okay?

Y/n &lt;3

Unfortunately not

Newt:

No? What's up?

Y/n &lt;3

I think I'm getting Ill that's all

Newt:

Ohh you poor thing, I did say not to overwork yourself at the gym yesterday. Don't push yourself too hard today okay

Y/n &lt;3

I'll do my best

I set my phone down and jumped in the shower scrubbing myself nice and clean before climbing out with my towel and relaxing on the sofa as I got dry, soon enough I picked out my clothes for the day and for dressed into my jaded grey jeans, and grey shirt, loose fitting dark green and red button down rolling my sleeves up and fixing my hair before I grabbed my stuff and headed up to breakfast

"Morning"

"Morning basement boy" Sonya laughed

"I think it's cool, it's like I've got my own little apartment down there" I laughed grabbing some breakfast

"Lunch" my mum smiled handing the bag over

"Thanks mum" I smiled taking it and stuffing it in my bag

"Why are you back to pack lunches again? You miss lunchables?" Dad asked

"I mean kinda. But I've got drama rehearsals at lunch and scholastic after school so haven't really got alot of time"

"Alright have fun" mum smiled

"Will do" I smiled giving them both a hug before headed out to the porch waiting under the stoop to hide from the rain as I put in my headphones Sonya came out not long after and ignored me as usual heading down the street alone so I went on with my music. I got on the bus as soon as it arrived and kept checking my phone incase she messaged I wanted to texted her but I didn't want to seem... needy. Once we got to school I went to my locker as usual doing the shift around I often do on Monday making sure everything is where I need it for the week.

"Morning" Thomas smiled as he arrived at his own locker

"Hey Tommy"

"So... physics"

"Your on your own Tommy"

"What!"

"I did have time"

"Ohh what you been texting y/n all weekend?"

"How do you -"

"Newt, just accept anytime I know anything about you and y/n that you didn't tell me. Teresa told me" 

"What do you and Teresa talk about other than me and y/n?" 

"The State of the Economy" 

"Really?"

"Yeah,"

"You.... you have a weird relationship, Tommy"

"At least I'm in a relationship,"

"I'm making progress, we send little kisses now"

"I've heard,"

"But I've been doing a lot of stuff I've moved rooms now so I had a busy weekend"

"Moved rooms?"

"I live in the basement now"

"Like a weird uncle?"

"No! Like a cool hip teen"

"Like a weird uncle" He nods

"It's cool! I have a sofa, and I'm thinking of buying a projector"

"Okay projector movie nights in a basement does sound cool, we should set up a movie night and get some pizza and popcorn"

"We should. But I have no physics help so we're all alone. I've also done so studying so... I may be a bit fucked"

"Yeah, you are definitely fucked" 

I sighed putting my stuff in my locker and grabbing my lunch 

"How bad did that go for you?" Thomas asked

"Uhhhh... Bad" I sighed "But it's over, Come on we have rehearsals"

"You excited to see your girlfriend?" he joked

"You excited to see Your girlfriend?" I glared back

"Course, I'm dating the head cheerleader I'm always excited to see her" He laughed as we headed through to the drama room and I found myself a seat as he met with Teresa,

"Hi Newt" I heard behind me so I turned and smiled as I saw her

"Hi y/n" I smiled seeing her as she came over and sat on the chair beside me, she had little black sneakers today, light blue leggings, a little black denim skirt, and a little blue fluffy jumper with the sleeves pulled down to her hands so she could ball them up, very little makeup on her face so much even I noticed she had more makeup on in her pic at the gym then she did today, her hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail with a little blue scrunchie "You okay?"

"Yeah, Just not really feeling that great today"

"Ohh you poor thing, you don't look so good. I mean you look nice obviously but -"

"Thank you newt, but it's okay I know I'm not my usual cute cheerleader today"

"Well I still think you look very nice"

"Thank you" she smiled 

"Right kids I hope you've all been reading your scripts as we begin blocking" Miss Mary began "Nowhere better to begin than the beginning let go" she said 

So everyone for the opening scene got up with their scrips 

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked her

"I should be" She smiled taking her script and heading up with everyone else 

I wasn't needed for the first number so I got comfy keeping my script so I could keep track of where we were while I had my lunch often meeting y/n's eyes she was clearly nervous and not doing so well but I made sure to give her a smile which often made her smile a little

"Alright let's run it through from the top scripts in hand"

"September 1st 1989, Dear Diary..." She began 

We didn't even get to me needing to rehearse today but we made good progress on the opening number even if we overran a little meaning everyone was late to our next classes having to rush off quickly. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful so I headed to scholastic sitting and doing as little work as usual given we didn't need to do much. Miyoko pretty much had all of this in the bag and the rest of us merely used the room to sit down and snack on what I hadn't eaten from lunch.

"Alright kids, get off now before the track practice lets out and blocks the car park up" Jorge told us as we finished the last practice question 

I didn't waste any time as dark clouds were looming and it would likely rain before I got home so I got my stuff and scampered through the school, and out to the car park and once again I found myself stopped by the light of the track field. 

I should really get home I'll get soaked if I don't... 

But I do wanna check in on y/n she if she's still okay. 

So I headed into the track field seeing the cheerleaders doing a routine but y/n wasn't with them? I saw her with her back up in the bleachers with her script so I headed up and sat beside her 

"Hi Y/n"

"Ohh Hi newt" she smiled putting her script back in her bag 

"What are you doing up here?"

"Teresa said it would be best I stay up here today"

"Awww, because you're not feeling well?" I asked and she nodded sadly 

"And I didn't wanna anything happen to my uniform, it stains I have to buy a new one," she says shuffling her feet 

"Ohh,"

"I miss my uniform"

"Yeah you look really cute in your uniform, but I still think you look really nice. I actually kinda like this outfit better" 

"Really?"

"yeah, I mean of course you look good as a cheerleader. But I really think you look cute like this it's less cheerleader more... you. You don't blend into the back of the cheer squad like this" 

"I thought everyone loved the cheerleaders"

"Everyone does, and if you like your cheer uniform you should wear it but if you want to wear some other outfits somedays, I think it makes you look really pretty"

"Thank you newt" she smiled 

"Are you feeling okay? I've been kinda worried about you all day"

"That's sweet, I'll be okay," She says "I'm pretty used to it" she smiled 

"Can I ask what is wrong? you don't have to tell me if you don't want to"

"It's okay newt it's just that time of the month"

"Ohh." I nodded "Uhh here" I said grabbing my bag and having a dig around for a moment "Did you want some painkillers? I've been packing them every day since the incident with Ben"   

"You don't mind?"

"Of course not, you're in more pain than I am" I happily handed them over to her and she quickly took one 

"Thank you newt, that's very sweet" she smiled moving to lean her head on my shoulder wrapping her hands around my arm 

"You're welcome, whatever I can do to help," I told her putting the packet away in my bag 

"Is that a chocolate bar?" She perked up a little as she spotted the last part of my lunch a small Milky Way chocolate bar 

"Ohh yeah guess I didn't eat it at lunch"

"... Could I be cheeky?"

"Depends?"

"Could I have it?"

"You want my chocolate?"

"Ummmm" she nods "I'll trade you a fruit roll-up?" 

"Don't worry about it" I smiled handing over the Milky Way, 

"Nooo I feel bad-"

"Don't worry about it, really love"

"Are you sure? I feel bad just taking it and not giving you anything for it"

"It's okay, I know chocolate helps so you can have it" 

"You're too sweet" she smiled nuzzling a little closer

"Well, I don't like to see you in pain," I told her 

"newt?"

"Yeah?" I asked turning a little to look down at her as she nuzzled on my shoulder she smiled up at me and moved closer giving my lips a soft little kiss barely even a second, her lips so sweet and soft with a gentle cherry sent, before she pulled back and nuzzled herself into my neck and tightened her arms around my arm 

"Thank you Newtie" She smiled 

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhh" was all that arrived in my mouth "You uhh you're welcome" I blushed hard trying not to faint but I smiled widely and held her arm gently and leant my head on hers too. 

as much as I utterly adored our little cuddle the clouds only grew darker so I spoke up,

"Hey? If you're not actually cheering we could start the walk home? try and beat this rain?"

"They don't like me to leave early"

"They won't notice, I won't tell I promise" 

"I would, but my dad's picking me up tonight"

"Ohh okay sorry"

"No, it's okay, if you like I can get him to drop you off at home so you don't have to walk"

"You don't have to"

"No no, it's no trouble" she smiled 

We watched the track guys practice and her cheer girls run through routines often getting closer and every so often sharing a little kiss I felt so utterly happy so peaceful like I just wanted to squeeze her in my arms and fall asleep but I was right and when the rain came it came with a score to settle. The rest of practice was cut off as the track got rained out in minutes, the car park drain overflowing and flooding the car park with a good few inches of water luckily we hid under the bleachers waiting as many got in their cars and scampered 

"There he is!" she says spotting her dad's car pulling in almost having to shout over the sound of the rain. I followed her kinda nervous as we went over to the tall car and she tapped on the driver's window, It vrred as the window rolled down revealing her father. 

He was a wide man in a green button-down shirt, his face sharp and intense with a scowl across his face as he looked over at us his hands on the wheel in a tight grip his hands scared. 

I gulped rather afraid. 

"Hi daddy, Would it be okay if we took my friend home? so he doesn't have to walk in the rain?"

There was silence for a moment he looked at me and then back to her all while we stood getting soaked 

"Please daddy," she asks sweetly 

He gruffly nodded "Boy in the front" he demanded 

"Thank you" she smiled opening the door to climb into the back 

"thank you sir" I nodded going around and climbing into the passenger seat once we were sorted he started the car up and headed off the rain didn't easy battering the car the wipers on their fastest speed to try and keep the window clear, I did my best not to drip or get dirt on the car or make eye contact with her father 

"Name?" he asks me 

"Ohh uhh Isaac, Sir." I explained

"shhh" he warns making me gulp again "She's asleep"

I looked into the back and y/n had fallen asleep in the backseat 

"she always falls asleep in the rain, and she's not well anyway"

"Yeah, I gave her some painkillers I don't think that helped" I nodded 

"Isaac you said?"

"Yeah, everyone just calls me Newt though"

"Ahh" He nods "So you're newt."

I was stunned for a moment "You've heard about me?"

"I haven't stopped bloody hearing about you in months" 

"I uhh I didn't know that" I blushed 

"Good of you, taking care of her today and all"

"It's okay, I was more than happy too."

"Good, She's mentioned she'd like for you to come to dinner one evening, that something you agree with?"

"Yeah absolutely I'd love too. And I'd love to have her over too one evening"

"I'm not going to pry, I don't wanna know." he says "But Whatever you are... Look after her for me. She means a lot to me."

"I will do sir" I nodded "She means a lot to me too" I smiled "Did you need me to-" I began 

"I know where you live" he says, "she told me."

"Ahh alright then" I nodded and soon enough we arrived at my house "Thanks for the lift"

"Don't worry about it," he says 

"Is she still asleep? I don't wanna wake her"

"I'll be the bad guy" he chuckled "So you don't have to" he laughs "Y/n!" 

"Hummm?"

"You were asleep hun"

"I wasn't sleeping" she yawns "I was just resting my eyes" she says clearly having been asleep "Ohh is it time to go?"

"Yeah, thanks for the ride through"

"It's okay, I'll see you tomorrow?" she says moving closer to the front seats

"Of course, I'll see you tomorrow." 

"Okay, Bye" she smiled 

"Bye" I smiled back I wanted to give her one more kiss but given her dad was right there I knew that likely wasn't the best idea for my continued... being aliveness. But she smiled and gave my lips a sweet little kiss just like on the bleachers 

"Bye newt"

"Bye love" I smiled trying not to blush to hard grabbing my stuff and quickly getting out the car giving them both a wave as I headed inside away from the rain and the car drove off as I shut the door and raced past the kitchen 

"Dinner will be done in a bit Isaac" My mum shouts as I went past

"Okay call me when its done" I smiled bolting down to my basement room dumping my bag and jumping on my bed hugging my pillow tightly over my face as I screamed with joy an excitement! 

[marzs-space]

Impartial sins

Chapter 8: Castle visit

Warnings:short?, mentions of death, nightmares. I think that's all. M!list link

Previously

Next

Recap: “I'm going to my room, text me if you need something” I say, getting up. I'm quick to return to my room and lock it, I felt like I was suffocating. I look at the time, it's probably best for me to text them later. I yawn, yeah, later.

I put my phone on the charger and lay down. I huff and turn over, maybe I'll sleep tonight.

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

I gasp awake and clutch at my shirt. I try my best to clear my vision and blink away the tears. I'm alive. I'm fine. I slump against my headboard and let myself continue to silently cry. Once I've calmed down I sniffle.

What a good way to wake up at 2:33am. I turn on my headphones and connect them to my phone. This should help a little… I set an alarm earlier than usual to avoid the brothers and play whatever's on my playlist.

I sigh, any escape from this reality is still an escape.

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

I yawn and stretch. ‘ready, Azrial?’ I think, hoping he's awake. I hear a small hum of confirmation from him that causes me to relax. At least he's awake, I think to myself as I walk out of my room. Should I eat in the lunchroom today?...

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

I sit on a bench outside of R.A.D waiting for it to open. I yawn and look through my playlist, what do I want to listen to… hm, maybe this? A shadow in front of me pulls me out of my head. I look up, it's diavolo. Yay.

“What?” I ask, pausing my music. He smiles, “how would you like to come over to the castle after R.A.D?” As mad as I am, I'm not mad enough to skip that offer. Anything to get away from the brothers, and him especially.

“sure..” I mumble, putting my phone in my bag. “The brothers aren't up, are they?” Barbatos asks. I shake my head, he should be smart enough to not tell the brothers about me leaving early to avoid them. I'm tired…

Not like I'll be able to sleep long, or at all for that matter.

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

After R.A.D I see barbatos outside, waiting for me to take me to the castle. This shouldn't be too taxing… I walk beside barbatos quietly, should I say something? I feel fine in this silence, eh. He'll be fine for a few more minutes.

‘you good Azrial?’ I ask him. Did he fall back asleep? “I'm fine, but how long do you think we'll stay?” He asks. ‘not sure, if the brothers get involved, not long' I think. Oh, we're here. “Lord diavolo would like to talk to you” barbatos says, leading me to his office.

I nod and walk in, “Ace, please sit” he says in his usual cheery tone. I sit down across from him and raise an eyebrow.

Fun fact!: Ace and Azrial dislike sour cream.

Taglist: @cuddlybelphie @doomsday-fae @a-crazy-little-goblin @completelyshatteredbrokenmschf

[terror-time-again]

Today's the day! She thought to herself giddily as she put her final suitcase in the trunk of her car.

James and I have been excited for our cabin date for months! She grins ear to ear as she slams the trunk closed.

Annie had met James on a dating app roughly 10 months ago. They've been talking for awhile, but meeting up just never seemed to happen. When one was free, the other was busy. Classic.

Annie scrambles into the driver's seat and clicks her seat belt in. Shit. She says out loud before unclicking the seat belt. I forgot something

She runs back to the front door of her apartment building and is cut off by the creepy guy who lives a few doors down on her floor, Scooter.

You going on a trip? He asks breathily. Need somebody to watch your apartment for ya?

No thank you, Scooter. she says in the same annoyed voice that she uses everyday with him, avoiding eye contact as she squeezes past him hastily. Annie jogs upstairs, her breasts bouncing with each step. She looks over her shoulder. No Scooter. Good.

She unlocks her apartment door and runs to the bedroom. There you are she whispers as she grabs her soft suede purse James had bought and sent her on her 19th birthday last month. She unzips the top and peeks in. Lube, condoms, a butt plug and her favorite vibrator. Can't forget these. I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees I find a nice use for the purse.

Annie starts to head out her front door again and notices Scooter skulking down the hall, looking in her direction. Scooter quickly pretends to be looking for something on the ground.

Ugh. She goes back inside and grabs her serrated pocket knife that she inherited from her grandfather, sheathing and tucking it in her jeans pocket before heading back out the door.

She speed walks past Scooter, his breathing wet and heavy. Have fun, Little Annie.

GPS says 20 more minutes until I reach the cabin she grins uncontrollably, bouncing in her seat, her favorite YouTube Playlist on a loop.

I hope he's just as nice in person as he is online. I wonder if he'll be weirded out by my sex stuff. Did we ever talk about kink? Am I too excited? Oh God, am I going to scare him off??

Her bouncing enthusiasm leaving her as paranoia and fear of rejection start to set in.

15 more minutes till the cabin.

Shit SHIT should I turn around? No, I can't do that to him, he's probably already waiting for me. Maybe he'll be understanding? Maybe he'll think it's hot? Maybe he'll--

BANG

Annie let out a scream as her car begins to shakily veer to the left. Knuckles white, she tries to fight the car to pull in the other direction, but it's no use.

BANG

Annie had never been in a car accident before. Hopefully this tree has insurance she groans, resting her forehead on the steering wheel. She looks up at the GPS on her phone. I'm not terribly far, maybe he can come pick me up. She starts to smile What a cute way to officially meet. As she reaches for her phone, the screen dimmed with the 5% battery warning.

OK, maybe I'll have time to get ahold of him and he can come get me. She calls him, no answer. 4%. She tries once more in vain. 3%

Fuck. Annie opens her glovebox to find that she forgot to pack a car charger. FUCK.

She sighs, defeated, before opening her car door and stepping out. She walks over to inspect her blown tire. She screams out in frustration. She tries to call one more time. Nothing. 2%

She opens the trunk and tosses all of her bags to the ground to pull out her spare tire. As she turns around, she could've sworn she saw a tall dark figure disappear behind a tree. She stares in that direction, scanning for motion.

God, I'm stressed...

Annie lugs the tire and jack over to change out the damaged one and gets to work, her phone on the ground next to her in case James calls back.

She gets the car off of the ground when suddenly, she's shoved against the car from behind. The car falls off of the jack, flat tire pinning her right hand to the ground. She let's out a blood curdling scream before a hand wraps around the back of her head to cover her mouth. She continues to scream through cold fingers.

Shhh shhh I'm so sorry, so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, a familiar voice. A calming voice.

James?? She tugs at her trapped hand in vain. She tries to turn her head to meet his gaze, but has her head sternly turned away and slammed into the car door.

Ow! What're you doing?! She protests. James, my hand is stuck under the car, this isn't funny! Help me!

She feels his cold hand follow her arm down to her hand, tender from pain. She can feel him breathing in the back of her neck, making her shiver and get a tiny bit wet.

He chuckles quietly in a smooth sexy tone before tracing his hand back up her arm to her neck, caressing it gently.

She squirms but doesn't fight back. James, we can have fun later, her voice shaking, I'm really scared and I think my hand is broken. Can we please just--

She gets cut off by the sound of her phone ringing. Sliding her face against the car door, she glances down at the caller.

It was James.

Wait- is all she can muster before feeling his caress quickly become a grasp. Realization sets in as she let's out a weak scream, coming out as a gurgle. She struggles, flailing in all directions as she feels another hand rubbing her crotch through her jeans. She can feel herself getting reluctantly wetter as her consciousness starts to fade. Her phone dies mid ring.

With the last bit of energy, she manages to pull her hand free. Grabs the knife from her waistband and slashes at the hand on her throat.

Aargh! You stupid cunt! The voice growled, becoming more warbled. Less human. Annie whips her head around just long enough to see 2 pairs of glowing white eyes from the silhouette. Her eyes widen in horror before 3 more arms emerge from the creature, 1 on each of her thighs, forcing her legs apart for the original hand to force its way into her jeans, the last hand wrestling the knife away from Annie, weak with fear.

The knife hits the ground with a dull clang as she gives up on fighting. This is it she thought. Killed by a monster in the woods. The thought makes her even wetter.

She avoids looking this creature in the eye. She feels her jeans start to rip from having 2 more hands start to aggressively tug them down from her hips.

Annie moans softly closing her eyes, accepting her fate but not wanting to look. She let's out a small yelp as these hands tear her jeans completely off, leaving her with just her panties and a blue button up.

Before she can react, the 6 hands lift her up off of the ground with ease. 1 on either wrist, ankles, 1 on her throat and 1 plunging it's fingers deeply into her pussy.

She writhes and squirms in vain as each hands grip tightens, pulling her body more and more taught. 4 fingers inside of her hole, the thumb rubbing at her clit while completely suspended. The grip around her throat tightens just as she feels herself cum, letting out a gargling moan, her face turning red. She can feel her soaked cunt dripping down her legs and splashing onto the dirt below her. The thumb rubs faster. Harder. She tries to scream only to be met by a tighter grip. Her vision blurs as her fingers reach out frantically, unable to move anything else. She cums again, tears flooding her cheeks.

The grip on her throat loosens slowly before completely letting go. She screams, coughing, gasping for air. She looks toward her assailant, unable to think.

Are you having fun, Little Annie?

Her eyes widen in horror, before she can let out another scream, the hand quickly finds it's way back to the hand marks on her pretty little neck.

No, please, i-

It's useless. She's reduced to an airtight gargle. She sobs mutedly as the thumb that was on her clit disappears into her cunt completely. Fisted. By a monster in the woods. The mere thought brings her to climax once more. She feels herself welling up, trying to push the hand out of her, but it did not budge.

Are you having fun, Little Annie?

Another arm slowly emerges from behind the creature. Reaching towards her button up and slowly undoing each one.

Losing oxygen to her brain, all she can do is lie limp and be used. The hand in her cunt thrusting in and out, Her eyes roll in the back of her head, cumming over and over, her pussy clenching on it's wrist, certain that this was her final moments before the creature loosens it's grip once more.

Annie gasps desperately, sobbing loudly and hoarse.

Why why why whyyyyy? Her voice shakes quietly as the hand that once occupied her neck is now caressing her cheek sweetly.

Because the wet, breathy voice coos

We're having fun

Story inspired by @loreandorder

[having-conniptions]

Love In The Air episode 4 live reaction under the cut (long post)

"He hasn't eaten since yesterday" RAIN NOOO BABYYY

Rain's little "mmm" noises when he's eating please he's so cute

RAIN TELLING PAYU TO KISS HIM AGAIN YESSS YOU GO BOY

"You shouldn't come here anymore" HE'S TRYING TO PROTECT RAIN, THIS IS HITTING ME RIGHT IN THE KIMCHAY FEELS (having kpts flashbacks)

And Rain's literally begging him to keep letting him come over 😭😭😭

I think I just need a second to process that we've gone from "Rain challenging himself to make Payu fall in love with him while pretending he's not interested in Payu at all" to "Rain slowly realizing that he wants to spend time with Payu and kiss him and yes he's serious about this"

All thanks to Payu going full daddy mode alternating between "dominant seductive bad boy" and "loving caring boyfriend" which is just too much for Rain's little heart bitch I'd fall so fast too I get it

And yet Rain pretends he's still into Ple and not interested in Payu lol

Sky is the bestest friend. We all need a Sky. <3

HAHAHAHA SKY GETTING CHILLS AFTER HIS CHEESY LITTLE SPEECH PLEASE I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

They're both just staring at their phones waiting for a text from the other aaaaa

"I still don't know if I like him. All I know is... I don't wanna give up." Boyyy this is not about the challenge you put on yourself anymore. This is not about not being called stupid anymore (because you know he means cute). You can barely contain your giggles when he does or says something sweet. You've been melting under his gaze since the beginning. This is not about proving anything you just want kisses and cuddles and that's fine honey go get ur man <3

Sky being the bestest friend again I love himmmmm

Rain Sky friendship supremacy

Damn Payu that's cold (and I know you don't wanna be like that)

He just sits outside hahaha Rain is a smart boy

And a little brat

DID YOU JUST CALL HIM AN EYESORE YOU BETTER TAKE THAT BACK SIR OR I'LL-

Bratty baby Rain is everything

Not Payu telling his brother to tell Aon to tell Rain he can go inside lmao he can be such a tsundere

"Who's smitten with who, exactly? The lovestruck one's not the boy but you, Big Bro." HE'S RIGHT AND HE SHOULD SAY IT

The sound effects in this series are on point btw

Awwwww Rain sleeping all disheveled on Payu's couch while Payu uses little sticky notes to make corrections and suggestions on his project <3 boyfriendsssssss

"Smart boy" AAAAAAAA 😭❤️

The slap on the belly lmaoooo

Interrupting brother nooooooo xD

The fact that Payu actually made sure to tell Rain that he called him "smart boy" aaaa my heart

Rain you can't make that face and still say you don't know if you like him

AWWW THE STICKY NOTES WERE ACTUALLY WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

He finished two days before the deadline!! I have a feeling something is gonna go wrong, please tell me nothing happens to his model

He spends like 5 seconds in his own bed before hauling ass to the garage

PAYU ASKING RAIN IF HE'S GOTTEN ANY SLEEP AND HAVING SOMEONE PREPARE A BED FOR HIM SO HE CAN NAP WHILE PAYU WORKS what in the healthy and wholesome-

They're soooo boyfriends

Awwwww finally another kiss!!!!!

Ooooooo I'm so proud of Rain my babyyyyy

Oh nooo Payu's phone battery is probably dying and he's leaving the charger at the office and now Rain's waiting for him in the rain 😭😭😭😭😭

WHOA

There is not enough water in that tub how are they not freezing

WHOA

Broooooo Payu had a condom hidden under a toy car by his bed? Smooth.

WHOA

[namuneulbo]

week one hundred and thirty six

monday i woke up in turku. i slept really bad but i got some sleep at least and i wasn't as anxious as expected which was nice. i walked into town and went shopping for snacks to bring home and then i sat at a coffee shop for a few hours while having a second breakfast and watching two episodes of succession. i've gotten really into it. i think i watched like around 6-8 episodes that day alone probably, mind you they're one hour long.

afterwards i did more shopping. i went looking for more specific things i've been meaning to get, like contour and powder. i haven't used those before with my makeup. haven't felt the need to until recently. i feel like sometimes my makeup would look more put together with contour and because my base has been looking a little rough, i want to try and fix it with powder. if anything, powder will be useful to just fix oily spots throughout the day. i got more boring stuff too. an adapter for my phone charger and melatonin because i'm almost out of my current one. melatonin is way cheaper in finland. i honestly don't know if melatonin does that much but even if it's placebo, placebo is still a real thing that exists so if it helps me calm down when anxious or help me sleep better when i need to, i'll be fine paying for that.

had the meeting with the bank and it went smoothly. then i tried looking for a banana clip. i found out about those recently and i think those will be revolutionary for me as someone who's terrible at putting my hair in a claw clip. i couldn't find one though. i went to hesburger for dinner, of course, my finnish pride. watched succession in there and then left to go to a nerd store.

almost as soon as i walked in someone looked at me kind of weird. i didn't think too much of it but i noticed they like... peeked at me around the shelf. i was genuinely thinking like "oh my fucking god, here we go. now the incel weeb is gonna walk up to me and say some weird shit about boku no pico or some shit," BUT FEAR NOT! after they took a peek at me again from the other side of the board game section i saw them say something and i took off my headphones and they were like: "i like your shirt!". way nicer outcome. i had borrowed my sister's my chemical romance hoodie but good thing i love my chemical romance too. i thanked them and then they were like "what's your favorite song if you can't say helena?". i mean... hey! i get the bit but don't worry, boy, i wouldn't have said helena anyways. i was like "hm, i like drowning lessons and my way home is through you (which took awkwardly long to pronounce correctly, so many words in one title)... what's yours?". they seemed a little caught off guard i think haha. they said it was i'm not okay (i promise). solid choice. solid choice. then they continued like "oh my god, did you see everyone freaking out about them maybe having a comeback and doing a concert?" and i was like "yeah! i did!". i hadn't or... so i think? i'm confused. i understood it as mcr5 but that was ages ago or am i super slow? i mentioned that i saw them when they played in stockholm a few years ago and i was like "yeah, i even have tattoos!" and showed off my knees through the holes in my jeans. they made my day <3

went back to the port. watched succession. had a shitty sandwich before bedtime and boom woke up tuesday. slept surprisingly well. no interruptions which is rare for me. i didn't know what time we would be in land though and ended up waking up a bit too late so i had to stress out of the room. got home at like... 8 am. long day of nothingness in front of me. it was epic.

i however caught a cold. i had a bit of a sore throat on tuesday evening but now i have a full-blown one MIXED with pre-menstrual symptoms. it's rough. like my entire body was already sore from the cold. chill out, man.

i have just rested really since then. i picked up a package on wednesday since i had to go to the store and get pepsi anyways. i'm telling you, soft drinks are so nice with a sore throat. it was so bad i felt sick just drinking water because of how weird it felt in my throat. hot tea and soft drinks forever!

it was a sellpy package, by the way. i ordered some stuff and it all ended up being really cute and fit really well. i got quite a lot. i got a leopard print v-neck blouse, a red velvet top, a black mesh top, a satin pajama set, two bracelets and some cups for my pencils and markers.

now, i will continue watching cities: skylines videos and long for the steam summer sale so i can buy the base game so i can buy dlc. bye for now <3

sotw: charli xcx - guess

[zavianglorywrites]

In honor of the fact that I am finally on the last round of edits for this book and it will be available at the end of the month, here is part of the first chapter of my debut paranormal/supernatural romance, Mortal Protection.

It was the piercing ring of a phone that drew the being back into the present, back to the plain apartment bedroom and the comfortable-yet-unused queen-sized mattress and its wonderfully cozy, though equally unused sheets. The sheets and the bed didn't need to be used because there was no mortal in the apartment who needed to be protected from the sleeping being and its incomprehensible true form. As it awoke, it began to orient itself, wondering how many days had passed since it had returned to the apartment after its most recent job. If it turned out the being had been sleeping longer than usual, it would soon be time to return to the other place to rest, where it couldn't endanger the fragile mortal minds surrounding it.

The phone rang again, this time with a very distinct tone that told the being just who was calling.

Everything snapped into place. The bed hit the wall with the sudden addition of a human body falling from the ceiling onto it. The human grunted and wondered why he never thought his first waking transformation through when it happened. Of course, the change was almost instinctual, considering how much time he'd spent in that particular form over the last century and a half. He climbed from the bed, unconcerned by the nakedness of his chosen human form.

He grabbed the phone off its charger and swiped the screen. "Hello, Lisa."

"Oh good, Aamun!" She sounded relieved to hear the voice he used with that particular form. "I was starting to think you'd gone down to hibernate."

He sighed in a very human way. "It's not called 'going down to hibernate'," he said for probably the millionth time. "Most of us call it 'recharging' nowadays. And it's not 'down.' I know you know this by now."

"Where's your charging cable plug in? And Hell definitely isn't up, so where is it?"

This time he snorted, another thing he had learned from mortals. "Well, since you're mortal I can't tell you about the charging port. It would break all the rules. Of course, you could ask Lewiel about it. I'm sure he has no concerns about bending rules for you. And I don't know where Hell is, I just think about going there and there I am. Just like I don't know where Earth is, either. I just think about coming back and here I am. If I was going to go recharge I would notify the office."

She completely ignored the reference to her partner when she replied, "That was why I was worried. I didn't want to tell the boss you'd become an AWOL Fallen."

"I've been fending for myself for thousands of years," he told her, which was only a bit of an exaggeration. He'd always been around his brethren in one form or another since the day he had been created. "I'm only working for the office because eternity is boring without something consistent to do. If I get equally bored with it I'll be sure to formally quit, not vanish on you. So what's the new job?"

She cleared her throat. "Right. So there's a warehouse store not too far from where you're at. It's called Smith's. There have been eight different safety complaints in the last two weeks, and you know that where there are that many safety complaints being reported to a government agency, there are other kinds of issues going on. I bet it's an HR nightmare."

"And HR nightmares are often orchestrated by demons, real or mortal."

"Precisely. If you're interested, I'll get the details ready and you can go be handsome, charming, unassuming Aamun."

He nodded to himself. "I'll do it."

Getting hired at Smith's was as easy as usual with the false identity the office had provided for him and with the active white-man form he was currently wearing. It was why he chose that particular form for most of his jobs, now that he was more interested in taking down abusive corporations than corrupt church officials. He'd needed a break from that after four hundred years, and he had plenty of brethren who were happy to continue the work, to attempt to wrestle God's corrupt minions away by showing them the truth. This form, though, allowed him to slip into any company he needed to and dismantle it – or, at least set the process in motion – before anyone even suspected him.

Over the last few thousand years he had mastered the art of playing into assumptions and prejudices to protect and defend those who needed him. In this case it would be all the underpaid staff expected to toil away all day in unsafe conditions, possibly fueling the energetic demands of demons with their suffering. He did not often fail his jobs, and he didn't plan to fail this one, either. His entire existence was centered around teaching humans that they should care about each other and the Earth on which they all lived, and protecting them from those who simply wished to cause suffering to increase their own joy, be they unchangeable mortal or true demon.

The employee who was tasked with showing him around the store and teaching him his job was a tired man in his mid-thirties, about the age Aamun's fake identity said he was, also. There was something about his scruffy face and bloodshot eyes that called to Aamun's compassion. He introduced himself as Jake, a supervisor of the employees who did most of the shelf stocking.

And the first off-the-record thing he said to Aamun during the tour, when they had their first moment away from other employees or customers, told Aamun that Jake was going to be immensely helpful to the investigation.

"I suggest you start looking for a new job soon. This is a toxic place to work."

Aamun hoped he looked surprised. "That's weird. The hiring manager assured me we were all like family here when he interviewed me."

Jake glanced around, then shook his head and said quietly, "That's one of the biggest red flags in any workplace. It's to compel you to feel like you owe the store – management – something personal. But you don't. It's a job. Clock in on time, do what you were hired to do for your scheduled shift, and clock out on time. Don't do this place any favors because God knows they won't do you any, either."

Aamun gave him a long look, then threaded his next words with a touch of compulsion, "What did they do to you?"

Jake just shook his head again, though he seemed to hesitate. "I don't know you. For all I know, you could be a pawn of theirs. I could be walking myself into getting fired by telling you anything. Hell, even what I just said could get me fired if you talk to them. I can't afford that, not after the pay cut they just gave me."

Aamun had no desire to force him to speak when he carried so much worry, but it further confirmed that there was work to be done here. He withdrew all hint of compulsion before he spoke again. "Are they cutting costs?"

"They're just trying to hurt us where it counts. Our paychecks. They're sending a pretty heavy message not to try fixing this messed up place."

Before Aamun could try asking anything more or begin to earn the man's trust, they arrived at the receiving department. Pushing through the swinging doors, Aamun stopped short when he saw the burly, messy-haired man standing in the middle of the floor. He held a clipboard and towered over the delivery driver who was signing a sheet of paper on the clipboard. It wasn't the size of the man that startled Aamun, but the fact that he wasn't a human man at all. Aamun could see through the glamour, unlike the mortals at work around them.

Beneath the human-appearing flesh of the glamour was a demon. This one was as burly as the glamour he wore, but his feet were hooves and his hands were well-maintained claws. On his head were two great horns that curled back around and below his pointed ears. Aamun couldn't tell through the haze of the glamour if he had skin or short fur or scales.

The demon suddenly stood more upright and seemed to draw a deep breath before slowly turning to face Aamun and Jake. Under the glamour that made his face appear like that of a bearded mortal man, his true face was sharply angled, his nose bull-like, his brows pronounced, and his horns were decorated by fine chains like the necklaces his glamour wore, one dropping down almost into one massive eye. He had clearly not been expecting to meet someone who could see through his glamour, because the moment he recognized what Aamun was, he lowered the clipboard to cover – barely – the very male anatomy between his very muscled thighs.

Aamun knew the demon couldn't see his true form, but he'd been told by other supernatural beings that he and the other angels had a smell and a glimmer about them that made it obvious what they were, even if mortals weren't aware of it. There was, however, no way for others to tell the difference between the Fallen and Blessed angels at a glance – Aamun was thankful to know he didn't smell like charred meat at least. The fear on the demon's face assured Aamun that this wasn't someone causing harm in the store, just someone taking advantage of it for survival. Chaos demons were like that. If he'd been the guilty one, his first instinct would have been to run or fight, according to Aamun's previous experiences.

"That's Henry," Jake explained. "We call him The Bull."

"Uncanny," Aamun replied.

[kittlyns]

Last night, my car broke down in the middle of nowhere, in the pitch black dark, on a road where people were speeding extremely fast. My battery/alternator gave out, so I had no way to even turn my hazards on.

To top it all off, my phone was at 6% when this happened.

I was completely unfamiliar with the area, as my normal route was blocked off due to an accident. I had to take a detour down country roads I'd never been on. There were no lights on the road at all, and barely any buildings other than the very occasional house.

I was on the phone with my best friend when my warning lights started coming on one after another. I started freaking out a bit and was like "oh my god, I'm gonna break down in the middle of nowhere, fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck."

She asked where I was and how to get to me, and I gave her the most shitty directions I've ever given anyone. I'm godawful with directions and my brain being in panic mode did not make anything better.

I finally found an intersection with one church and a small gas station across from it. I knew I wasn't making it to the gas station. As I started turning into the church parking lot, my steering locked up and everything in my car went dead.

Thankfully, there was a very small middle lane that separated both sides of the road. I'm assuming it was mostly used as a turn lane for the church. My car somehow died perfectly in the middle of it.

I shot off a text to my mom letting her know my car is dead and I had my phone do an emergency SOS so it sent her my location. I continued to babble on hysterically while my friend did her best to locate me.

I told her I might walk to the gas station bc I felt like it was only a matter of time before someone ran into my little car with no lights. My phone then promptly went dead.

Looking back, as scary as it was this was probably for the best. I do my best work when no one is relying on me.

I ran through the possibilities in my mind.

Leave my car and go to the gas station? Maybe they have a charger for my phone, or maybe they'll let me borrow a phone. But it is late and I'd be a young woman visibly alone with a dead phone. Who knows how that could go.

Okay, stay in my car? No headlights, no hazard lights, no streetlights illuminating my car. I could easily get hurt. No phone so I can't update anyone. No, staying in place doesn't improve the situation at all.

Sit on the church lawn under the one light they have and hope my parents or friend show up before any potential axe murderers passing by? Pros: I'd be more visible. Cons: I'd be more visible. Eh.... maybe I'll try this one first.

I vaguely remember buying a set of caution lights the last time my car's battery died a few years ago. Omg, I think a little excited at the prospect of actually needing something I bought for once, I've gotta try those out!

I also remembered throwing them in my trunk the last time I cleaned my car out. Fuck. I'd have to risk being hit to get them, but it'd be for the best if I did.

I wait until there are no cars coming from either direction and get out. I manually unlock my trunk and start digging around. No lights, no lights, no lights, good god why don't I ever clean this shit out this is so fucking stupid omg the lights!!!

It occurs to me as I'm opening the little bag containing the lights that. Oh shit. I've changed the batteries on these things once and that was at least.... 2 years ago. Oh fuck. Please work, please work, please work.

I press the button on one light. It works!!! Only. Huh. It's a bit dim. Will anyone see this? I press another light's on button. Nothing. Oh fuck me. Why didn't I ever change the batteries regularly???? I'm too fucking complacent.

I put the one, very dim, probably dying light on my rear bumper and hope to anything listening that it'll do the job. I get my purse, phone, and keys out of my car and head for the church lawn.

I don't stay there long. Too many passing cars that I don't recognize and it makes me nervous. From my experience, a lot of people who stop and ask if you're okay are super nice. But my phone's dead and I left my mace back in the salon, so I'd rather not take any chances. I decide to just head over to the gas station and hope it's safer than being out in the open.

It was. I walked in and resolved myself to not cry. Just politely ask for a phone or charger and wait until someone rescued me.

That didn't last long. I got up to the counter and explained my problem to the man and asked if I could borrow a phone. He agreed so kindly and quickly that it brought tears to my eyes immediately and my voice went all wobbly. I didn't realize til then how much I was expecting a flat out "no."

I called my mom, her number being the only one I know by heart, and filled her in on the situation. Yes, I was safe, I'm in a gas station across from a church, no I don't know the church's name, here's the gas station's name, no I don't know the street address, no I haven't called the cops, do I need to? Oh okay. Okay. Yeah. Okay bye.

I try to hand the phone back and promised I'd buy something as a thank you and he turned me down. Told me to grab a beverage, on him, and sit down. Keep his phone as long as I needed it. I turned down the drink, he'd helped me so much already just letting me use his phone, but thanked him profusely and agreed to keep his phone a little longer.

I sat down and called the non-emergency police line to see if they could send someone out to put up cones or something for my car. I was told "oh no honey we don't do that. Here. Call this number." Okay thanks. Hang up. Dial the new number.

"Mmmm, yeah, we don't do that either. I can connect you to highway patrol?" I mean I fucking guess. I've spent damn near 10 minutes trying to connect to the right departments and giving all my information out again, but whatever.

And then my best friend walks in 💕

Immediately, I'm unable to hold it together. I burst into tears. She rushes over and holds my hand while sitting with me. Her mom shows up not even a minute later and I'm just in hysterics and the highway patrol dispatcher finally comes on the line but I'm sobbing too hard to say anything so the lady that transferred me had to give her all the information and I can finally hang up and give the nice man his phone back.

He asks me if I need anything else but I'm still crying pretty hard so I can only hope he understood me when I said no thank you.

My friend and her mom celebrate finding me with the absolute shit directions I gave and I can finally laugh because yeah they sucked pretty bad and I'm so sorry for all this blah blah

Her mom says something about angels and luck and I'm like fuck it I'm gonna buy a lottery ticket. Maybe this all means something. So my friend and I both buy lottery tickets in hopes we can change our lives and we promise the man if we win he'll get his fair share.

We go outside and my parents pull up and everything feels okay for the first time in nearly 2 hours. There's a lot of run-around, looking for jumper cables and flares or something. It takes the cops another hour to show up, and the eventual tow truck yet another hour.

$700+ of my savings later, I'm back home. My car will hopefully run again. If not. Well. That's a bridge to cross another day, I guess. For now I'm just grateful to be home and alive and know that I'm loved enough for people to hunt me down in the dead of night with shitty directions and coordinates that are off by a couple of miles.

[bibitches-r-us]

Crossed A Line (Pete Davidson x reader)

A/N: we're just jumping right into it because I don't know how to start this imagine, lol. Also, John is John Mulaney, but it felt weird saying, "my best friend John Mulaney, so I just said, John!

Warning: arguments/fighting

"I never fucking said that, Pete!" You yelled, pulling at your hair, frustrated that words were being put in your mouth. You two had been at each other's throats since you both got home; you were tired from a busy day on set, and his mom was probably ready to kill both of you so that she could sleep. "Yes, you did! You said that your sketch idea was a million times better than mine! I heard you talking to Lorne!Just tell the truth for once! You're just upset because your sketches have been shitty lately!" He yelled back, rolling his eyes. This pushed you over the edge. "Fuck this. I'm going to bed." You mumbled, turning on your heel and walking towards the door.

You figured you'd sleep in the guest room tonight, and you'd talk about it in the morning. "Oh my fuckin' god. Of course, you're giving up. When things get hard, you push everyone away! I swear you're worse than Ariana." This stopped you in your tracks. Worse than Ariana? The woman who broke his heart so bad that he had a public breakdown? You turned to look at him, tears threatening to fall. "Really?" You whispered, your voice cracking. He flinched slightly, hearing the change in your voice, but he held his ground, still too tired and pissed off to think straight. You silently walked over to your dresser, pulling out some clothes. Pete watched you, not quite comprehending what was happening yet. You stuffed everything into a bag and grabbed your charger from the outlet in the wall, still silent. You had nothing to say. As you walked towards the door, Pete snapped out of his state. He grabbed your wrist. "Babe, wait, hold up. I'm sorry, I-" You turned to cut him off, tears falling freely down your face. "Don't, Pete. Just don't." You yanked your wrist out of his grasp and walked out the door. You choked back a sob as you got into your car and left.

You numbly drove to one place you knew you were always welcome, no matter the time or reason. After the fourth knock on his door, John sleepily opened his apartment door, clad only in boxers and a Georgetown shirt. When he saw the state you were in, sobbing and shaking, he woke up and pulled you into the apartment. After he shut the door, he pulled you into a hug. When you eventually stopped crying, he pulled away and grasped your shoulders. "What happened?" You tearfully explained everything that happened. "All he heard from my conversation with Lorne was that my sketch was about one topic, and Pete's was about another; I never said either one was better than the other, but he wouldn't listen to me." You sniffled, your tears threatening to start falling again at the thought of the whole situation. John sighed, shaking his head at the story he was just presented. "I'm sorry. You're nothing like Ariana. He'll realize that he fucked up sooner or later, and you two will work it out. You always do." You nodded. You still loved Pete. You still wanted to be with him, but the things he said hurt you, and you needed some time to think.

You stayed at John's the rest of the week, ignoring calls and texts from Pete. A week later, after you had called in sick that Saturday, Pete couldn't take it anymore. He called John.

"Pete?" "John, just tell me they're okay. Please. I'm going crazy over here." Pete begged. John hesitated, making Pete's heart drop. "I know I fucked up. I just need to know if they're okay. I'll leave them alone after that." He whispered. John told him to hold on and put his phone on the counter. Quickly walking to the guest room where you were holed up, he peaked his head in. You nodded as if to say, 'go ahead. "Pete wants to know that you're safe. What do you want me to tell him?" "Is he here?" "No, he's on the phone." You sat there for a second. "Can I talk to him?" "Are you sure?" You nodded. You followed him back to his kitchen, where Pete was still waiting patiently in line. You picked up the phone, taking a deep breath as you did so. "Pete?" Even over the phone, you could hear his breath catch in his throat. You heard John leave the room behind you. "Baby?" Pete whispered like he was going to scare you away. "Hi." "I-" You both started to speak at the same time. You both proceeded to do the awkward 'no you first' thing until he huffed. "Are you safe? You're okay with John, right?" He asked, and you couldn't help but feel butterflies. "Yea, I'm okay." There was an awkward silence until he spoke up again. "Would it be okay if I came to see you? I want to have this talk in person." He asked gently. "Yea, Pete, that's okay."

You heard a car door shut, and your anxiety kicked in a little bit more. John let him in and then excused himself from the room. Pete sat down on the opposite side of the sofa, looking like he hadn't slept much in the last week. "Hi." You breathed out, breaking the heavy silence. "I uh, I missed you." He admitted, scratching the back of his neck and looking down. "I'm really sorry about all of the shit that I said. Your sketches haven't been shitty lately, or ever for that matter. You're the most brilliant, funny, and most caring people I've ever met." He looked up, and your eyes met his brown ones. You could see tears starting to form in his eyes, and you could feel some forming in yours. He took a shuttering breath in. "I'm so sorry that I said you were like Ariana. You're nothing like her baby. She was hurtful and made me hate myself. You're brilliant, loving, and considerate, and you make me feel like a better person just by being around you. I should have never said that, and I'm so sorry." You took in his statements. "What you said stung Pete." You sighed. "I know, I'm a fucking idiot." He looked down. You inched closer to his side of the couch. You gently grabbed his hands, making him look up at you. "I can't fully forgive you yet, but I do still love you." You said. He nodded. You hesitated before pulling him into a hug. He hugged you tightly, almost crushing you. You immediately melted into him. You pulled back just enough to capture his lips in a gentle kiss.

It would take some time to get back to normal, but the two of you grew stronger from this experience.

BONUS:

Hearing a cough, the two of you pull apart. John is in the doorway, smirking. "If the two of you are about to engage in make-up sex, can you do that back at your place? I like that couch and don't want to have to burn it."

[bunnygirlkate]

Truth or Dare: Tokoyami x reader

Genre: Fluff (but with sexually suggestive themes)

~1.9k words

Setting: you're in the UA dorms with the rest of your classmates just hanging around, watching videos, playing cards, etc. It's after dinner but too early for bed.

"Guuuyysss! I'm so boorrreeddd" groans Mina. I wanna play a game, something we can all play!

"I'm down for a game, what should we play?" asks Sero. "How about truth or dare?" says Mineta, with an eyebrow raised and that annoying sexually suggestive tone in his voice. Tsu, Ochaco, and Jiro scoff at him, knowing he's thinking something perverted. "Actually… that’s not a bad idea, it could be fun" Mina says. Mineta nods and smirks. He's about to say something but Ochaco jumps in first:

"I’m fine with that, but only if we play a pg-13 version…". 

Everyone in the common area shrugs in agreement, with the exception of Mineta who looks defeated.

 "I'm not usually one to take part in such social games, however, I've got nothing better to do since Shoji and I ran out of card games. I shall join just this once" says Tokoyami.

You like the idea of playing truth or dare, but you're a little nervous. You have a secret crush on Tokoyami. You two have been in the same class for a while but it wasn’t until recently that you started developing a crush on him after you two were paired up for an assignment. To avoid any awkwardness, you try to hide your feelings from him and your other classmates. You're afraid of someone asking you a truth or daring you to do something that would make you look foolish in front of him. Nevertheless, you join the circle with your classmates to play the game. Since there was so many of you (pretty much the whole class), the circle was fairly big.

"Alright" Mina says, clapping her hands together once to get everyone's attention. "Here's how we'll do this… I'll be the host, which means that I'll be asking the questions or giving out dares, but you're welcome to speak up if you come up with a really good truth or dare for someone. Once you receive your truth or dare, you must go through with it! No changing your mind or chickening out! And as Ochaco said before, everything has to be pg-13." Everyone glares at Mineta and Denki who are sitting next to each other in the circle, quietly plotting loopholes through the pg-13 rule. Everyone then nods in agreement to the rules.

Mina goes around the circle asking each person "Truth or Dare" first is Ochaco. She picks truth and Mina asks her who she thinks has the lamest quirk in the class. She's reluctant to respond in fear of hurting anyone's feelings, but eventually she reveals that she thinks Aoyama's quirk is the lamest. Mina quickly goes through Hagakure, Momo, Iida, and Jiro, who all pick truth. She gets to Denki and he's the first to be brave enough to pick dare. Before Mina can talk. Jiro asks her if she can offer the dare.

"Denki, I dare you to… charge my phone!" everyone laughs while Denki, looking very unamused, takes her phone and cord to charge it.

Bakugo is next and of course he picks dare. Instead of making him do something stupid, Mina dares him to 'smile like he means it'. Bakugo is irritated by the boring request and gives a sheepish, forced smile. "Jeez dude, is like you’ve never smiled before…" says Denki, with the phone cord still in his mouth. "shut up, phone charger! I know how to smile! … I just don’t want to". Responds Bakugo, muttering under his breath toward the end. Everyone lets out a soft chuckle.

Its Shoto's turn now and he chooses truth. Again, another student besides Mina offers up a question. 

"I got one for ya, Todoroki" says Denki. "you have to answer honestly. I'm sure we've all been wondering this… do the curtains match the drapes?"

"Hey! That’s not pg-13" yells Mina.

"It’s not like I’m asking him to show us!" says Denki! "It’s just a yes or no question." he smirks. 

"Fine, I'll allow it" says Mina as she crosses her arms.

Shoto stares at Denki for a few moments then responds "I don’t think I understand the question" 

"I believe he is asking about the interior design of your home." says Iida.

"No man, he's asking if the color of your pubes matches the hair on your head" explains Kirishima. 

Shoto blushes slightly and looks down to the floor. "I don’t know why you'd want to know that, but since I'm required to respond truthfully… my pubic hair is mostly white… I think there's a few strands of red hair" he says, still looking at the floor and rubbing his neck with his hand. 

"That was a bit more truth then I was asking for, but okay!" says Denki. 

Shoto looks around the circle to see averted eyes and slightly blushed cheeks (mostly from the girls).

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

Mina goes through a few more classmates before she gets to you. "Truth or Dare, Y/N?" 

"I'll try a dare" you say, after seeing that the previous dares weren't so bad and the truths were getting a bit to invasive for you.

"Sure thing, but I gotta be honest, I’m getting bored of my own prompts" Mina says, throwing in a fake a yawn. "I'm gonna give you something a little more…interesting." she says with a devilish look on her face as she stares you right in the eyes. 

Your brow starts to sweat as you become anxious at what she may ask you to do. "Y/N, I dare you… to kiss . your. crush. " she says, spacing out the words and saying them in a slightly melodic fashion.

Your face turns beet red as you realize, not only is she asking you to kiss someone (let along the person you like!), but she's also asking you to reveal your feelings to him and everyone watching. You look at her, your mouth open in surprise. 

"You have to do it! It’s in the rules!" Mina says. 

You look down at your lap, still beet red. "I know, I know" you respond. 

You pick your head up and purposely avoid eye contact with Tokoyami, who is sitting across from you in the circle. You and your classmates sat there in silence as you tried to figure out how you were going to do this in a way that was least awkward as possible. 

You finally say "Okay, I’ll do it. But I need everyone to close their eyes, actually, cover them with your hands too so I know nobody’s peeking. While your eyes are closed I'll walk over to the person and sit in front of them. Then I'll tell you when you can look… and that’s when I'll… kiss them…". 

You look around and everyone expresses understanding in some way. Some nod, some give a thumbs up, some say ok. You make sure everyone's eyes are covered. Before you stand up to make your way over to him, you look at Tokoyami covering his eyes with both hands, sitting cross legged, slightly slouched over. So many thoughts rush through your mind as you admire him from afar.

'I can’t believe I’m about to do this. He’s so cute. How do I kiss a beak? What if he doesn’t like me? What if he thinks it’s weird that I have a crush on him!? Oh my god I can’t do this. Ugh. No. I just have to get this over with'

You finally stand up, making your way over to Tokoyami slowly and quietly so that your classmates can’t use their other senses to try and guess where you are. You quietly sit down in front of him, trying to keep your breathing light so he doesn’t sense you're there until your ready. You look at him with his eyes still covered, admiring his appearance up close. You want him to know you're there before everyone else sees. So before you tell everyone to open their eyes, you gently reach up to touch his hands that are resting on his face. His hands twitch slightly, probably because he's surprised that his hands are being touched, or surprised that your sitting in front of him. 

You take his hands into yours and move them away from his face. He opens his eyes, blinking a few times, his beak slightly gaped open. He looks you in the eyes, they're wide with surprise. Your face is still red, but you offer him a small smile. 

"Ok, you all can open your eyes now" you say.

Everyone eagerly looks toward the direction of your voice. Some look surprised, others express a mix of joy and awe. "I knew it!" Mina exclaimed. 

'So this was just a set up, huh?' You think to yourself. 

Tokoyami clears his throat "Y/N, you must be mistaken, I think you’ve got the wrong person…" he says. A bit of confidence flowed through you as you said

"No, I think I've got just the right guy.”

Someone in the circle begins chanting. "kiss, kiss, kiss!" Your eyes meet his again, silently asking for consent. Tokoyami nods to express consent, though still looking surprised. Your hand reaches up to caress and hold underneath of his beak (where his chin would be). As your face moves closer and closer to his, you both close your eyes, and you plant a firm yet gentle kiss on the tip of his beak. It was a bit more then than a peck, lasting about 3 seconds. Everyone cheers.

You end the kiss and take your hand away from his face. Tokoyami looks a bit flustered, its difficult to see him blushing, but you notice that the base of his beak is a bit brighter and slightly more orange. "I'm truly honored, Y/N" Tokoyami says in his deep voice. You give him another small smile, then make your way back to you empty spot on the other side of the circle.

The game goes on, you and Tokoyami share glances every now and then as other students answer their truths or perform their dares. Once Tokoyami's turn came around, he chose truth. 

"Tell us Tokoyami, who do you have a crush on?" asks Mina.

You were partially excited for him to say he has a crush on you, but you were also prepared to have your heart broken. There were so many other people at this school, he could have a crush on any one of them, and you two only had one true close interaction a few weeks ago.

"Well…" Tokoyami started "I'm not really the type to possess a crush on someone, but ever since I got to this school there's someone I've had my sights on". 

You listen with anticipation as he drags out his answer.

"and now I've realized that the feeling is mutual". He says, finishing his statement and giving you a short and flustered glance. 

Your heart filled with joy, although he didn’t directly answer the question by saying your name, you know he was talking about you. Many others in the circle didn’t understand, thus sitting in silence and confusion. Suddenly, Dark Shadow pops out and yells "He likes Y/N!" the class cheers for both of you again as you sit on opposite sides of the circle looking equally happy and embarrassed.

Authors Note: This is my first time writing anything like this, actually my first time writing fiction! I hope it’s acceptable.you can give feedback if you’d like.