#oh maybe he just wanted to be close to home to deal with fizzy stuff or somethng

[statementlou]

hello :) could you maybe explain a little bit how dan wootton blackmailed louis?

ugh sorry for taking a while to get to this. The problem is I feel like the only two ways to answer this are by spending a week and a half of full time labor sifting through old posts and evidence to get every detail right and lay out an airtight case, or to halfass something very serious, and so I felt a little stuck. So since I can't seem to find a good halfway point, apologies but here is the half assed version, if you want to get into it more I invite you to do your own deep dive or talk to other people, but here's how I remember things. Louis has almost never on video explicitly said things about Larry not being real and/or anything negative about fans and their theories (mostly the opposite), up until the last couple years when he obviously decided to make a major change he didn't talk about Freddie much at all let alone saying he was his kid, honestly not that much about Eleanor even; except for in two major interviews with Dan Wootton, each of which lined up with a serious traumatic Tomlinson family event that they managed to keep out of the tabloids until the very end (Jay's illness and Fizzy's struggles with substance abuse). After the fact of those events a lot of small things that didn't make sense at the time came together to look very much like Louis traded those interviews (and those answers) for having his family's private matters kept private. Story trading of this kind is a publicly known real thing that happens, and there were various clues that suggested he was being leaned on about those stories to lend legitimacy to the idea that it was something that happened in these cases. Given what we know about Dan Wootton and how he operates even before the recent flood of information and even more now, I think it's more than likely that he has been holding the threat of outing Louis (as he has done to many other public figures) over his head for over a decade, and has used his family's tragic struggles to get Louis to dance like a fucking puppet for him and I will REJOICE at his downfall when it comes whether it is now or 20 years from now... because someday it will, he has made too many enemies to stay above it forever

[jenoismydad]

2 + 3 = You In Me

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Pairing: Tutor!Jaemin x Fem!Reader

Genre: Smut (pwp), Slight Angst, College AU

Words: 4.6k+

Warnings: 18+ content. Unprotected sex.

Synopsis: He agrees to tutor you and you end up becoming good friends even though you both so clearly want to be more. What happens when you let you bodies talk for you?

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Jaemin was coming over to help you prepare for a test. You had no clue how he'd agreed to assist you, but you were thankful nonetheless. Jaemin rarely ever studied with girls. Mostly because they were always hitting on him. But it seemed you were an exception. You wondered why but you figured it was because he was trying to make some extra money.

Yes, Jaemin made you pay him. He made everyone pay him so you didn't think too much of it. From what you'd heard, his methods never failed to prove effective. You hoped he could help you study well enough to pass this test. After all, a majority of your grade depended on it.

You'd spent a good amount of your time trying to prepare a nice study space for you both to sit at in your apartment. So far you'd only managed to clean your coffee table and place two cushions for seats at its feet.

Jaemin would be here any minute. You rushed to get everything you'd need for the day, wanting to keep it all ready so that you wouldn't have to interrupt the study session. Your bell rang not soon after. He was here on time.

Opening the door, you welcomed him with a smile. He nodded and entered without a word. Black track pants and a plain white shirt. Jaemin hadn't made much of an effort to dress to impress. He ventured into your dorm, looking around the place silently.

That's when he came across your makeshift study zone. He pointed at it and looked at you.

"We're studying here," he asked, placing his hands in his pockets. He sounded a tad bit dejected. Your eyes widened slightly in panic. Was he not comfortable with sitting on the floor? "Yeah, I figured. Is there a problem," you asked, fearing the worst for no reason. Jaemin shook his head. "Nope, I just thought we were gonna sit in your room. That's where most of the girls take me anyways," he revealed, flashing you a small grin. You immediately felt at ease.

"My room's kind of a mess at the moment," you admitted, joining him near your couch. He took a seat on the floor, placing the cushion behind his back instead. He cleaned his black-rimmed glasses and patted the space next to himself. "Let's get started."

Jaemin was a pro at breaking down the complex concept so that your pea-sized brain could understand it to the fullest. The only drawback with that method was that it took much longer than you'd like it to. Two hours later you'd only finished one of the chapters that would be coming for the test. You still had four more to go.

"Fuck it's already three o'clock," you complained, falling dramatically on the coffee table. Jaemin flipped his pen in his fingers and stretched his body with a yawn. "I don't mind staying overtime," he joked. He'd made a lot of humoring comments during your time with him. The last you'd heard, he tended to be quite serious, never straying from his purpose. Not that you minded or anything, but Jaemin wasn't really meeting the expectations everyone had set for him in your mind. Maybe they were just trying to intimidate you.

"Don't you have to study too," you asked, turning your head to glance at him. He looked at you and shook his head. "I already studied beforehand. Plus, this test's gonna be super easy. You pass it with a breeze," he admitted. As relieving as that sounded, you didn't wanna take any chances. What if he flunked the test because he didn't revise or something. You really didn't want to be the person he blamed when that happened.

"You don't have to stay for my sake. You can go home if you want to. I think I can manage on my own now." you flipped through the pages of your coursebook, sighing in despair. It was a lot to go through. At least you still had half the day left.

Jaemin folded his arms. "Don't worry about me y/n. Not to undermine you, but I don't think you can get through all of this by yourself. I mean, you barely managed to understand the basics. All those chapters just branch off from this one and get increasingly tough to learn."

If this was him trying to convince you to let him stay then it sure as hell was working. You groaned and sat back up. "You promise you won't fail the test because of me then?" Jaemin chuckled. "Of course not. I'll pass with flying colors."

So you resumed studying. Jaemin was right. What he taught you next was more confusing than the first chapter you'd covered. You regretted not paying attention during your lectures. Jaemin never got impatient with you. In fact, he took ample time to make sure you understood everything he explained to you. He was very thorough and you appreciated that. However the more knowledge you absorbed, the more exhausted you felt. It got to the point where you felt like you couldn't study any further. Jaemin then suggested that you take a small break. You couldn't have agreed faster.

"Once we're done you should go through the practice questions that I emailed you," Jaemin reminded, taking a sip of the soda you'd offered him. You gave him a thumbs up and fell on the ground. "You're a lifesaver Na Jaemin."

Jaemin chuckled and turned to you. "I'm guessing it's not just math that you're having a problem with."

You raised your head and narrowed your eyes at him. "Nicely deduced."

"We can get together to study together for your other subjects if you don't mind. No need to pay me either," he offered.

You furrowed your brows. "Jaemin the longer you spend teaching me the dumber you're gonna get."

He brushed you off. "I'm pretty sure it doesn't work like that."

"You never know, and besides, after today you should know that it's gonna take five hundred years to clear all my concepts. Do you even have that kind of time?"

Jaemin tilted his soda can at you. "You'd be surprised at how much free time I have on my hands."

You smiled. "Wait so you're actually agreed to be my personal tutor."

Jaemin rolled his eyes amusedly. "It was my proposition but yes. I wouldn't be your personal tutor though. Just a study partner."

You sat up and leaned back. "So like, studying in the library after class and stuff like that?"

He nodded. "If the library's closed we can come here or I can take you to my place."

You pursed your lips, considering his deal. But something paused your train of thoughts. "Wait a minute. Why are you asking me this all of a sudden? You hardly seem like the type of guy who'd study with someone else."

Jaemin downed his drink, wincing at the fizziness that clawed at his throat. "I've had fun studying with you so far. Like, you're genuinely dumb, unlike some other people I tutor who just pretend to be dumb so they can spend a few hours with me."

You raised a brow. Had he just called you dumb? "I'll try not to take offense, thank you very much."

Jaemin apologized with a laugh.

"Does it make you feel smarter in some type of way," you asked? Jaemin hummed in response. "It kinda does now that you mention it. But I also feel like it would help me revise and clear my own concepts at the same time."

That made sense. "Damn, and here I was thinking you wanted to do this cause you were interested in me."

Jaemin's eyes widened. You raised your hands in defense. "It's just a joke. Don't take it seriously," you assured. Jaemin relaxed at that.

"Let's get started again. We're almost halfway there," he said, changing the topic. You agreed and sat beside him again, pen in hand, ready to go.

_

You walked out of your lecture with a bright smile on your face and headed straight to the library. Sure enough, Jaemin was already sitting there, waiting for you patiently. You sent him a small wave and skipped over to him. Handing him your graded test paper, you watched excitedly as his eyes lit up.

"Oh my god. You passed!"

You squealed and sat next to him, placing your bag near your feet. Jaemin smiled up at you. "This is such a good score," he added, glad that he'd been able to help.

"Henceforth we're studying together for every single test. I don't care if you're sick or at a friend's house."

Jaemin laughed and nodded. "Sure thing. If it means seeing you this happy then I'm down."

You froze at his words, glancing towards him. He clearly didn't seem to realize what he'd just said. Maybe you'd heard wrong. It was possible. After all, he was whispering. You didn't exactly have the best track record when it came to listening anyways. Concluding that you were mistaken, you pulled out your books and got to finishing up your assignments.

A few hours later Jaemin and you exited the library. You both usually parted ways since your dorms were in the opposite direction. However today, Jaemin followed behind you.

"What are you doing," you asked when he jogged up next to you. "We should celebrate your achievement today," he suggested. That sounded nice. "Okay then, what do you propose we should do?"

Jaemin pondered on your question. "Let's go to the cafe. I'll buy you coffee and anything else you want."

Coffee was perfect. You nodded and agreed. Jaemin grinned and led you to a small cafe that was just a little outside campus.

You both entered the small shop, the tantalizing scent of coffee hitting your senses immediately. Even though it was almost lunchtime, the cafe was brimming with multitudes of students. Luckily, the queue was short.

"Go find us somewhere nice to sit. I'll buy us some drinks," Jaemin said, pulling out his phone. Before you left, you let him know what you'd like.

Venturing to the back of the cafe, you found a secluded booth for two. It faced a large window, one that gave a fantastic view of the campus. You took a seat and placed your bag next to you. After a couple minutes of waiting, Jaemin emerged with your drinks in hand. He handed you yours before sitting down.

"Iced Americano? I see you're into the classics," you chimed, deciding to spark up a conversation. Jaemin took a sip of his drink. "Simple is the best after all."

Of course, it was. "Hey Jaemin," you started, setting your drink down on the table. He hummed. "Do you wanna come over later today," you asked. Jaemin furrowed his brows. "But we already finished studying."

You shook your head. "Not to study. Let's hang out, maybe watch a movie or something like that."

He seemed a bit taken aback, but nothing too alarming. It was just that you two never really did anything other than study together. Sure enough, you'd become close because of it. But you figured as friends, there were other things you could engage in to pass the time.

"Let's do it. What time should I come over," Jaemin asked? "Does seven work for you? I'll order pizza, so you don't need to worry about dinner."

Jaemin nodded. "Seven works for me."

_

As soon as the clock struck seven, there was a knock on your door. The ever punctual Jaemin would never be a second late. You let him in, eager to get your night started. He walked into your dorm and went straight to your room, plopping down on your bed as if it were his own.

You'd already been browsing on Netflix, wondering what genre he liked. It had never come up in conversation before so you didn't really know.

"What are we watching," he asked, scrolling through the options. You shrugged and joined him on your bed. "I'm not sure. I didn't know what you like," you admitted.

"I usually just watch whatever's in the top ten or 'new this week'," he shared. He stopped at a movie you would never have believed he'd be interested in.

"You wanna watch Yes Day," you asked in disbelief? Jaemin giggled and nodded innocently. "It looks super lame but I've already finished watching everything," he revealed. Here you were thinking you both would watch something more serious instead of a family movie. Instead of spending forty minutes trying to settle on one movie, you decided it best to just go with the first choice.

Jaemin started the movie and leaned back beside you. It was quiet between you both for the most part. You watched the movie in silence. It wasn't as entertaining as you'd thought it would be, but Jaemin seemed to be engrossed in it so you chose to say nothing and continued staring at the screen.

Halfway into the movie, Jaemin stifled a yawn and fell to the side, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He looked at you and pointed to the screen. "Are we gonna keep watching this?"

You let out a breath of relief and exited out of the movie once and for all. "If you didn't like it why'd you make me watch it," you complained, shutting your laptop. Jaemin sat up and crossed his legs. "I thought you were enjoying it. You even laughed at the funny parts."

You stuck your chin out. "You should know what my fake laugh sounds like by now Jaemin." He raised his hands in defense. "The only time I hear you laugh is when you realize you're doing something wrong."

You tsked. "That's called nervous laughter genius. You suck at interpreting emotions."

He hit you with a pillow softly. "Hey, stop making me out for a robot."

"You're the human embodiment of the AI," you joked, dodging the pillow he swung at you. Raising your hands in defense, you shielded yourself from him. "At least I said you're intelligent."

Jaemin paused his attacks. "You're lucky I think you're cute. I'll let you off the hook for now."

You had another one of those moments where you froze, wondering if the words that had come out of his mouth were true or not. He didn't whisper this time. You'd heard everything word for word. But you couldn't believe it.

"Did you just call me cute?"

Jaemin nodded, not seeming too surprised about it. "You aren't not cute," he added. Maybe you were misinterpreting the meaning behind it. Friends called friends cute. It was normal. That didn't mean that they liked each other, did it?

Noticing the conflict in your expression, Jaemin leaned forward and cleared his throat. "I didn't mean it in an 'I have a crush on you' type of way."

Something about that made your stomach churn. You felt uneasy all of a sudden. You wanted to be relieved, that he didn't think of you as more than a friend. But a part of you wished he felt otherwise. You didn't know why, it just did.

You chuckled awkwardly and faced him. "Yeah, of course, you didn't. I don't know why I thought that."

Jaemin hummed and rested his chin on his palm. "Maybe because you wanted it to be true."

"Huh?"

"Maybe you wanted me to tell you that I like you."

You didn't know what to say to that. So you just smiled awkwardly. "But you don't, do you?"

Jaemin grinned. "Do you want me to?"

"No! Of course not, why would I-"

"I'm just messing with you y/n. Don't worry, we're just friends," he assured, finding you getting alarmed quite amusing. You hit his shoulder. "Don't joke around like that. Who knows what might happen."

Jaemin's laughter died down. He met your gaze sombrely. You knew he wanted to say something, but he remained silent. His eyes traveled down to your lips for a moment. You sucked in a breath, suddenly feeling giddy. Jaemin looked back into your eyes, this time with a small smile. You didn't know what he was doing. You also didn't know if you liked it or not. Your mind said one thing and your body said another. Jaemin subtly licked his lips. You had no clue why the action had such a devastating effect on you.

Before you knew it, your lips were on his. Jaemin didn't seem surprised at all. In fact, he relaxed and snaked his arm around your waist, pulling your body onto his. He fell back on your mattress, bringing you on top of him. Straddling his lap, you placed your hands on either side of his head, kissing him with vigor. Jaemin groaned against your mouth, the sound sending warm shivers down your back. His lips were softer than you thought they'd be and he tasted faintly of coffee.

His hands slipped under your shirt, resting on your skin. His touch felt fiery hot. You rolled your hips over his lap impulsively, biting his both lip as a throaty groan left his mouth. He squeezed your waist and trailed his hands down to your ass.

Before things could escalate, however, your bell rang. You both stilled, separating from each other. When your eyes met, you scrambled off of him and sat at the edge of your bed, completely stunned. Jaemin rubbed his face and sat up as well, not really knowing what to say. The bell rang again, snapping you out of your daze. "I'll go get that," you muttered disorientedly, leaving Jaemin in your room. He nodded and stood up. "Actually, I'm gonna go," he said, leaving your room before you could say anything. You heard the door open and shut soon after. Your bell rang again.

You went to open your door. A delivery guy stood before you, hands empty with a confused look on his face. "The guy that just left took the pizza with him. He said that you'd pay for it." You couldn't believe it. Nonetheless, you paid the man and shut your door. What had just happened?

_

A few days passed after the incident at your dorm. Jaemin hadn't called or texted you and in all honesty, you hadn't made an attempt to contact him. You felt too embarrassed to face him. After all, it was you who'd gone onto him. Even if he didn't push you away it wasn't like either of you had agreed to start making out. You were anxious because you knew you'd ruined your friendship with him.

A part of you missed him. You enjoyed spending time with him, even though all you did was study. Everything was so bleak now that he wasn't around to humor you.

You didn't want to regret whatever had happened that night. It was amazing. You just wished it hadn't ended the way it did. You should have understood that he indeed was joking. Instead, you mistook his prodding for sarcasm.

It made no sense for you to not speak to him. You wanted to make amends, figure out what had gone wrong. But you were scared he'd ignore you. That would just make you feel worse than you already did.

So you passed the days, wafting in your own misery. Pitying yourself as if the entire weight of the world had been thrown on your shoulders.

Little did you know that all it would take was another shitty test score for you to pick up your phone and call Jaemin.

"Help me study," you said as soon as he answered the call. Jaemin was silent on the other end. "Don't just listen to me. Say something," you begged. Your heart felt heavy. You heard him sigh. "I'd rather not y/n." You got goosebumps. "Jaemin, please. We can go to fucking library if that makes you feel better," you suggested, desperate for him to agree. After giving it some thought he finally answered you. "Okay fine. Tomorrow at three. But no longer than three hours."

He hung up, leaving you feeling a tad bit better. You looked forward to the next day. Hopefully, he wouldn't act indifferent to you.

_

Jaemin sat in your usual spot at the library. He was on his phone, leg crossed over his lap leisurely. You walked up to him and took a seat beside him without a word. Seeing you had arrived, he put his phone away and turned to you. "What are we studying?"

You took out your books and opened them. "This."

Jaemin glanced over the material. No wonder you'd flunked your test. He sighed, placing the textbook between you two. Without wasting a second, he began tutoring you.

No matter how hard you tried, you just couldn't pay attention. You were too busy staring at his face, more specifically his lips. They way he'd lick them ever so often made butterflies soar in your stomach. He'd run his hand through his fluffy hair and adjust his glasses, letting your mind run wild. Jaemin didn't seem to notice your lack of focus. You figured he didn't really care. He kept glancing at his watch. It was like he was waiting for your time with him to come to an end.

Much to your dismay, eventually it did.

"I'll send you a picture of some practice material. You can use that to prepare better," he concluded, getting up from his seat. You quickly stuffed your books in your bag and ran after him.

"Jaemin wait!"

He paused. "What," he asked as he turned around. He sounded disinterested. "Can we talk," you asked? Jaemin sighed and shrugged. "What do you wanna talk about," he questioned, placing his hands in his pockets. "About what happened at my place last week."

Jaemin tensed up. "It was a mistake. I think we both understood that."

You shook your head. "I don't know Jaemin, I'm not sure I did."

He furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?"

"The more I thought about it the more I realized that I wouldn't have kissed you unless I wanted to. Not just that but you wouldn't have let it go so far if you thought it was wrong."

He seemed at a loss for words.

"When you called me cute, you did mean it in an 'I have a crush on you' type of way." You didn't need an answer for him to know you were correct.

"What are you trying to say y/n," he asked, sounding defeated.

"That I like you," you admitted. Jaemin's eyes widened. "And that you like me too," you added.

Jaemin bit his lip. "Okay, so then why were we acting like we hated each other for so long?"

You shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe because you overthink everything and I'm a big pussy."

Jaemin chuckled and slung his arm around your shoulder. "I'm sorry about that babe."

You cringed at the nickname. "Don't 'babe' me. We're not dating. Not yet."

Jaemin rolled his eyes. "Does it really need to be that formal?"

You nodded adamantly. "Of course it does."

He sighed. "Fine. Will you go out with me y/n?"

You smiled and shook your head. "I'd rather not Jaemin."

"Yeah whatever," he said with a scoff, leading you outside.

_

As soon as you were past your door Jaemin's lips were on yours in an instant. He pushed you against the wall, wrapping your legs around his waist. You held onto his shoulders, sighing into his mouth. "I missed you so fucking much," he muttered, stumbling to your room.

He dropped you on your bed and hovered over you, staring down at you somberly before kissing you again. His lips didn't stay on yours for too long, trailing down to your jaw and then your neck. You tugged at his shirt, urging him to take it off. When he did, you stared at his chiseled body in awe. "I didn't know you worked out."

Jaemin chuckled at your comment and pulled your own shirt off. He flicked the tiny bow on your bra with an amused grin. "This is cute."

You nudged his arm timidly. "I wasn't exactly preparing myself for this moment."

He said nothing further and latched his lips to your neck once again. Running your fingers through his hair, you craned your neck to the side to give him more access. He gently sucked on your skin, not too harsh that it would leave marks. You sighed and fiddled with the waistband of his sweatpants. "Do you want it off," he asked quietly, lips ghosting over yours. You nodded, biting your lip when he pushed his pants down.

His member came into sight, making your mouth water.

Taking your hand in his, he brought it to his cock. Your fingers wrapped around his girth instinctively. Jaemin suck in a breath as he made you stroke his length. His hand slipped past your panties, fingers toying with your clit. You gasped and spread your legs wider, loving the way his calloused fingertips felt. Tightening your grip around his cock, you jerked him off earnestly. In turn, Jaemin began rubbing quick circles into your sensitive bundle of nerves.

Letting go of his member, you hastily pushed your pants down your legs. Jaemin peeled your panties off of you, marveling at the sight of your glistening pussy. "Don't just stare," you complained, shutting your legs, "do something."

Jaemin wordlessly, spread your legs apart and settled down between your thighs. He glanced up at your through his lashes, asking for permission before licking a stripe up your folds. You pushed your hips against his mouth, eyes falling shut when he repeated the action. Holding onto your thighs, he nipped and sucked at your clit, groaning every time your bucked your hips into his face. You gripped onto his hair, tugging at his roots. Jaemin's fingers prodded at your slit, slowly entering your walls. He curled them up, making your arch your back in delight. It felt so good. He knew exactly what he was doing.

With his tongue skillfully moving over your clit and his fingers continuously pumping in and out of you, it didn't take long for you to feel a familiar knot in your stomach. You sat up, pulling his mouth off of your cunt. "I need you to fuck me now." Your voice was hushed, breathless because of how much you'd moaned. Jaemin's eyes had darkened considerably. He pushed you down on your back again and pressed his tip to your entrance.

Jaemin felt bigger than he looked. Not that you were complaining or anything, it just took a while to get used to. He made sure you were comfortable before slowly starting to pound into you.

You grabbed his arms as he fastened his pace, head falling back in ecstasy. Shallow breaths left his parted lips. "You feel so good," he muttered, burying his face in the crook of your neck. His breath was hot on your skin. You wrapped your arms around his neck, humming in response. You were close. Jaemin could tell.

Gripping onto your waist, he went faster, slamming his cock into you as he chased your highs. You cried out his name, squeezing your eyes shut. Your walls clenched tightly around his length, your orgasm crashing down on you intensely. Soon enough, he twitched inside you. His thighs stilled, hips snapping into you one last time before thick ropes of his cum shot into your walls. He let out a pleased groan, voice deep and raspy.

"That was amazing," you breathed, pushing your hair out of your face as Jaemin moved off of you. He smiled and tugged his pants back on, joining you under the covers. "I'm glad you enjoyed it." Jaemin pulled you into his side, letting you rest your head on his shoulder. You laughed to yourself. "What is it," Jaemin asked. You shook your head, looking at him. "To think this all started after you agreed to tutor me."

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tagging: @neosmutcollective @hoehousenet @kdiarynet @kafenetwork @nct-writers @ficscafe @whipped-kpop-creators @kpopscape

[hanii-rose]

•Because I can't send anon ask in askbox, can I submit it on here instead? So I have this thought:

Garou and the s/o were childhood friends but separated after Garou began to train himself in Bang's dojo. Now after Garou was defeated he comes to visit s/o's house for temporary hiding and also to rekindle their relationship.

Expect both of them getting closer after that. It mostly fluff sfw but you can throw some hot nsfw stuff for the thirst 🔥🔥

But can I request that the s/o is gender neutral, please? It's kinda sad that I rarely find a writing for gender neutral or male s/o, so I will be very grateful if you write the s/o as a gender neutral.

Thanks so much and have a nice day! ❤•

Yay another request ☺️ I tried to write reader as gender neutral, I'm not that great at it, but hopefully it's good enough to post haha

____________________________________

Reunited

Garou x GN! Reader

It had been a few weeks since Garou had inexplicably showed up at your front door, bruised and weakened. When you first saw him, you instantly recognized his signature hairdo and blazing gold orbs.

It was that kid from school! You occasionally played with him in your younger years, and the two of you had become particularly close, talking, pulling pranks and acting out other childish activities. But as you grew older, you focused more on your books and slowly started seeing less of him, ultimately drifting apart in highschool. You never saw him again, until two weeks ago that is.

After he came hobbling through your doorstep, you let him in, fed him and even bathed him. He took care of his own injuries and he's been staying with you ever since. You assumed he remembered you due to the fact that he called you by your name multiple times without you telling him. When you asked him why he showed up here and now, he explained his situation. His hero-hunting, the Monster Association, Bang's dojo and his pathetic defeat at the hands of a bald guy in a yellow jumpsuit. He told you he needed sanctuary for two or three months, at least until the search for him died down.

You understood his reasoning, albeit feeling a bit sad that he didn't come to you mainly to see you. Truth be told, you had developed quite a crush on the silver haired Adonis, even back then. But in the past, you were much too busy with your studies and his sudden disappearance left your desires unfulfilled. But now he was back, taller, stronger and much much more handsome. It reignited a little spark in your core and you constantly began to crave his touch and attention, often picturing him in the most lewd scenarios you could think of. You touched yourself so many times that you lost count. You tried not to most of the time, in hopes that he wouldn't notice your arousal. Little did you know that Garou was going through something similar.

>>

Presently, you had just returned home from work with a bag of store bought food. You hung your coat and scarf on the coat hanger and neatly discarded your black office shoes on the wooden shoe rack. You walked all the way to the kitchen, placed the bag of food down and rushed to the living room in hopes of finding your wolfish guest.

You walked in on him, shirtless, crouching on the floor and fiddling with something. His back displayed all of the hard work he had put into building himself these few years. Littered with bumps and crevices that most people could only dream of in their lifetime.

You, unbeknownst to him, gently pressed a finger down onto the back of his neck and slid downwards, following his spine to the middle of his gorgeous back. He visibly tensed and turned his head, staring deep into your curious eyes.

"You're back..." he stated, turning around and getting back to work.

"Yeah, had a long day today. What have you been up to?"

He shook his head softly and muttered, "Fixed yer damn side table. The wobbly piece of shit almost fell over when I walked by it."

You chuckled at his words while patting his defined shoulder and replied, "Well you're pretty nifty, aren't you? Maybe I'll keep you around longer, huh?"

He smirked and stood up straight, taut muscles glistened with sweat and biceps flexed as he scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, you'd like that wouldn't ya? A personal slave to do all of yer work for ya?"

You replied with an obnoxious 'MHMMM' and exited the living room, walking yourself to the kitchen.

Opening the fridge door, you grabbed the large 2 litre bottle of coke and two large sets of glasses and decorated them atop a tray.

Holding the tray and kicking the fridge door shut with your foot, you treaded back to the living area and set the tray down on top of your now fixed table.

"Sit down, I'll fix you a drink."

Garou complied, sitting himself comfortably on top of your black couch, the leather making scratching noises as he shifted around for the perfect spot.

"Thanks for the table. I've been trying to fix it for ages."

He nodded and grinned, "No big deal. It's the least I could do."

You sat down next to him on his right, leaned forward and poured the chilled coke into the two cups. Closing the cap, you handed him a glass and sipped on your own coke. You relaxed back into the couch, your shoulder brushing his ever so slightly as you unwinded. Work was getting frustrating, even for a desk job, not to mention your desires for the wolfish man would not relent, leading to many restless nights.

"This feels way too good." you lazily stated, stretching back and leisurely taking small sips from the cup.

"Yeah..." Garou agreed softly, his cup already empty.

You noticed the lack of substance in his hand and offered a refill.

"Hold your cup right. I'm gonna give you some more..."

You grabbed the large plastic bottle from the table and twisted the cap open, pouring carefully, a good enough amount of the sweet liquid.

Unbeknownst to you, Garou had outstretched his arm behind you, resting it at the headrest of the couch. His right knee brushed up against yours gently as he scooted closer to you, inhaling your intoxicating scent. Somehow, your smell was so much more stronger when you came home from work. He noticed it once, after you had accidentally bumped into him. And that unique smell drove him absolutely wild.

You turned back after filling his cup and placed the half empty bottle down. You again leaned back getting even more comfortable, somewhat leaning against him. From this position, he could trace your body through the white flimsy fabric of your office shirt.

It was turning him on more than anything.

He chugged his cup until it was completely empty, savouring every last drop of the fizzy drink. He placed his cup down and his now empty hand found purchase upon your clothed knee. His right arm still behind you, wrapped itself around your shoulder, trapping you.

"So tell me about work." he suggested, rubbing your tired shoulder.

"Oh my gosh, you have no clue how annoying some of my desk mates are!" you began.

"They constantly take things from my desk without asking and they are so unorganized, like at least learn to number your reports when you give em' to me, ya'know?"

He hummed and sighed with whatever you said, but honestly, he didn't give a crap about your asshole co-workers. Just let him stare at your stunning legs for a while longer. He could feel his cock twitching in his trousers, your lips trembled as you angrily ranted about your fellow employees. Those same lips he wanted to ravish with his own.

"-And then I said, I'm not going to your fuckin' baby shower and..." you suddenly quieted down.

Why was he staring at you like that?

"Umm Garou, you okay buddy...?"

He ignored your question again. He was so close, you could feel his breath on your cheek! You tried scooting away, but you were held in place by his left hand on your knee, gripping with force and his right arm wrapped around your shoulder.

You placed your palm on top of his hand and he snapped out of his trance, face red and pouting.

"... Is something wrong?"

He vigorously shook his head and scratched his cheek, the blush still faintly prominent under his chiseled cheekbones.

"Are you sure?" you asked, thoroughly concerned. You placed your open palm on his back and rubbed languidly, relenting your weight on top of his. Before you could get up from your position next to him, he yanked you downwards and you plopped down onto the couch, your back hitting the foam armrest.

"Yer so fuckin' sexy, ya'know that?" he asked, sounding somewhat angry.

"Huh?"

"I said, yer so fuckin' sexy. Such a fuckin' turn on!"

Before you could protest, he swiped his hand down your middle, swiftly popping off all of the buttons on your shirt and exposing your chest and stomach. You tried to push him off but to no avail.

"Garou! What are you doing?" you inquired, feeling absolutely embarrassed. Your cheeks dusted with red and you swallowed hard.

"Fuck... What the fuck am I doing?"

He sighed exasperatedly and got off of you. Standing up, he started walking towards the guest room, no doubt to put on his shirt and leave. But before he could turn the corner, you grasped his hand tight.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving. I shouldn't be around you anymore. I can't fucking control myself..." he replied, sweat dripping from his temple.

"What do you mean?"

You strutted closer to him, placing two hands on his bare chest.

"I like you, a lot. And I wanna fuck you all the time."

You were surprised, pleasantly. You giggled at his confession and leaned closer, almost falling on his hard chest.

Rubbing your hand down his stomach and over his delicious abs, you wiggled in his sight.

"I don't mind..." you spoke, tone awfully sly.

Your expression gave away your intentions and Garou found himself grasping your hips, bringing them closer towards his.

"Oh really?" he asked, equally mischievous.

You made a lusty 'mhmm' noise, confirming his suspicions.

Wrapping your arms around his neck, you leaned closer to his smirking face, and whispered, "I want to fuck you all the time too..."

"Fuck, yer such a tease!"

Giggling, you brought your mouth upto his and waited for him to place his on yours.

When your silent request was met, you closed your eyes and revelled in the passion.

He feverishly gripped your waist, slid his hand downwards, giving your ass a quick squeeze.

Breaking the kiss, he kept his face near yours, taking in your form.

"I've wanted to do that for so long..."

"Me too." you replied.

"So you wanna fuck me all the time too huh?" he asked.

"Yeah, you're the only one who can take my mind off of my demented office."

"Well then, should we get started?"

You nodded, lustfully looking into his eyes.

>>

Sitting down had become an issue for you these days. As the days progressed, so did your monster boyfriends hormones. But you two got by. You had to buy a new shirt though, and everyone at your office could tell you'd been fucked out of your mind. But nothing bothered you anymore, not even your moronic deskmates.

It seemed life had gotten better for the two of you, except for the severe back pain you had after Garou finished his dubious acts. Other than that you were fairly content with what you had right now.

[recurring-polynya]

can you please do a drabble where Renji is remembering his wild squad 11 style birthday party but then at the end once he finishes his flashback he’s celebrating his birthday in the present with Rukia and Ichika

“This is number 10,” Zaraki informed Renji, beady, bloodshot eye staring into beady, bloodshot eyes. “Not everyone makes it to ten.”

“I would stop after one,” Yumichika made his frowniest frowny face.

“You’re smarter than the rest of us,” Iba replied.

“I am ready,” Renji confirmed, gripping his cup as the Kenpachi filled it with sake from his “special stash.”

Renji had drunk a lot of horrible sake in his time. As it turned out, rotgut from deep North Rukongai had an entirely different flavor profile than the pigswill of his Southern youth. It hit you in the nose, rather than the ears, smelled more like a bog than an armpit, and the unpleasant aftereffects tended to come out the opposite end. On the other hand, bad sake was bad sake, and it was hardly a birthday without it.

“Kampei!” Renji and Zaraki shouted together, and down the hatch it went. Cheers went up around them.

“You’re a good man, Abarai,” Zaraki declared, standing up, and clapping him on the shoulder. “Happy birthday. I’m out. Yachiru! It’s bedtime!”

“Thank you, sir!” Renji hollered, far too loud, as Yachiru abandoned the bowl of wasabi peas she had been mainlining to hop onto the Kenpachi’s shoulder.

“Night, sir!” various members of Squad 11 chorused.

Zaraki was a good captain, Renji mused to himself, drunkenly. He showed up, drank enough to show that he cared, but then he took off, because no one really wanted to get birthday-wasted in front of their boss.

Birthdays at the Eleventh were very thoughtful affairs, in Renji’s opinion. First thing in the morning, you got to have a big public fight with anyone from the squad. Seated officers could choose to fight the big man, which, of course, he had. This year, he had made it 52 seconds, and was feeling very pleased with himself. He was given the rest of the morning off to nap, and then he got to run newb drills all afternoon. And now it was half past booze o’clock. A perfect end to a perfect day.

“I got you your favorite. Happy birthday, loser,” Iba announced, sliding a fizzy blue concoction bristling with fruit on toothpicks down the table.

“Maybe you should give him a chance to catch his breath,” Big Maki suggested. “Zaraki shots are no joke.”

“This is catching my breath,” Renji replied, fishing out a pineapple chunk and eating it. Iba always got him this tropical shit as a joke, and Renji always drank them, absolutely stonefaced, as though curly straws and paper umbrellas were just standard issue drinking equipment. The joke was on Iba, to be honest, these damn things were delicious.

“Where is the birthday booooooy?” a musical voice trilled.

Renji’s head whipped around, which immediately made him very dizzy. He waved his hand enthusiastically.

“Don’t get up,” Yumichika warned, standing and beckoning more staidly. “He’s over here! He’s pretty well soaked already.”

Suddenly, there was a shapely pair of arms wrapped around Renji’s neck, and a more sensuous than necessary kiss pressed into his cheek. “Happy birthday, cute stuff!” Matsumoto said throatily. “That’s a fancy drink, can I have some?”

“Get your own!” Renji crowed cheerfully.

“Ha, ha, I would never,” the lieutenant of the Tenth laughed, sliding into the seat next to him, and then stealing a cherry out of his glass.

“I would not have guessed a bar called ‘Five Fingers of Death’ would serve fruity drinks,” Hisagi Shuuhei, Third Seat of the Ninth added, plopping down on Renji’s other side.

“Shuuhei!” Renji exclaimed.

Ever since he got promoted to Sixth Seat, Yumichika had been trying to get Renji involved in his larger social circle, which mostly orbited around Matsumoto. The fact that it included Hisagi, whom he had known in school, had been a pleasant surprise. He definitely remembered looking up to Hisagi in his youth, but since they had reconnected, Renji was continually struck with how cool the guy was, and also how good-looking.

“Well?” Renji demanded from Shuuhei, with a boldness that came from having enough sake in his gut to pickle a daikon. “Matsumoto paid up. Where’s my birthday present?”

Shuuhei laughed and planted a kiss on his other cheek, before fishing something that might have been a chunk of mango out of the blue monstrosity. Renji felt warm and happy. “Better buy me another drink, Iba,” he hooted, “Everyone’s stealing mine.”

“Buy your own, asshole” Iba rejoined merrily.

“That wasn’t your birthday present, by the way,” Matsumoto replied suggestively.

“Oh?” Renji asked, trying to raise an eyebrow, except that he couldn’t feel most of his face.

“A little bird,” Matsomoto went on, “who went to school with you, told me about a trick you used to do at the bar.”

Renji wracked his brains. He hadn’t done a lot of drinking in his school days, and certainly not a lot of drinking in bars, mostly because he’d been broke all the time.

“It wasn’t at the bar, it was at the gym,” Shuuhei clarified.

Realization hit Renji like a dropped free weight. He slammed his hands palm down on the tabletop excitedly. “Is it Bench Your Friends day?”

“You’re not benching me,” Yumichika immediately declared.

“What’s Bench Your Friends day?” Ikkaku demanded, intrigued.

“Bench press is a very efficient way to work your entire upper body,” Renji explained with the self-perceived gravitas that comes with being sloshed out of your gourd. “Free weights are a better way to build muscle, ‘cause you are responsible for your own balance and stability. Next step up from that, control-wise, is to bench press a person, especially if that person doesn’t particularly want to be bench-pressed.”

“Why would you let him do this to you?” Yumichika grimaced.

“Well, I really just want to see him bench press someone else, but I wouldn’t mind,” Matsumoto mused. “I think I would look very sexy being used as exercise equipment.”

“If you can bench Hisagi, I’ll let you try to bench me!” Ikkaku roared.

“I did not volunteer,” Hisagi pointed out.

“DEAL!” Renji bellowed.

🎉 🍹 💪

“UP!”

Renji blinked, slowly returning to present day reality. “Huh?”

“Pick me UP, Daddy! I want to do a high dive!”

“Alright, alright.”

It took two tries to get up from the lawn chair, but he made it. He took a long stretch, and made a show of flexing his upper arms for his daughter, who was completely unimpressed. Finally, he scooped her up and held her by the hips over his head. “You ready?”

“I am ready!” she announced, holding her arms over her head in a diving position.

“Here we go!” Renji yelled, and lowered her slowly into the rubber inflatable pool that was set up in their backyard. Ichika made a variety of poses on the way down, pointing her toes, making wide, elegant gestures with her arms. “Perfect 10,” Renji announced, when she was sitting in the pool, spitting water in a little fountain. “Do you want to go again?”

“I want to run around.”

“Go, then.”

Ichika leapt to her feet and went tearing, pell-mell around the yard again. Renji flopped back into his lawn chair and plopped his feet back in the pool.

It had been brutally hot all day, but the heat was finally starting to subside as evening came on. Akon had made the pool and brought it over last week for Nemu and Ichika to play in, because evidently, every time he set one up over at the 12th, it got “repurposed.” Renji did not want to know the details. Renji was a big fan of the pool. Ichika had been nominally playing in it all afternoon. Mostly, she was running around in her bathing suit, shouting. Occasionally, she would hurl herself into it, thoroughly splashing her father, and then run off again.

Rukia stepped onto the porch, sliding the door closed behind her with one foot. She’d changed from her shihakushou into a Living World style sundress that left her arms and legs bare. Even after a long day at work, she looked cheerful and gorgeous. Renji smiled fondly at her. After a long afternoon of chasing his toddler around, he was sure he looked like hot, damp dogshit.

Rukia made her way over to him, nimbly dodging Ichika as she serpentined her way around the yard. She held out a glass containing a pale green liquid. It was practically radiating cold. “I have made you,” she said, as Renji took it gratefully from her hand, “a margarita. I followed Uryuu’s directions very carefully and then doubled the alcohol.”

Renji took a sip as Rukia flopped into the lawn chair next to his, and slid her feet gracefully into the pool. “It’s perfect,” he declared. “You’re a genius.”

“Happy birthday,” Rukia said, tipping her head over onto his shoulder. “I’m sorry it wasn’t much.”

“What are you talking about?” Renji grunted. “I got to yell at my squad for 2 hours this morning, like I like. I spent all afternoon digging up worms with my amazing kid, and then my beautiful wife brought me take-out, so I didn’t have to cook. I am way too tired to actually go to the bar, but I don’t have to, because you brought this right to me, here, in my luxury cabana. Another one or two of these and I am definitely gonna be lights out. Can’t think of a more perfect birthday, to be honest.”

“Hmm, if we can get Ichika to go to sleep, I had some ideas for some things that could happen between margaritas number two and three.”

“Oh, really?” Renji asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Suddenly, Ichika crashed into his lap, wet, with bits of grass plastered up her legs. “DADDY!” she yelled. “Is it dessert time! Can we eat the taiyaki Mama brought home now?”

“The what Mama brought home?” he asked, faking surprise.

“Do you remember what a secret is?” Rukia reminded her daughter. “We talked about it?”

“But it’s time to eat them, so they aren’t secret anymore!”

“Yeah, Rukia, obviously,” Renji managed with a perfectly straight face.

“I would call you a traitor, but it’s your birthday, so I will go get you your fish waffles,” Rukia replied, shoving her drink into his free hand and pressing a kiss into the side of his temple.

“I LOVE TAIYAKI!” Ichika sang at the top of her lungs. “I WISH EVERYDAY WAS DADDY’S BIRTHDAAAAAAAAY!”

Renji admired the way his wife’s rear end swayed as she headed back into the house. He contemplated whether he could still drink out of two glasses at the same time, another old bar trick he was once modestly famous for. “Me, too, kid,” he agreed. “Me, too.”

[debiteful]

After a rough day out, it only takes a little something to make it melt away.

Content: insults/harassment due to relationship, pred n prey relationship, soft n safe vore references, comfort

"Get out of here!" They bellowed.

Shale flinched away as their words were accompanied with a half full cup of soda. The fizzy drink splattered across the giant's shoulder, splashing his face too. He frowned and stumbled away, a handful of minigiants whooping and spitting after him. Soon he broke into a run, hurrying away from the park.

He didn't bother wiping the pop off his face, letting hot tears streak his cheeks as well. He wrapped his thick arms around himself and ran as fast as he could. All sorts of people were passed without a thought: tinies darted out of the way of giant feet that pounded the pavement, minigiants dodging out of the way, and other giants giving confused looks as he bumped their shoulders. None of the other pedestrians mattered right now, Shale just wanted to get home.

He finally reached his home, fumbling with the knob before finally being allowed into his sanctuary. Shoes were kicked off haphazardly, coat shrugged onto the floor; he could deal with those later. Right now, he made a beeline for his room. 

He slammed the door shut, flinching at the noise, but not stopping his path to the bed. There was no time wasted even to turn on the lights. He flopped onto the bed face first, halfheartedly wriggling onto it further until his face could nestle in a pillow.

Safe at last, he was free to cry to his hearts content. Each sob was fueled by their words echoing in his head. Disgusting. Monster. Pervert. At least cannibal hadn't been used this time, he mused. Still, the words cut deep.

Between gasping breaths, he heard a door creak. He knew the sound so well; it was enough to make his tears pause. He sniffled and turned his head to the side, taking a deep breath of fresh air. Little footsteps pitter-pattered across the floor, and he heard the little ladder creak from the small weight climbing it. Shale turned his head away before Taup could get up all the way. Moments later, small hands slipped into his hair. They rubbed his head, and slowly the tiny body pressed against his head. Taup murmured, "What happened?"

"Don't- not wanna," Shale mumbled, turning his face into the pillow.

The tiny hung on to his hair, now laying atop the back of the giant's head. Once he stopped moving, he resumed stroking his hair. There was a small sigh, "Whatever you want big guy, I'm here."

Shale bit his lip before mumbling, "They called me names."

"Names? Well they had to call you something," the little fellow chuckled. He quickly got more serious, "What sort?"

"The usual. They all assume the worst y'know. They just don't get it. How tender, how loving, how soft and alright this all is."

Taup nodded and slid off of Shale's head, "Look at me."

The giant sniffled before turning his face towards the stern smol. Big black eyes studied little brown ones in the dim light. More tears welled up and the tiny ran forward, hugging a broad nose covered in fluids. He reached up, rubbing at his cheek. He pulled back after a moment and looked at his hand. He closed his fist and made a twisted frown as he opened it slowly, "So sticky."

"Oh yeah," Shale mumbled, "Sorry."

Taup put his clean hand to those giant lips, "Hush. You didn't do this. They did. Now let me get you cleaned up; you'll be ok on your own for a few right?"

The giant head nodded, sniffling again. A tiny kiss landed on the tip of his nose, tempting out a little smile on that big mouth. He closed his eyes as Taup hurried off to get cleaning supplies.

He came back, armed with a cloth and bucket of warm water. It was small, so it was perfect for him to use. He clambered all over the giant's head as he wiped and dried his face, making it good as new. All the while he lay there with eyes closed, nearly unmoving.

When his work was done, the small guy patted the giant's cheek, asking, "Can you get up and get some fresh clothes on?"

Shale nodded. After a moment he forced himself to his feet, swaying a little. It had taken a lot out of him to run home. With heavy feet he shuffled around the dark room, changing out of pop soaked clothes and into soft fresh pajamas. He stumbled back to bed and flopped down, making Taup bounce up on the mattress; he giggled as he landed. The tiny scrambled over to his giant and kissed his soft, dry nose before climbing up on top of his head and stroking his hair.

Shale started to speak softly, "They saw me walking in the park with our groceries. I guess they thought maybe I had something worth taking? Anyway," he sighed. "We got to talking and I mentioned having a smol at home. Everything about them shifted. They said," he trailed off. He tried to find the words, but didn't really want to remember that clearly, "The usual stuff. Didn't get how we worked or how it could be alright. I guess maybe they were scared of me, or their own power."

Taup tutted and was braiding a small tuft of hair. He leaned over to give the top of Shale's ear a kiss. "You should know not to mind them. I know you're kind and loving."

"People don't eat what they love; at least not when that's a person!"

"But I love it too! I love being close to you, hearing your heart boom around me. Even you tasting me is a treat."

"Really?" Shale tried to look up without turning his head, failing.

Taup nodded and slid down his face. Shale grabbed him in a big, soft hand, his fist enclosing his little friend completely. He tucked him against his chest and murmured, "Thank you." He felt a little flutter of movement he knew to be a return of the sentiment.

[domesticated-feral]

Steo Week 2020, Day 1

Title: Sorry about the puking, but where are my jeans?

Prompt: “So, we meet again,” Rating: Teen Warnings: Drinking, almost getting drugged, vomiting. WC: 3036

You can also read it on my AO3

Summary:

“You seriously don’t remember?” He asks. “I don’t remember anything from last night,” Stiles said. The man turns around and Stiles gawks as he realizes that it was Theo Raeken. “You had that same face when you saw me last night,” Theo said.

or

Stiles drinks one too many drinks and Theo is just a bartender whose shift ended early.

~

Stiles was back in Beacon Hills for summer break. Usually, he’d be psyched to be back, but the summer started with his boyfriend of 2 years breaking up with him. He still had the mood of crawling in bed and downing a whole season of the Office along with a pint of vanilla ice cream, yet he took the grueling 26-hour drive back on his jeep.

This summer break, the rest of the pack was mostly staying back instead of coming back to Beacon Hills, they wanted to explore more of the surrounding area where they were studying. Being alone was alright, but the evening was going on forever. He was idly scrolling on his phone when his best friend, Scott called.

“Hey, Scotty, what’s up?” Stiles asks.

‘Just calling to check up on my best friend who’s going through a break-up. How are you doing?’

“I’m doing great-” Stiles dryly chuckles-“Yeah, life’s just peaches at the moment.”

‘If I were back in Beacon Hills, I’d get you drunk, just like you tried to get me drunk back when we were 16.’

Stiles laughs remembering that night, “yeah, and you couldn’t get drunk cause you’re a werewolf.”

‘Yep, speaking of, why don’t you go to a bar, get a few drinks tonight, celebrate being a bachelor again, maybe find someone new?’

“Eh, I got nothin’ better to do, so maybe.”

‘Alright, anyways, Malia’s calling me, so talk to you later?’

“Sure, sure, bye Scott,” Stiles said, ending the call.

Stiles takes Scott’s idea of celebrating his new-found freedom with a couple of drinks. He takes his jacket and keys which were on the dining table and he heads out.

It was 6 in the evening and the clubs would be open, but mainly empty as the night hadn’t started yet.

Driving up to Nine Lives Nightclub, a newly opened gay bar in Beacon Hills, he parks his jeep close to the bar, that he wouldn’t have been able to do if he came an hour later. He decided to head to the nearby park to waste time there until sundown.

He sits down on a bench and takes his phone out. He had received 30 text messages from his ex, after 2 weeks of breaking up, he wants to apologize and to get back together.

‘I miss you, I was wrong, can we get back together? It was a huge mistake, I did the wrong thing, blah blah blah,’ Stiles read in his mind.

He wasn’t completely over the breakup, but he was at a point where he wanted to get himself together and forget about it all. Stiles already gave him a chance, it was his fault that he ruined it by running off to someone else.

He turns his phone off and stuffs it in his jacket pocket. He can deal with it later. Or never, actually. The evening sun glowed as it inched closer to the horizon, the clouds ranging from yellow to red to a deep purple. In a while, the sun will set, and the night will begin. A night to celebrate his status of being a bachelor, of how he can meet the love of his life any second now.

‘Hell Yeah!’ he thought as he psyched himself up for the night.

With the sun setting, people were going to line up and Stiles wanted to get in before the line got too long, so he walked out of the park and up to the club entrance.

“I.D, please,” the bouncer asks, holding his hand out.

“Nice of you to think of me as underage,” Stiles sarcastically mutters whilst taking his I.D out of his wallet.

He hands it to the bouncer who looks at it for a few and gives it back as he nods. Stiles smiles and walks in the club, putting his I.D back in his wallet. The club had a few people, the DJ was playing some slow chill beats and Stiles headed to the bar to get a starting drink.

“What can I get you for tonight?” the bartender asks.

“Beer, whatever brand is on tap,” Stiles ordered, sitting down.

The bartender nods and pours a pint glass of beer. He puts it on a counter and slides it over to Stiles.

“3 dollars, 50 cents,” the bartenders told Stiles.

“Put it on my tab,” Stiles said.

He drinks it, mainly chugging through the whole pint. “Another pint, please,” he said, sliding the glass to the bartender.

They refill the glass and slide it back over at Stiles. He drinks it, and doesn’t order another one, he turns around to face the dancefloor and seatings. People were coming in and the disco lights were on, creating patterns that were almost hypnotizing if anyone paid attention to them.

He looks at his watch, about 15 minutes to 8. The club was getting packed by the minute. People were mostly getting their drinks, but to dance thy must be drunk.

“A beer, please,” He tells the bartender who nods and goes to get a glass.

After a while, they come and give Stiles the beer which he chugs down. ‘Why just stop at beer, let’s do some shots!’ Stiles tells himself.

“5 shots of whiskey,” He tells the bartender.

Five shot glasses full of whiskey are placed in front of him a while later. Without any hesitance, Stiles downs shot after shot.

It was 8 now, and the club was raring, music blasting through the speakers, people getting drunk and dancing, some people kissing away at either a loved one or drunk stranger.

Stiles stands up, stumbling as his leg is asleep. He shakes it and goes to sit at one of the empty couch seats on the side of the club.

He finds one in a nice area where he can see the bar and the dancefloor. As he sits alone, two hands come from behind and touch his shoulders. They move and sit down close to Stiles.

“Hey,” The girl said, pushing her chest forward as she leaned towards Stiles.

“Oh, hey, oh wow,” Stiles said, and boy was he trying real hard not to look down.

“You want to do some shots? With me?” she asks, inching closer to Stiles.

“S-sure!” He stuttered.

She calls up a waitress and asks for 10 Jager bombs. She brings it up and puts them in front of Stiles and the girl.

Stiles quickly drinks shot after shot after shot, he was getting fired up and quite tipsy.

“Fuck Yeah!” He yells excitedly.

“Here, drink some more, handsome,” She said as she had ordered tequila shots whilst he was downing the Jager bombs.

Stiles takes a shot and empties 5 shots of tequila in 10 seconds. He suddenly feels the need to go to the toilet.

“I will be right back, gotta take a pisss,” he drunkenly said, elongating the ‘s’.

He stumbles his way to the toilet, slightly dancing to the music. He walks in and does his business trying his hardest not to aim outside the toilet. He flushes the toilet and washes his hands.

Sitting back down at the seating, the woman hands him a drink. It looked fizzy, probably sprite with vodka or something.

“I ordered a vodka sprite for you while you were gone,” she said, as he took the glass from her hand.

“Oh, nice, thanks!” Stiles said.

He was about to drink the whole drink when someone quickly comes up and grips on his wrist.

“What the hell?!” Stiles yells at the man since the man’s surprise iron grip made the glass tilt and spill the drink on his jeans.

“Hey! Why’d you do that?” the girl said.

Stiles takes a closer look at who was holding his wrist and recognizes him as a familiar face.

“Theodore Raeken?!” Stiles said to the man.

“Can you leave us alone?” the girl asks Theo.

“Sorry, hon, security is on their way to you,” Theo said to the girl.

“Am I- hic- arrested?” Stiles asks.

“Not you,” Theo said, taking the glass Stiles was holding.

“But I did nothing wrong!” the girl whined.

“I saw you drugging the vodka sprite, so did the cameras,” Theo said.

Two big bouncers came and took her away. She tried to fight, but they easily picked her up and took her out of the club.

“C’mon, get up,” Theo said, pulling him to his feet.

Stiles was too drunk to walk in a straight line so Theo had to lead and somewhat carry Stiles out to the back alley where the employee’s entrance and parking were.

Theo lets him sit down on the concrete, leaning against the dumpster.

“Stiles, how drunk are you?” Theo asks.

“I’m drunk- hic- like a skunk,” Stiles said.

“Stay right there, you need water and something to eat,” Theo said, walking back in the club.

Stiles looked around, his vision was doubled and blurry. He laughed at how distorted everything around him looked.

Theo walks back out and hands him a water bottle and a packet of Doritos. “Let’s just hope you sober up enough to drive home,” he said.

Stiles tried to open up the chip packet but his blurred vision and trembling hands didn’t help at all.

“Damn you, Dori- hic- tos chip packet!” Stiles said, chucking it to the floor.

Theo sighs, “I’ll have to help you, don’t I?”

He squats down near Stiles and opens the chip packet for Stiles. He opens the water bottle as well, knowing that Stiles won’t be able to open it.

“Try not to spill everywhere,” Theo said, handing the water bottle.

Stiles tried to drink water, but he missed his aim and spilled water on himself.

“You are definitely not going to sober up tonight without sleep,” Theo remarks.

Stiles finishes the Doritos packet and drinks water, spilling most of it as he tried to. Theo pulls Stiles up and walks him to his car. He puts Stiles in the passenger seat and puts the seatbelt on him.

“We going to Mcdonalds?” Stiles mumbles.

Theo gets in the car and drives them up to Stiles’ house.

“Isn’t that my house? I thought we were going to Mcdonalds,” Stiles whines.

“You are going to get a horrible hangover tomorrow, but first you need to sleep,” Theo said getting out of the car and letting Stiles out as well.

Stiles takes his keys out but passes out before he stuck the house key in the keyhole. Theo sighs and tries knocking on the door, hoping the Sheriff would open.

It was late, either the sheriff was asleep or not at home. This is not how Theo planned to spend the only night he ended his shift early. He wanted to leave Stiles’ passed out self on the porch, but he also didn’t want to.

He drags Stiles back to the car and drives to his small apartment. He carries Stiles to the couch and lies him down. Stiles coughs in his sleep and turns over, leaning his head out the couch, he does the ultimate worst. He pukes every single drink he drank before out in the middle of Theo’s apartment.

“Fuck,” Theo mutters as Stiles goes back to sleep.

He cleans it, spraying a ton of Febreze on the floor. He had enough, tonight and went to his room to sleep.

-

It was morning, Stiles knows that because he got woken up by the sun shining on his face, blinding his eyes the moment he opened them. His head pounded and his stomach felt like it was tied into a Gordian Knot.

He hears the curtains close shut, and the sizzle of an egg being poured on to a frying pan. He slowly opened his eyes and this was not his room at all.

“Where am I?” Stiles mumbles to himself, trying to get up.

“Yeah, don’t stand up, just yet,” A familiar voice said whilst he was sat up.

The movement of sitting up sent a huge pang of pain through his head. It was like he was getting pounded by a jackhammer. He holds his head as he grunts in pain.

After a while, the pain goes away and he looks over at the man who was making eggs.

“Who are you?” Stiles asks.

“You seriously don’t remember?” He asks.

“I don’t remember anything from last night,” Stiles said.

The man turns around and Stiles gawks as he realizes that it was Theo Raeken.

“You had that same face when you saw me last night,” Theo said.

Theo was shirtless, wearing a pair of basketball shorts while Stiles was only wearing his shirt and boxers. His jacket was on the floor and his jeans were nowhere to be found.

“Did we fuck last night?” Stiles asks.

“No, last night, you got drunk as hell and you were almost drugged and I took you home but then your home was locked and you passed out before you put the key in the keyhole so I brought you here where you puked on my apartment floor,” Theo recaps the night’s events for Stiles.

“Sorry about the puking, but where are my jeans?” Stiles asks.

“Well, when I tried stopping you from drinking the drugged vodka sprite, it spilled on to your jeans and I’m trying to clean the stain out of it, it’s drying in the bathroom,” Theo said, turning around to tend to his omelet.

“You usually wouldn’t do that, or so I assume,” Stiles said, “do you have a painkiller around here?”

“Painkillers can temporarily help the hangover but don’t really help with getting rid of a hangover, here eat an omelet, I might have some apples or bananas in the fridge,” Theo said, sliding the omelet onto a plate.

“So what were you doing at a gay bar?” Stiles asked slowly getting up and walking to the dining table.

“I work there as a bartender,” Theo said, putting a plate with an omelet and a banana in front of Stiles.

“I thought Nine Lives has a full LGBT+ staff?” Stiles asked.

“Well, I’m asexual, so I think I qualify,” Theo said.

“Huh, you sort of always had that vibe,” Stiles mumbled, eating a piece of the omelet.

“Now, eat up, I’ll drive you to the club so you can drive your jeep back. I’m going to get changed.” Theo said, walking into his room and closing the door.

Stiles finishes his omelet and banana, putting the plate in the sink and the banana peel in the dustbin. He felt naked and vulnerable without any jeans, so he had to wait until Theo came out of the room so he could get his jeans.

Stiles being Stiles feels the strong urge to rummage through Theo’s stuff. He might still be doing something sketchy.

‘After all these years? Stiles, you’ve changed and probably Theo did too,’ He scolded himself.

He sits back down on the couch and looks around the small apartment. The living room was mostly empty, with only a couch, a desk, and a chair. It was connected to the kitchen which was also quite petite and had a two-person dining table.

“Your jeans are not dry, so here’s a pair of mine to wear and your jeans are in this plastic bag,” he said, throwing his jeans at Stiles.

Stiles was slightly taken aback by Theo, but he quickly wears the jeans he gave.

Theo was already outside waiting for Stiles to walk out so he could lock the door. They walk down the hallways and Stiles feels awkward walking since he was wearing jeans that were a size smaller.

“The jeans bring out your ass,” Theo remarks.

“I guess I should start wearing jeans a size smaller,” Stiles said tying his jacket sleeves around his waist covering his behind.

“So, why were you at the bar, drinking drink after a drink?” Theo asks as they both get in the car.

“Recently my boyfriend of 2 years broke up with me, so I wanted to forget about it for one night by drinking, then I got carried away with the drinks,” Stiles said.

“I’m sorry that you two got broken up, I probably won’t ever relate, being an ace and all,” Theo mutters, “but, if it makes you feel any better, I tried my hand at flirting and got a glass of water splashed on me once.”

Stiles laughs, but the laughing was cut short because of the headache.

“Well, with me, you won’t have to flirt, assume I’m already attracted to you. Until denied that is.” Stiles said.

“Are you?” Theo asks.

“Am I what?” Stiles asks.

“Attracted to me?” Theo elaborates.

“How can I not? First of all, you look hot as hell, and secondly, I’m a raging bisexual who loves hot bods.” Stiles said.

“Oh, wow, okay, thanks?” Theo says.

“You’re very welcome, Theodore,” Stiles said.

Theo rolls his eyes as he pulls up the Stilinski house driveway. He turns to face Stiles and is met with a surprise collision of lips. Stiles quickly pulls back with eyes as wide as an owl.

“Theo, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to-” Stiles said but was cut off by Theo.

“No, it’s fine, you’re a ‘raging bisexual’ who is attracted to me,” Theo said, “I’m flattered by the way.”

Stiles blushes and nervously laughed as he gathered himself.

Stiles gets out of the car and before he shuts the door, he looks at Theo one more time. “Thanks for saving me from being drugged, the ride back, and for letting me stay the night. For everything,” Stiles said.

“You’re welcome, I couldn’t let someone drug you and unfold the worst series of events that could happen to anyone,” Theo said.

“I, uh, should probably head inside, when’s your shift starting tonight so I can give you your jeans back?” Stiles asked.

“I clock in at 7 pm, use the back alley door instead of the front,” Theo said.

Stiles nods and closes the door and walks back away from the car. Theo drives his car back out to the road and begins to drive off. He waves at the car before heading inside his house.

~

[darkhymns-fic]

The Night is Long (But Not With You)

Even after Colette and Lloyd moved in together, her insomnia has always been her problem alone...but if she wasn't sleeping anyway, what was wrong with having just one more cup of coffee?

Fandom: Tales of Symphonia Characters/Pairing: Lloyd Irving/Colette Brunel Rating: G Mirror Link: AO3 Notes: For colloydweek, Day 1: Coffee Break! Modern AU because that’s where my mind went for this prompt.

--

The first thing that they run out of is coffee.

“Ah man…” Lloyd complained. He shook one of the small cardboard boxes that held the little packages of ground coffee beans goodness, hoping he just happened to overlook a spare inside its confines. “I just bought some a few days ago.”

And it wasn’t for lack of searching. Their small apartment sometimes would have items overflowing from the pantries (with one hinge eventually breaking until Lloyd fixed it, which was faster than calling up the landlord) and among the assortment of beef jerky and dried fruit snacks, there would be the occasional coffee, rolling along the floor to then be snatched up by Lloyd before Noishe took it within his great jaws.

But groceries had been running low, and even with careful consumption, the instant coffee was the first to go.

“Well, we did have all those cups last night.” Colette giggled, putting the coffee pot back in its holder. There was a bit of melancholy in her action that she kept from her voice. “Sorry…”

“Don’t apologize, you dork. It was fun! I don’t think we went to bed until like…4 AM?” Lloyd grinned, then yawned so wide that his jaw cracked a bit from the strain. “Ow.”

Colette reached out to rub his cheek, maybe letting her fingers slip upwards to brush his hair back. “And now we slept in the whole morning too.”

“Eh, it’s Sunday anyway,” Lloyd said, though he yawned once again. “So it doesn’t really matter…” He leaned into her touch, eyes half-open. “But you finally went to sleep, didn’t you?”

The lie was ready on her tongue, but she still nodded first. “Yep!” She kept brushing at his hair, the fine strands tickling at her. “Still, if we had gotten up early, maybe we could have watched the sun rise together.” And she only said so because the sun had been so brilliant as its light painted against the window, Colette watching its slow arc as Lloyd snored away.

“Guess that would have been cool… We could go to the rooftop later? Door’s still usually unlocked.” The landlord had so far never come down on them for trespassing onto the building’s rooftop. So many times had Lloyd and Colette gone up there, sometimes having an impromptu picnic to where they could see even more of the stars, even through the light pollution that threatened to drown out the sky.

“Could even drink coffee up there…” And somehow those string of words got Lloyd blinking, made his eyes light up as if the very sun was rising inside his skull. “Oh! I’m so stupid. We should just go and get some!”

“Huh?” Colette mumbled, still gently patting his cheek.

“Yeah! Let’s just go buy it now! We can stock up on other stuff too!” Lloyd shifted from her hold. He was already going to a nearby cupboard next to the fridge, attempting to pull out a few of their recyclable bags. Last time, he had stuffed it in the back behind cans of sweetened corn and boxes of fizzy drinks, so he had to deal with the consequences. “Like ham and…uh, butter? We need butter too, don’t we?”

“Hm, that and maybe some cookies?” Colette may have been munching too much on sweets for the past few days, but the gingerbread ones with the double chocolate were so good! Sometimes she and Lloyd would play a game to get the last piece with rock-paper-scissors. (She won the last dozen times somehow). “But, aren’t you tired?” she asked with concern. “Especially since we were up so late.”

“It’s fine! If we go any later, they’ll probably run out! And we still need coffee…” Once he got out both bags he needed, Lloyd stood up straight, looking so proud at having retrieved them finally. “Don’t you miss the Lloyd Irving iced coffee special? I can make that when we come back!”

The memories of Lloyd getting himself drenched when he had attempted such a special (forgetting to close the top of the blender before turning it on) was overflowing and so warm. Colette giggled, then expertly moved towards him to take one of the bags from between his fingers.

“Should probably hurry then,” she said, holding back a yawn. Hopefully Lloyd hadn’t noticed. In her worry, she made a small joke, a mix of a lie and some truth. “Not worried about me being tired then?”

“Well, if you fall asleep, I’ll just carry you. Easy!” Lloyd said that so earnestly, she didn’t think he was joking. But seeing the defined muscles that his undershirt only barely covered, he could have probably done what he claimed to so easily.

“I’m gonna hold you to that then!” Colette said, finalizing it with a quick kiss on the cheek. His smile was all she saw as they got ready to head out.

--

It was just coffee after all, but it meant something to Colette – the scent of it filling the room, the warmth that seeped into her hands as she held her cup, with Lloyd’s fingers brushing against hers as he handed it to her.

Colette had long been used to sleepless nights. She would stay up and watch the patterns of the sky through the window. It wasn’t like she meant to, especially with things to do the next day, so early in the morning. But sometimes sleep just wouldn’t come, and staring out the window was better than looking towards the ceiling, waiting in vain to finally feel her eyes become heavy.

“Can’t sleep?” she would hear, and there would be Lloyd, looking blearily up at her from his side of the bed, hair so messy it made her want to sink against him.

Still, she couldn’t lie then, and would nod. “Sorry if I made any noise,” hoping she wouldn’t ruin his night, but already he was sitting up, already moving close to her as the dark continued to breathe out its loneliness.

“Did you try listening to really boring shows maybe?” Lloyd asked with a great yawn. “Like, Professor Raine’s lectures… should just record them and have them on repeat or something…”

“Oh, but they’re always really fascinating! Like the one about the Balacruf ruins that they just discovered last year, and the ancient scriptures carved into its walls. The Professor has been teaching me how to read it! They use a lot of wing imagery and-”

“Colette, I’m already falling asleep here..”

And still, she felt so bad, but Lloyd would never want to leave, even when he went nodding off. So, he started making coffee, to keep himself up. Soon she would want some too, and he’d always make her a cup as well. No sleep was coming anyway, so couldn’t they both enjoy this now?

But she’d never stop feeling guilty when Lloyd would eventually yawn and stretch, when his eyes would blink a little slowly, finding sleep for one moment…before snoring himself back awake again. She felt bad even as she giggled at that. It’s okay, she would say. You can go to bed, I’ll be fine. But her soft denials only seemed to make Lloyd more awake, more determined to fix up even more of his own special brand of coffee; sometimes with ice, sometimes with whipped cream, and sometimes with a helpful heaping of sugar that would even be too sweet for him to taste-test.

“Don’t worry, Colette! I’ll stay up all night with you!” He would say as he jutted a thumb at his chest, nearly hitting his eye because of his fatigue. “I’ll start taping my eyelids open even!... Um…might need help with that.”

More laughter, more warmth from the cup she held. “But you’re working at Dirk’s tomorrow, aren’t you?”

“I’ll be fine. Didn’t I tell you about the time I helped carve a statue while I was asleep? I mean, I guess Dad wasn’t too happy about that.”

A soft smile from her, and then she would take a sip from her cup, that warmth filling her and chasing away the gulf that would sometimes stay lodged in her chest. “You know, I’m not sure it’s good to drink coffee this late…”

Lloyd yawned again, arm rubbing against his eyes. In the dark, he’d just wear an undershirt and boxers, the clothes hanging off him like the clinging ivy she would see at his childhood home. “Yeah…guess this isn’t really helping you.” Something close to shyness in his smile, which would always make her lean in closer, just so she could bask in it. “I just really like coffee.”

“Hehe, I do too!” She would lay her head against his shoulder, chasing all that coldness away. “It’s always so good how you make it.”

Colette knew she wasn’t worth staying up for, but she didn’t want to keep protesting, to keep complaining when things weren’t so bad. And she admitted to herself how, in fact, that she was just really selfish.

She only wanted to hear his voice, so late at night.

--

“Race ya there!” Lloyd was shouting behind to Colette as they hurried down the sidewalks, rushing out of the grocery store as they took what they could in limitation.

“But what if we drop the eggs?” she shouted back, laughing as she noticed the looks of passerby. They probably seemed weird together, didn’t they? They even wore matching red jackets, all buttoned up on the front. It had been chilly today so it only made sense!

“Oh right… After this, we should still have a race then!”

Both plastic and recyclable bags swayed from their arms as they definitely-not-raced towards home. The park nearby that cut through the winding streets for them was empty, but it was closed off due to construction, so they had to go down the long route instead. By the end, Colette was completely winded.

It was a miracle she hadn’t tripped once! Well, except for when she nearly tripped on the stairs as they had left the building this morning…but Lloyd had caught her back then so it didn’t count!

“Hey, uh, Lloyd?” she asked, as they finally made it to the entrance of their building. The collar of the jacket half-covered her mouth, making her feel warm! But it was hard to speak clearly through it sometimes... “Why did we buy the doggy toys for Noishe though? Isn’t he staying with Dirk?”

Lloyd turned to her as he opened the door, the hinges creaking. Even as his own collar covered his mouth, she could tell that he was grinning by the lift of his cheeks, the happy glint in his eyes. “It’s for when he comes back! Dad only has his old stuff back at home… Or we could do facetime and show it to him!”

“Oh, right!” Colette agreed. She loved the big dog, but the open space of Dirk’s home in the countryside was sometimes better for the animal. Still, she missed pressing her face in all that fur!

Once they got inside the apartment, still struggling with their many bags, Lloyd practically collapsed on the kitchen floor (but was careful not to crush the warned-for eggs that he carried in one bag). He pushed the collar away from his mouth so that he could breathe more. “Gah…man, I’m beat.”

Colette fared a little better, only buckling down to her knees, her hands still gripping tightly to the bag handles. She quickly unbuttoned the red jacket, its material so shiny and bright, then sighed as she relaxed. “But…we made it!”

And Lloyd hadn’t seemed too tired either during their trip. That was one worry off her shoulders.

“Heh, yeah…” Lloyd sat up then, looking so full of pride. “We got everything we needed!”

That statement somehow made Colette pause, made her think. A soft hum left her, one that Lloyd noticed.

“What is it?”

“Lloyd, um… did we remember to buy the coffee actually?”

Silence. Lloyd stared, as if she had sprouted wings and was ready to fly away. Then, slowly, he laid back down on the hardwood floors.

“Goddammit.”

--

Ever since Lloyd had started staying up with Colette, the nights hadn’t really been the same. And in her selfishness, she was grateful for that.

For one thing, Lloyd would always try to put a different twist to their coffee!

It was during one such night, when she had somehow fallen asleep before midnight, Lloyd already staying up with her till then. But the dream she just woke from had been so wide and empty, like she was stuck with no voice to speak, no texture to feel, and watching her own self through a cracked mirror. When she woke, the night was once again so long and endless, and Lloyd was no longer sitting at her bedside. She got up, leaving their room to head for the kitchen, trying to hide away the soft panic that teetered at the edge of mind.

And there was Lloyd was at the stove, boiling something in a pot. She only caught a glance… Was it beans? But that didn’t seem right. “Are you cooking?”

Lloyd had turned to her with a grin, bags under his eyes that were so bright with energy. “Hey, Colette! Check it! I’m making boba!”

Colette widened her eyes, then looked to the pot with even more interest. “Oh! For bubble tea?” The little pearls boiled within, and she remembered the shops they would visit so frequently, sharing a straw between them. “When did you learn how to make them?”

“I just saw it online somewhere. But I was thinking like… I could put this and the coffee together! You can mix coffee with anything, you know?”

“Ah, so like coffee milk tea?” Colette moved closer, so fascinated. “What flavor did you get? Honey? And did you get any of the green jelly we would usually have?” She tapped a finger against her chin, imagining all the possibilities. “Maybe even whipped cream…”

Lloyd blinked, looking back down at the pot. “Uh…I only thought as far ahead as boba…And I think it’s regular flavored?”

“Oh! That’s good though!” She stood on her tiptoes, excitement clear in the way she bounced, just behind Lloyd’s shoulder. She grinned. “What about cheese foam?”

“I don’t know how to make that!” Lloyd said. “Like…do I just put cheese in it?” He kept stirring the pot. “I’m not sure that would be good…”

“I was joking!” she said with a poke of her tongue.

“I can’t tell when I’m sleepy!” Lloyd was pouting, but he was reaching for a mug. Colette saw that it was already filled with coffee, hearing the clacking of ice cubes inside it. “Oh shoot, maybe I was supposed to put the boba in first….Damn, I was definitely supposed to do that first.”

“We can drink it from the top,” Colette suggested helpfully. “It’ll still be good!”

“Argh, but that’s not how it works!” And there was probably an easy solution to all of this, but Lloyd just stared at the boba in the pot, to the coffee in his hand…then upturned the mug into the pot so that coffee was sloshing all around the heated boba.

Colette was stunned! “Oh! But what about the ice?”

Lloyd stared. “…I completely forgot about the ice.”

Genis would often comment how Lloyd and Colette seemed to sometimes share one brain cell (Colette didn’t totally understand the joke while Lloyd would always seem to get huffy about it each time), but this was where she was…beginning to understand it a bit. She was still a bit woozy from her strange dream, and Lloyd had at one point actually fallen asleep standing up before she had to shake him awake so that he wouldn’t fall over on the stove. She really was being nothing but trouble to him.

They ended up with two mugs, half-filled with too much boba and topped off with some whipped cream Lloyd had found in the back of their freezer. (“Expiration date is still good!”)

Colette had been smiling the entire time, watching as Lloyd was still fixing up their drinks and handing her own mug with that infectious smile. He would keep making her fun coffee treats for many nights after – some with just whipped cream, some with caramel, or with cinnamon spice that would send a rush of hot nerves down her throat – and he would still do it with so much energy, riddled with just a few yawns, that she’d feel both guilt and happiness in one odd mixture.

They had sat together on the couch afterwards, bundled up in blankets as the heating had went out hours ago. The coffee that she sipped was lukewarm, and the boba was a bit mushy. Yet it still sent bursts of warmth through her, like sunbursts all around her body, to let her know that the morning was never too far away.

Lloyd was leaning against her, so close that his hair brushed against her cheek. “What woke you up before? I thought you’d gotten to sleep…”

“Ah, just a dream,” she said dismissively, preoccupied with drinking the coffee. She then raised her head up at him with a smile. “It’s really good.”

Lloyd would once again fall asleep next to her, but before he did, he gave a soft laugh, still gripping on his own mug – carved from wood, something he had made in a shop class all the way back in high school. “Colette…you should tell me things sometimes, you know?”

She had nothing to say to that, but still she missed his voice when he nodded off, the edges of the sky outside tinged with pink and violet.

--

Colette had been struggling with insomnia for most of her life. But it was just something she had to deal with. Not like it was that big of a problem anyway. In fact, she knew she was luckier than most people in the world. She shouldn’t even have to complain.

Besides, it helped when she would have sleepovers with her friends! Back home, she could stay up with Genis and Lloyd when they would watch old reruns of cartoons way past midnight, or scarf down ice cream when two bowlfuls wasn’t enough. She could soak up every minute with them, etch them deep into memory while she ignored the slow ticking of the analog clock on Lloyd’s dresser.

And then the night would crawl in, and the silence would spread all around her. It was easier on those sleepovers, when she would hear Lloyd’s snores from his bed above, and Genis shuffling in his blankets on the hard floorboards. Even the soft huffs of Noishe, nose buried in his tail, was part of that background that she held onto.

Someone had once told her she could count the stars to help her sleep, but it would always be too close to morning, or even past that, before she could finally do so.

After putting away their groceries, the hours were already whipping past her. She could see the pull on Lloyd’s limbs as he tried to stay awake (he had nearly dropped the eggs), and the guilt came flooding back.

This time, tonight, she would let Lloyd sleep. She could deal with this on her own.

And then the night came, and always by then, the fast hours of the day would slow. Like walking through wet sand, watching the patterns in the sky until she felt she had seen each one and could find nothing new anymore. At some point, she must have fooled herself into rest, but once again was awake, the soft dread building in her stomach.

The curtains were pulled from their bedroom window, the stars just barely peeking through the black. Colette sat up, and as she pulled on the blankets, she noticed Lloyd’s absence then. Yet she still felt some heat from his side of the bed…

That was when Lloyd rushed right into their room. He seemed to try to be quiet at first, until he saw her sitting up. The excitement on his face sparked so brightly, like another sun. “Colette! You won’t guess what I found.”

And before waiting for her answer, he held up a pair of those coffee packages in his left hand. “I can make you some coffee!”

Colette blinked. Though a part of her was chastising herself, Let him sleep. He’s always up for you, she had to ask, “Where was it?”

“Behind my work tools! I forgot I like to keep spares over there.” Lloyd paused, then looked at said coffee pack slowly. “I’m not really sure why I keep it there though…”

She wanted to tell him he didn’t need to do this. Go to sleep. You’re so tired. But she was so greedy for his voice then, as she always was.

“So, want some coffee?” he asked, and wouldn’t it be crueler of her to say no to such a smile?

--

In that one sleepover, Lloyd had wandered out into the balcony, catching Colette standing outside in her bare feet, head upturned to count the stars.

“Colette? You’re still up?”

She turned, cheeks flushed, though one hand remained gripping onto the banister. “S-sorry. I… I can’t sleep.”

Lloyd rubbed one eye with the heel of his hand. At 15, it was just then she noticed more about him, the way his eyes caught the light, the way his hair would so easily lose control if he didn’t fix it. It was upturned in so many directions from his pillow, she had to keep herself from giggling.

“If you wanted to stay up, you could have just told me.”

“Ah…but aren’t you tired?”

Lloyd went up to her, hands reaching for the banister to lean on it, right alongside her. The wood creaked underneath both their weight, but it was sturdy, even if it would give her a few splinters now and again. Did Lloyd get plenty of those too?

“I can stay up. The stars look better at this time anyway.” He smiled at her, despite the bags underneath his eyes. “Is it okay if I stay up with you?”

It was hard to not want this, time and time again.

--

The clock read 3 A.M. Her body felt fatigued, her head a little hazy, but still, she couldn’t sleep.

“Maybe you should keep a coffee pot next to your tools too,” she teased, holding her own mug in her hand. White porcelain, a gift from her grandmother. There was a small, jagged crack on its side that Lloyd had patched up quickly. Even with her own treasures, she could never be careful enough.

“I’d probably just forget where I’d put that too,” he mumbled, before sitting with her on the bed. The coffee was a bit hotter this time, Lloyd dipping a pair of ice cubes in each to help cool down just enough. “So, is it okay?”

She had already sipped her share, taking any lost drips on her lips with a quick lap of her tongue. “It’s the best!”

Lloyd puffed his chest with pride. “It’s because it’s the Irving Iced Special! Just, uh, mostly hot this time.”

“Hehe, yeah.” She took another longer sip, the ice cubes already half-melted, leaving her with cream and sweetness.

And as she did she so, she noticed Lloyd was watching her. The mug was steaming hot in his hands, the heat felt through the wooden exterior. He was smiling at her, even though it looke he would fall asleep at any second.

“Lloyd?” she asked him, all curious eyes. “You sure you don’t want to go to bed?”

“…Not yet.” He held the cup tightly in his hands. “I wanna stay up with you.”

“But…” Maybe here, she could do the right thing, even if the night was still so long up ahead. “I don’t want you getting tired because of me. And…” She brushed a finger against the rim of her cup. “Isn’t it dangerous to be tired in your work?”

Because Lloyd would work with so many tools; sharp and massive, to spanners to welding machines, to even a simple carving knife that would take so much precision. She’d catch the whiff of sawdust when he’d come home, the wood chips that would sometimes get caught onto his hair. If he had ever hurt himself because of how he’d tend to her during her insomnia, she didn’t think she could ever forgive herself. She couldn’t, she couldn’t.

“I’m taking the week off,” Lloyd said, making her raise her eyes to him.

“Huh? …Why?”

“Because I want to!” Lloyd and his sleepy grin, and the way he leaned over her the way he would always do when he came home, giving her a kiss that sent sparks across her lips, as if each time was the first. “I thought it’d be cool to take a break, and dad said it was okay anyway. I’m supposed to work on the jewelry when I get back and he says that’s going to be the hardest for me for some reason…”

“Mm, but you made that necklace for me. Back in school?” She stared into her mug, remembering where that same necklace lay in her room, tucked away in a box. “I thought it looked good.”

“Heh, maybe…” He leaned against her, giving a long sigh. The scent of him overrode the coffee, made her huddle ever closer to him. “Just don’t worry about tomorrow, or the day after that.”

Another curiosity. Colette didn’t take another sip, or she would run out. This was their last cup after all.

“When I need to sleep next week, then I will. Just…I wanted to be with you. You don’t have to deal with this alone all the time.”

The night was so deep. One could maybe hear the sounds of people outside, but somehow the loneliness would stretch even closer to her still. “This is just a lot of trouble, isn’t it?”

A tap on her shoulder. She turned to see. Then she was met instantly with a flick of his fingers against her forehead.

“Ah!” she gasped in surprise.

“Colette, if I keep wanting to do this with you, you should know I don’t think that, right? That I want to be with you, like I said?” He sighed, then kissed the same place he had just flicked. “You can be so dense sometimes.”

She might have cried if she let herself. There were other times she did, when she’d be up and find a few stray tears. Though Lloyd couldn’t hold her hand now, he nuzzled against her cheek, making a pillow out of her hair.

“The coffee…is really, really good,” she told him, pressing against his side. “You always make it so good.”

“Heh, I know,” he said, yawning again before shaking his head to rid himself of the sleep. “We can buy some tomorrow…I’ll remember.”

“I can write us a list this time,” she said. “Coffee…and maybe more cookies…and a doggy toy for Noishe?”

“Yeah…but not the squeaky ones. He gets scared of those.”

“Oh, right! I’ll make sure. Maybe some bows for Noishe’s ears, to hold up all that fur!”

“Colette, you know he’d never wear it…”

The nights were usually so long, because the stars felt so far and the night so deep. But when she looked back to the clock, already an hour passed. The weight on her shoulder was heavier, but it wasn’t her own foolishness this time.

“…Lloyd?”

Colette turned, finding Lloyd having fallen asleep as he sat next to her on the bed. His head was slightly tilted downwards, and he still held the cup between his hands, though they were loosening by the second. She quickly reached out to take it, his soft snores tickling her ear as she leaned in.

She once had seen Lloyd fall asleep standing up, so this was no surprise to her. It made her smile, even as she felt no less awake than she had been hours ago. It was okay. Eventually, she would catch up with him.

Some nights were deep and long and so dark. But the warmth of the coffee he made still made her feel so content.

Placing both their mugs on the nightstand, Colette pulled Lloyd to their bed. He always did look cute when he was sleeping.

“…Goodnight, Lloyd,” she said, kissing his ear and curling up with him. Through his disheveled hair, she saw the stars through the window, their shine peeking through the inky blackness. She counted them, waiting and waiting.

Until she fell asleep too.

[the-fiction-witch]

Girl nextdoor

REAL LIFE

COUPLE TBS X READER

RATING SMUTT

"Thomas! Go help your mother with the washing!" My dad yelled as I sat in my room playing London racer, some little game I picked up cheap where you race a classic mini around the London eye

"Uhhh dad! I'm busy!" I yelled back

"Now!" He ordered so I sighed pausing my game and going down into the garden to help my mum while Ava ran around doing something im not sure what?

"Why do I have to help and Ava doesn't?" I complain

"Thomas!" He warns leaning in the patio door "don't get smart with me, else I'm taking your TV"

"But it's not fair!" I complain

"Thomas go to your room!" He ordered

"Thank you" i smiled going to go but he grabbed my shirt

"I'm taking your TV, and your playstation" he says going upstairs but I ran up to my room as fast as I could but he was already unplugging it

"Dad! That's not fair!" I yelled

"I warned you, I understand your going through some kind of teen angsty phase Thomas but enough of it, your grounded until you sort out this attitude problem" he says as he left the room with my TV and my games consoles so I slammed my bedroom door and laid on my bed, until

"Hello?" A little voice giggled from my window

"I'm not in the mood y/n!" I tell her

"I brought you mashmellows" she giggled

"You can leave them on the desk" I sighed but I heard steps and felt her poke my arm "what?" I groan "what do you want y/n?" I ask turning to see her

Whoa! What in holy hell happened to her!

I hadn't seen her since I came home from my last shoot, i- I was only gone three months!

Her hair had been cut off to a pixie almost, her thick glasses still perched on her nose as normal hiding the little freckles there, she had a little shirt with some graphic thing in it I could see her white bra strap where the shirt had slipped away, speaking of which, they where huge! They went exactly little when I left!, and a little short leatherette skirt with blue leggings hugging he thick things close

"Something the matter Thomas?" She asks confused why I had just frozen looking at her

"Wh wh wha wha what happened to you!" I ask in shock

"Ohh? Puberty I guess, yeah, I kinda missed it all" she blushed

"Yeah... I missed it" I nodded blushing hard

"You look nice though" she smiled sitting on my bed with me fixing a stay bit of her hair

"Thank you, but... As much as I want to see you y/n, I'm grounded" I told her

"Ohh I see" she giggled "it's okay, I'll sneak you food and things to do, here you can borrow my ds" she smiled pulling it out her top

"Y- you can fit a whole ds down your bra now?" I ask and she nods handing it to me giving me a hug and climbing out my window and back to her house I sat shocked a while I couldn't stop thinking about her I put her ds on my bedside table unable to think straight, what the hell is happening to me?

I laid laying y/n's ds, for a while mostly just play germ buster on brain training with the sound only in my earbuds till I yawned so I turned it off getting cosy in my bed to get some sleep, I hugged my pillow tightly, I just felt so happy and cosy in my bed Tonight I heard a giggle which made me jump I looked to my window and nothing, she wouldn't be coming over this late anyway so I put a blanket over me trying to fall asleep...

"Ohh Thomas" that sweet voice called to me, I have a thousand memories of that voice of hers but I loved hearing it tonight "heheheh Tommy"

"Umm y/n" I smirked falling deeper into my sleep,

When I woke I could hear the birds tweeting in the garden and I yawned having a stretch but I felt weird

"Hahahaha Thomas was sexy dreaming!" Ava laughed as she stood in my room "ohhh y/n, ohh Thomas!" She laughs

"Ava! Get out of my room!" I yelled throwing a pillow at her and she ran off out my bedroom I sighed going to get out of bed but I felt awful I pulled my covers back and - oh fuck!

I quickly jumped out of bed, best I could given I had some serious morning wood quickly getting my boxers off and getting a clean pair on ohh how the hell am I gonna deal with my bedsheets? Maybe If I completely strip the bed and tell my mum I changed it maybe she won't ask questions and won't look at the sheet

"Thomas?" A gigglely voice asks so I threw my boxers into the bed and climbed back in hidding everything as she climbed in the window "hi" she smiled

"Hi" I smiled

"You okay?" She asks

"Uhh yeah, yeah you uhh you woke me up that's all" I blush

"Heheheh relax Thomas, I've seen you in bed before, we use to have sleepovers remember" she laughs as she came sitting in the bed with me "are you okay? You seem... distant from me?" She asks

"Hu? Why would you think that?" I ask

"You've been acting odd since you came back, I get it, don't exactly wanna be hanging around with some stupid girl now your all grown up" she says

"No no y/n, it's not that" I tell her holding her hand

"Then what?" She asks

"It's... It's hard to explain" I told her "I don't really understand all of it right now but I promise, it's not that I don't want to spend time with you" I told her

"Yay!" She smiled Hugging my chest so I hugged her too she smiled leaving me some more games and heading off home I breathed alittle now she's gone, that didn't help the morning wood! A beautiful sexy girl climbing in my window at half ten in the morning

I hummed as I pegged my clothes on the line luckily I had managed to sneak anything I didn't want my parents to find away in my own laundry so they wouldn't find it currently doing a whole bunch I my boxers including the ones from the other morning

"Hi Thomas?" A little voice giggled I looked at the fence and saw y/n

"Y/n! Hi! Uhhhh hello" I blushed trying to cover up my underwear

"Relax Thomas, nothing I haven't seen before" she giggled winking at me and Running off.

I sighed sitting in my bed I got my stuff back so I was sat playing some games in the dark, I out of boredom during a loading screen I looked out my window spotting the little light next door I got up and looked, out of curiosity but when I did, I saw y/n stood in her room in just her bra and panties I felt like I was gonna explode she looked beautiful, sexy, irresistible like I'd give the word to get my hands on her I hid myself away shutting my curtians and trying to not think about what I saw shutting my game off and trying to get some sleep but I knew I couldn't it hurt! It pulsed and ached! I don't know what to do! I normally just wait for it to go down, but I can't fall asleep like this even if I did I'm just going to repeat the other week, I thought for ages trying to make it go down, but I felt my hand slip down my stomach and into my boxers not sure why I only really do that if my hands are cold, but I gripped the hard shaft and my eyes rolled back it felt so good I instantly Ran my hand up and down it feeling amazing I couldn't stop my hand working on its own, my head only thinking about one thing... About my pretty little y/n, how amazing she looks now how badly I wanted my hands on her pretty body, how badly I I I want to kiss her and touch her, "uuuhhh y/n!" I groan trying to stop myself from being nosy so my parents and sister won't hear me "uumm uuummmm Y/n..." I wanted her more then I ever have before my beautiful sexy y/n just have her climb in my room in those little dresses and skirts I knew I should stop but I couldn't make myself no Matter how hard I tried to stop "oooh y/n.... Uhh uuuhh" I groaned rolling my head on my pillow when a sudden overwhelming Wave of pleasure washed over me it twinged in my cock but flowed to my head and the tip my toes I couldn't breathe I couldn't think it felt so so good till it stopped. I was eaughsted laid on my bed catching my breath I couldn't even get the strength to open my eyes or move my hand I smirked happy with my little secret and turning over to get some sleep.

I yawned as I stretched getting out of my bed it's been a few weeks since my...  Humm my first time doing it, and I'm not gonna lie I might have a problem. Every night before I go to sleep, every morning before I get dressed, every one I have a bath, any time I'm alone, my hands in my pants I couldn't help it it just feels so nice I didn't want to stop I sat on my bed checking my phone nothing important so I went down getting a drink and noticed the house was empty, they had all gone out they'll be back later so a note said so I shrugged and got dressed sitting in bed watching TV having my hand down my jeans, not even to play with myself I just kinda like having my hand down my pants

"Hello?" She giggled so I quickly took my hand out and did my jeans back up

"Hey" I smiled as she climbed in the window "my parents aren't here y/n, you could have used the door" I laughed

"Now you tell me" she sighed coming and sitting on the other side of my bed "hi"

"Hi" I blushed it was strange having her sat on my bed given everything I've been... doing in my bed lately,

"I brought a movie" she says handing me a dvd box so I had a look

"Why did you bring a nature documentary?" I ask

"Looked interesting could learn something Thomas" she laughs getting up and going to sort my TV I got up and had a stretch walking past her

"I guess so, alright.. you do that I will make popcorn" I told her giving her cheek a kiss as I went past, wait... What the hell did i kiss her for! I froze realizing what I had done

"Uhhh okay," she laughs blushing a little "what was that for?" She asks

"I uhhhhh I ummm I umm well I uhgg" I stutter unable to form any words of any sort of excuse for why the bloody hell I kissed her

"Hehe Don't worry about it Tommy, well talk about it later" she smiled giving my cheek a kiss I blushed hard it feeling like burning where she kissed me I quickly ran downstairs to avoid her eyes making some popcorn and getting some other snacks for us even a bottle of fizzy pop and taking it all up to my room, once I got there she had pulled my curtains and the light was off, all but my little lamp on my bedside table and the light from the TV she was sat against the headboard on my side of my bed where I normally sleep Hugging one of my pillows close to her I smiled blushing hard looking at her in my bed we sorted all the snacks out at the end of the bed so they weren't in the way and she smiled patting the space beside her

"Uhhhh y/n, I just, just give me a minute I have to go do something" I tell her

"Okay" she nods giving my cheek another kiss I blushed just as hard as before I not more I went to go but she grabbed my arm "Don't I got a kissy too?" She giggled as she pulled so I sat on the edge of my bed

"Uhh yeah, sorry I uhh" I blushed

"Don't you want to kiss me?" She asks interwining our fingers so I held her hand

"No no no! Of course I do" I said to her "I'm just... Not the best with people, you know that y/n" I told her giving her cheek a kiss "five minutes I promise" I reasure her kissing her hand so she would let me go and she did so I went to my door and she looked upset "five minutes, and I'll be back y/n" I smiled

"Okay" she giggled tucking herself in my bed and blowing me a kiss so I blew her a kiss too before I left my room the second I shut the door I bolted down the corridor to the bathroom ohh my fucking god I kissed her! And she's kissing me! Could I actually get a kiss of y/n? Or maybe even something better!  I didn't know what to do to calm down so I brushed my teeth I already did this morning but if our kisses get more serious then I don't want to be worried about it, I didn't know what to do about...the obvious jeans problem, I'm my bed I'll be so tempted to just stick my hands down them, so I undid my jeans quickly Rubbing going as fast as I could thinking of those heavenly kisses umm I want those sexy lips all over me

"Thomas you okay?" She asks from the other side of the door

"Yeah! I'm fine!" I force out trying to keep going hearing her voice helped alot

"Alright, I'm gonna start an episode okay" she says

"Okay, just give me a couple more minutes" I answered just as I "ummmmmm!" I bit m mouth hard to stop myself screaming as I finished into the sink and crashed into the waves of pleasure I smirked and sorted myself out, washing my hands and face as well as putting alot more deodorant and Body spray and fixing my hair so I looked good for her calming down and going back to my room "what did I miss?" I ask sitting on my bed with her

"Uhh the into, and something about lions" she says eating popcorn

"Fun" I laughed quickly getting some popcorn before she ate it all watching the show a while, they where talking about sloths, y/n likes sloths, not sure why... She finds them cute

"Thomas look it's you" she says pointing to the sloth

"Why is it me?" I asked

"Because your lazy, cute and fluffy" she says resting her head on my shoulder

"Aww... Thanks y/n" I smiled resting my head on hers while she was watching I took her hand again making her smile a little more giving my cheek another kiss I blushed hard looking at her nuzzled on my shoulder I smiled and gave her nose a tiny kiss making her giggle like crazy she smiled looking at me I couldn't help blushing harder looking into her eyes I wanted to kiss her to really kiss her and I think she wanted to as well I went to lean In but -

My phone went off so I grabbed it, it was my mum, y/n moved away a little when I answered

"Hi?" I ask

"Hello, were popping into the store after this did you need anything?" She asks

"Uhh no I'm good" I answered after a few more little things she hung up so I sighed putting my phone away "sorry" I told her

"It's okay" she shrugs watching the TV hardly looking at me we sat quietly for a while till I got an idea I yawned and stretched putting my arm around her making her laugh "really? The old yawn arm around Thomas? That's as old as the hills" she laughs

"It worked didn't it?" I shurg and she nods moving to wrap her arms around my neck so I wrapped my other arm around her waist sitting my hands on her waist she smiled licking her bottom lip as she looked at me I froze unsure really what to do but she moved forward pressing her soft lips against mine, it was like heaven to kiss her, her lips soft and smooth perfectly warm and just wet enough I kissed back best I could and she pulled me closer our kiss deepening as she tilted her head a little moving her lips against my own I kissed her back trying my best to keep up with her till we got into a slow and sweet rythum we kept like this for what felt like forever I never wanted to stop just then her tongue licked across my bottom lip I froze unsure how to respond I slightly opened my mouth letting her tongue slip in she played and toyed with my own so I did it a little to her too, she tasted like honey and apple juice and a little of the salt from the popcorn we had even eating till she moved it away so I slipped my tongue in her mouth and she played and toyed with me still even slightly sucking on my tounge which is what made me pull away

"Something wrong Thomas?" She asks

"Wrong? Ohh no, I just uhh need to get breath back honey" I tell her making her giggle more

"Your a good kisser Thomas" shs smiled

"Thanks, your a great kisser y/n" I told her "in fact could I uhh... Could I kiss you again?" I ask and she nods so I pulled her back and kissed her again still losing myself in everything about her I shifted a little in bed slightly uncomfortable when I felt it so I pulled away and moved away from her arms

"Thomas what's wrong?" She asks

"Ohhh uhhh.... Nothing" I blushed trying to hide it with my arms but I think by her face I think she might have known

"It's alright Thomas I know" she laughs "it has been poking my leg the last half hour"

"It has?" I ask and she nods "I'm sorry honey I didn't mean to-"

"Thomas it's alright, your a boy, I'm not surprised it happened I mean it was some pretty serious kissing" she smiled "I was expecting you to its alright"

"Your sure?" I ask and she nods

"I mean, you could always play around with me while we're kissing if you wanted" she smiled

"I I I I I could?" I stutter

"If you like to" she smiled "and maybe if you did I would play too and sort any problems that arise" she smirked

"Uhhh okay" I nod blushing very hard giving her another kiss she giggled giving me a kiss too soon enough we where back to making out I was about to move my hands and -

The door opened and my bedroom light clicked on so I quickly pulled away putting some distance between me and y/n

"What where you to doing up here?" My dad asks

"Nothing" i answered

"In your room? in the dark? In bed?" He asks

"Watching TV" she smiled

"Alright, you should head home now y/n, your parents will be worried" he said leaving my room and we sighed

"That was close" i blushed

"Indeed it was, my house tomorrow, we can lock the door" she winked getting her stuff

"Uhhh y/n, before you go... I- I really do like you, and if we're gonna keep kissing an stuff I I'd really like us to... Be something" I explain and she giggled at me

"Of course Thomas" she smiled kissing me "see you Tomorrow, my sweet boyfriend" she smiled

"Tomorrow, my beautiful girlfriend" I smiled giving her one more kiss before she went off home.

[dw-writes]

Head Above Water - Chapter 1

Hi everyone!! Here is the first installment of my Dazai Osamu x Reader story!! I reallyy enjoy Bungou Stray Dogs, its such an interesting story and I love the characters so much. So I wanted to write a story for it!! And who better to write for than Dazai. He’s such a ridiculous character. Anyway, I hope you guys like this story. It’s...a little heavier, I’m not gonna lie. Because of Dazai’s character and what he deals with... so. Yeah! Anyway! I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 || Chapter 4 || Chapter 5 || Chapter 6 || Chapter 7  || Chapter 8

Yokohama was a gorgeous place. It was so close to the water, the apartment you found was spacious and affordable, the job you had found at a café was enough to cover the rent, your groceries, and maybe even a pet! You couldn’t be happier!

Last thing you had to do was stop by the Special Ability Department. It was your duty, as a new citizen, to list your dangerous ability with SOMEONE, just in case anything happened.

You were being responsible. You turned over a copy of your visa, your passport, your paperwork with detailed information about your ability, everything! And yet, you couldn’t figure out why there was something nagging at you as you left the building. Why wouldn’t this feeling go away? You had done all the right things, after all. You smiled, pounding your fist into your hand. Everything was okay! You were on the right track! It was time to rebuild your life!

New place!

New you!

“Excuse me!” The voice was soft, male, and had come from a dumpster of an alley you had passed. You walked backwards, staring at it in confusion, wondering if, honestly, you were going a little mad. “Yes, you!” the voice exclaimed. From a hole in the side of the dumpster, you could see a brown eye appear. “Hello there, you adorable human being, you,” he called. You walked over, tilting your head.

“Hi,” you responded. You leaned over to peer into the hole. “What are you doing in a dumpster?”

“Well, you see, I had this plan about dying via a trash compactor. Something about it just meshed with me this morning when I woke up. But I must have missed the trash pick up this morning, because I’ve been trapped in this dumpster for hours now and, honestly, I think I might succumb to the fumes before the compactor and that is not how I wished to die!” he lamented. You stared. “Could you help me out of here?” he asked.

You stood, peering at the top of the dumpster. Atop it was a cement block. There was a rope tied to it and, on the ledge above, there were scrapes. This man had trapped himself inside. You carefully climbed onto the dumpster and pushed the block with your feet. It refused to budge – the thing was far too heavy, at least a third your weight. You stared at the dumpster you sat on. “How did you get this thing on here?” you asked.

“Sheer willpower!” the man exclaimed happily. He patted against the lip. “Please hurry, I believe I’m becoming faint.”

You groaned. Reaching into your pocket, you pulled out the keys for your new apartment. You gripped them as hard as you could and yanked, ripping the skin of your palm in a jagged tear. Swearing, you smacked your bleeding hand against the concrete block while carefully cleaning your key off on your shirt. “Oh, how the waves crest upon the shore at sunrise, and scatter diamonds across the sands of time,” you whispered to yourself. Your palm tingled. Then burned. Beneath your hand, the block glowed a soft teal as it began to drip away into fizzy, bubbling water. When it was gone, you jumped off the dumpster and pushed the lid up and over with your uninjured hand.

The man burst forth from the garbage with a dramatic gasp. He had refuse in his hair and sticking to his coat, but he still smiled and bounded out, picking himself clean once he was on the ground. He landed in the puddle of water and foam with a splash. “Why thank you!” he exclaimed, “I might have died there!”

You stared at him as you absently fished around in your bag for your compact first aid kit. “Didn’t you say you climbed in there to die?” you asked.

“Well, yes,” he said. He watched as you set your first aid kit on the closed side of the dumpster and pulled out a roll of unsoiled bandages. “I can help with that, if you need,” he pointed out. You glanced up. His hands were outstretched, palms up. You gave him a quick once over and eyed the bandages that wound around his arms and neck. Though they were dirty, they were fastened tight. You took the antiseptic wipes from the kit and handed them to him first.

You introduced yourself. It was weird, honestly. You watched as he ripped the square open and dabbed at the tear in your skin.

“I’m Dazai,” he replied, “Dazai Osamu.” He smile as he tossed the wipe and carefully wrapped your hand. “What’s your ability, hm?”

“Pardon?”

“Your ability.” He wrapped your wrist as well, making sure that the bandage was secure around your palm, thickest around your injury. “That block was heavy. You don’t look like you could life it yourself, no offense. So you must have done something.”

You stared at him. He tied the bandage off on the top of your hand with the smallest – and cutest – of bows. He then patted it gently. “Turned it to water,” you answered softly.

He gasped like a child. “How splendid! Now, I heard someone like you was living here, you know.” He grasped your other hand, leaning into you as though you both were conspiring children. “I had an insiders tip that you were moving here, you see. You have quite the ability.” You started to sputter, staring at him. “It was just luck that I happened to find you today!”

“How—”

“I have my ways,” he said, cutting you off. He winked. “And I have a question!”

“I haven’t even unpacked all my stuff yet?” you mumbled.

“Oh, don’t even worry about that!” He turned, looping one arm around your shoulders. You covered your mouth and nose with your bandaged hand and pulled away from him. He pouted, lifted his coat to his nose, and sniffed. “Oh. That’s…awful.” He even stepped away from you. “Anyway! I have a question.” He planted his hands on his hips. “Would you like a job?”

“I already have a job, but thanks,” you answered.

He pouted. “But it’s a better job.”

“I haven’t even started my new one.”

“Then you can quit!”

“That’s not how that works.”

“Yes it is.”

“I don’t even know you.”

“So?”

You stared at him, walking slowly, adjusting the bag on your shoulder. “So? I just met you. You seem to know a lot about me. That raises red flags.”

He smiled. “Oh! That.” He cleared his throat, hand fluttering to the necktie hanging at his chest. “I’m a detective. That’s how I know. The job would be at the Armed Detective Agency, here in Yokohama.” Dazai smiled, tilting his head. “Well paying, it would come with an apartment as well.”

You stared at him, frowning.

“Can I think about it?” you asked.

He grinned. Practically sparkled. “That’s all I ask!” he chirped. “Oh! Can I walk you home?”

“Can I say no?” you deadpanned.

“Nope,” he answered with a pop of his lips. You shook your head, a smile slowly spreading across your lips.

[xxbyimm]

Trick or Treat - Richard Armitage x Reader

So. @deepestfirefun came up with this idea, and I was like, well I can write this for ya!!

When our minds collaborate…. weird things are about to happen! In a good way, I hope! ;D

Trick or Treat

Summary:  It’s Halloween’s eve and Richard is staying over at your place. He’s about to learn you are extremely frightened of clowns. :)

Forever tagged: @fizzy-custard @nelswp @bellastellaluna, @imagines-for-multiple-fandoms, @leah-halliwell92, @sassytyphoondetective, @hannibatchsmuse, @patanghill17

If you wish to be on this list, let me know.

Warnings: Fluffy & seducing Richard. Some angst. Oh, Nin, I’LL SAY THIS IN ADVANCE, I’M SORRY DON’T HATE ME FOR THAT GIF I’LL USE BELOW…

Ding dong.

‘TRICK OR TREAAAAT!!!’

The sound of a number of little high-pitched voices make you stop in your track. You put your water kettle down, make your way through the hall and open the door. A little witch, two ghosts and a vampire are standing on your porch, staring hopefully up at your face.

Ah, the kids from the Miles family.

‘Trick or treat!’ they yell simultaneously again. ‘We’re here to collect ALL your candy!’ the vampire (or rather your nine year old neighbor kid called Adam) exclaims. ‘Or what?’ you tease him. ‘I’ll have to bite you, because I’m Dracula!’ Adam says and he shows you his fangs.

You suppress a smile. Adam’s mom did a good job. But even with his white painted face and voluminous black cape, Adam looks way too cute to be really scary. You doubt that’s what this little Dracula impersonator likes to hear, though.

‘Well, I certainly don’t want to be turned into vampire.’ you say. ‘Who did you bring with you, Dracula?’ ‘My helpers.’ Little Dracula tells you as he points at his younger sister and brothers. ‘And where’s your big brother?’ you say. ‘He didn’t want to come.’ Dracula sighs. ‘He thinks he’s a grown-up, but I think he’s a big baby.’ You bite on your lip and quickly change the subject. ‘You all look terrifying. Who are you?’ ‘Rosie is a witch.’ Dracula chatters. ‘Dean and Paul wanted to be werewolves, and they got mad when I told them they couldn’t. It’s obvious they can’t.’ ‘Why can’t they be werewolves?’ you ask, trying to catch up with his logic. ‘Because werewolves and vampires are natural enemies, miss S.’ The tallest ghost says matter-of-factly. ‘We would have to fight each other, and then there’s no time to collect treats.’

You recognize that smart-ass attitude as the third child of the family. Seven year old Paul is a bookworm and he really enjoys to lecture you about all sorts of facts he has learned whilst reading. You don’t mind, because you always learn a great deal too. You suppress a giggle. ‘Of course, Paul. I should have known that, I’m sorry.’ You confess. ‘No, my name isn’t Paul!’ Paul says irritated. ‘I’m Chase, the bloody helper of Dracula!’ ‘Oh.’ You nod and turn your attention to their younger brother, the little spook. ‘And who is this?’ ‘I’m Curse! And I love candy!’ Dean chitters. ‘Do you have snickers, miss S?’

Before you can answer that in fact, you have bought snickers for him, you are interrupted by the youngest member of the family, a girl called Rosie. ‘I’m a witch!’ the little girl beams, unable to contain her excitement any longer. She twirls around before you so you can admire her black dress. ‘Oh Rose, YOU are SCARY!’ you praise and you gently pull on her fake nose. ‘And you brought Felix with you!’

You eye your neighbors’ red tabby cat. He doesn’t seem to be bothered by the harness he’s wearing. He lays down on the porch and watches you intently with his big golden eyes. Rosie laughs. ‘Yeah, mommy says all witches must have a cat!’ ‘Now, back to business!’ Little Dracula says impatiently. ‘Give us our treats, or you’ll have to pay with your life!’

You take a step back and pretend to be scared. ‘Rich!!’ you shout. ‘I’m being threatened by a vampire, a witch and TWO ghosts! I need some help over here!’ ‘AND A CAT!’ Dean adds enthusiastically. ‘Felix wants candy too!’

‘What do we’ve got here?’ A deep baritone sound comes from behind you and the man that belongs to the voice, puts his arm around your waist. Your boyfriend. You look up and his enchanting deep blue eyes are staring right at you. Richard smiles and it makes your heart melt down. You almost forget the children are there. His eyes, his strong jawline, characteristic nose, that perfectly trimmed beard… Oh, did you mention his trained body? The man is divine. The two of you have been dating for a few months now, and sometimes you still cannot believe he chose to be with you.

‘We’re surrounded by these scary creatures.’ You tell him. ‘What should we do now?’ Richard sighs. ‘There’s only one option, Nin. It’s best if we give up our most treasured possessions…’ ‘Yes, or pay with your lives!’ Paul proclaims. ‘Not the snickers!’ you howl and you have to press your lips together to keep in character when you see Paul’s face lighten up. ‘Yes, my darling.’ Richard nods slowly. ‘Especially the snickers. I heard monsters absolutely love snickers.’ ‘Alright.’ You give in. ‘Get the stuff.’ Richard chuckles and shows the little kids the bowl full of candy he has been hiding behind his back. ‘Please accept this as payment and spare our lives, sir Dracula.’ He says. ‘This will do.’ Dracula responds solemnly, but he quickly drops his character when he gets his hands on the candy. ‘Oh! You’re the best, miss S!’ Paul chirps as he grabs a handful of snickers and pushes it in his bag. Dean and Rosie follow his example.

Richard puts his arm around you as the both of you watch the little kids quickly run away from the porch and disappear into the dark street. Rosie wants to follow her brothers and tries to persuade Felix to move, but the cat isn’t having any of it. ‘Felix, please!’ Rosie tries and she pulls on the leash that is secured on the cat’s harness. Felix is unmoved and curls up in a little furry ball. He looks comfortable and you suspect the poor cat just wants to be left alone and take a long nap. ‘I don’t think this kitty wants to play trick or treat anymore, Rose.’ You say. ‘But as a witch, I need a cat!’ Rosie frets, tears welling up in her eyes. You lower yourself on your knees so you can look her in the eye. ‘No darling, a scary witch like you doesn’t need a kitty. He’ll only make you share your candy with him, and we don’t want that, do we?’ The girl smiles a little. ‘Felix can’t eat candy, miss S. He’ll get sick if he does. Don’t you know that?’ You heave a sigh. Rosie is clearly learning from her bigger brothers. She’ll be a smarty-pants in no time, just like them. You pick up Felix and take Rose by the hand. ‘Let’s find your brothers, Rose. Then I’ll take Felix home, ok?’ You gesture at Richard you’ll be back in a minute. Richard waves at you and closes the door behind you. You peer into the street. Now, where did Rose’s mischievous brothers go?

‘So, the cat is safely home again?’ Richard asks with a smile as you finally return to your bedroom with two cups of tea. ‘Yeah… luckily he is.’ You sigh and plunge down next to him on the bed. ‘I can’t believe their parents agreed to let them take him on this candy raid…’ Richard chuckles and looks up from his script, his deep blue eyes enchanting you. ‘They’re good kids. I doubt they would’ve hurt him.’ You shrug. ‘I don’t think they would… on purpose anyway. I’m just glad they didn’t dress him up as a… pumpkin.’ You glance over at one of your own cats, who is eyeing you suspiciously from its favorite place on the radiator. You smile. There’s no way one of them would voluntarily wear a harness, let alone a costume… If you would try to make them, your home would be a battlefield. No survivors. Except for the cat itself of course.

You lay your head on Richard’s shoulder and look down at the script he’s reading. It’s one of his new projects, a film called ‘Sleepwalker’. The concept is really intriguing and normally you would leave him in peace, but tonight you’re craving for some attention. You had to miss him for the past few days, and you want to make up for that lost time. You shift a little and kiss a sensitive spot in his neck, earning a soft groan. Then you ghost your lips over his bearded jaw, traveling upwards until you can kiss his right temple. ‘Are you bothering me on purpose?’ Richard rumbles. Your mouth curves into a devious smile. ‘Maybe I am… Do you mind if I do?’ ‘I don’t…’ Richard breathes. ‘But I’m sure the director does, Nin. I really got to study. My character…’ ‘That can wait until tomorrow…’ You say casually and before Richard can react, you grab the script from his hands. Your initial idea is to toss it off the bed, but Richard is faster than you. His hands wrap around your waist and he pulls you closer. You quickly roll on your stomach and make sure to keep the script under your body. You’re not going to give in. He’s not going to get it. Yet.

Richard chuckles and you glance at his face. His blue eyes are sparkling with mischief. ‘What?’ you say and you try not to smile. ‘I was wondering if you could hand my homework over.’ Richard says with a grin. You slowly shake your head. ‘No. You can tell the director that your girlfriend’s cat ate it. ’ ‘Hmm.’ Richard chuckles. ‘I doubt he believes that.’ ‘Then you have to use your acting skills to persuade him.’ You giggle. Richard sighs dramatically and he rolls on top of you, placing his legs on each side of you. His body is weighing heavily down on yours and you can feel his growing arousal against your bum. His breath is tickling your face, his beard rasping over the sensitive skin of your neck. Oh, there’s no way to go. He has you pinned down on the bed, and you have absolutely no problem with that.

‘I’d rather persuade you, Nin.’ he whispers teasingly in your ear. ‘Now, hand that over and I’ll overlook your naughty behavior this time.’ ‘I don’t think so.’ You breathe. ‘I think I’ve got a strong position over here.’ ‘You do?’ Richard muses. ‘You’re being held down, my love. Do you call that a strong position?’ ‘Yes.’ You grin. ‘You’ll never get that script from me.’ ‘We’ll see about that.’ Richard purrs. ‘Bring it on.’ You whisper.

Richard shifts a little and he gently brushes the hair from your neck. His breath tickles your ear and you suppress a pleasant shiver. His fingers ghost over your body and you have to force yourself to breathe normally. He has just begun and you already feel light-headed. ‘Nin..’ Richard groans in your ear and he passionately starts to kiss your neck. The low sound makes the heat within your body firing up. Fingers dig into the soft curves of your hips and you just can’t help yourself. You push your body against his and a soft whimper escapes our lips.

Oh god.

You know that if he continues kissing you like that, you will be unable to resist him. Your body is already begging for his touch and it won’t take long before you really lose your mind. You don’t want to give in, so you have to distract him from winding you up further.

‘And what is your point exactly, mister Armitage?’ you murmur as you try your best not to let another moan escape your mouth. ‘Persuading you.’ Richard growls. ‘To doing what?’ you enquire. ‘Give me my script of course.’ He teases. ‘I’ll never surrender.’ You stutter. ‘Oh, you will.’ Richard purrs. ‘This problem just needs a different approach.’

You make sure you don’t move and watch him apprehensively from the corner of your eye as his fingers travel from your hips to your waist. Richard isn’t one who gives up that easily. He knows you were moments away from giving in. So why did he stop? In other words…. What is that bastard up to?

You burst into laughter as Richard’s hands dart to your sides and he starts to tickle you. ‘This is unfair! Stop it!’ you squeal as you desperately try to escape from his grip. ‘Unfair?’ Richard chuckles. ‘There are a lot of things that I consider unfair, but this isn’t one of them…’ You wriggle under him, unable to catch your breath because you simply cannot stop laughing. ‘I surr- I… I…’ you manage to stutter. ‘What did you say?’ Richard asks and he temporarily loosens his grip on you.

You quickly make use of his swift inattentiveness and throw the script off the bed. Before Richard can make a move, you push him over and continue to straddle him. ‘Now what?’ Richard inquires. You tilt your head and wink at him. ‘Now I give you what you deserve.’ Your hands slide under his shirt and wander over his abdomen. Richard groans and you smile. You lean forward, your lips inches away from his and you let your fingers ghost his sides in a teasing manner. Richard bites on his lip. You are ready to attack him and give him the same treatment, when…

Ding dong!

God damnit. The doorbell rings again. More kids? You glance at the alarm clock on your nightstand. Hmm, 8.30 P.M. You really would like to ignore the bell, but on this Halloween’s eve there are undoubtingly more little trick or treaters out on the streets. You didn’t buy all that candy to eat yourself, did you?

‘You stay right there.’ You threaten as you roll from the bed and jump on your feet. Richard is eyeing his script and you quickly pick it up from the floor before he can reach it. You dodge his strong hands as he tries to grasp you and almost trip over the plinth in the doorway. ‘Nin, give that back!’ Richard laughs. ‘Not in a million years!’ You shout at him as you haste your way to the door, holding the script tightly to your chest again.

You’re still giggling when you put the script down on the cabinet next to the door and reach for the bowl of candy. ‘And who is this-’ You begin as you open the door, but your joy quickly turns into fear when you register that the person on your porch isn’t a kid. You don’t even know if it’s a human being. A creature with a pale face, huge red nose and crazy ass reddish hair is standing just inches away from you. It’s clothing must have seen better times. The once white material now looks worn and has a faded greyish color. The mouth of the creature is curved in an wide, evil grin, showing you dangerous pointy teeth. It’s dark eyes are eyeing you hungrily.

Oh god.

A clown. A freaking clown!

Shivers go up and down your spine and you start to sweat. Your heart is pounding in your chest and you suddenly don’t remember how to use your muscles anymore. Your fingers clench around the edges of the bowl. You just stand frozen in the doorway, unable to move. Great, so much for all the self-defense classes you went to. Your body just shut itself down and has gone into panic mode. You whimper as you watch the clown coming closer.

‘Aye, Ninnie.’ The creature grins as he takes a step forward. ‘Aren’t you gonna say hello?’ You slowly shake your head. ‘Ohhh, come on!’ The clown coos and he takes another step. ‘Don’t you want a balloon?’ ‘Stay back.’ You stutter. ‘Don’t you want to play with Pennywise?’ It queries. ‘I don’t !’ you hiss. ‘Oh, but I do want to play with YOU.’ It promises. ‘You all taste so much better when you’re afraid.’

You start to scream and the agonized sound fills the air. The clown lunges forward in an effort to make you shut up, but you throw the bowl in its face. The creature hisses in pain and takes a step back. You smash the door shut and lock it. Your body is shaking violently and you lean against the wall to prevent yourself from falling down. You vaguely hear Richard running towards you.

‘Nin!’ he exclaims, taking you into his arms. ‘What’s going on?’ ‘There’s a clown.’ You stutter while tears are running down your face. ‘What?’ Richard says. ‘A fucking clown.’ You repeat. ‘On my porch.’ ‘Let me see.’ Richard mutters. ‘NO!’ You shout. ‘THERE’S NO WAY I’M OPENING THAT DOOR AGAIN!’ Richard chuckles. ‘Calm down, love. Everything is fine. I’ll check it out. It’s probably some kid who’s trying to scare the hell out of you.’ ‘Please.’ You beg him. ‘Don’t leave me alone. I hate clowns.’ ‘I’m sure it’s nothing.’ Richard says. ‘I’ll-’ ‘It was Pennywise.’ You whisper, staring at the wall behind Richard. ‘The dancing clown…’ You mutter. ‘From my nightmares.’

Richard bites on his lip, trying to keep himself together. He would never have guessed that you, a badass female who doesn’t seem scared of a damn thing, is actually terrified of… clowns. He doesn’t think they’re funny either, but scary? Nah. More fucking annoying. Richard watches your pale face and agonized expression. You look genuinely shaken. He strokes your cheek and brushes away a tear that’s rolling down your face. Richard sighs and suddenly the whole situation isn’t as comical anymore. No one is entitled to scare you like that without suffering the consequences. He’s going to find out who’s responsible for this tasteless prank.

Richard gently lets go of you and cups your face with his hands. ‘I’ll be back in a moment.’ He promises. You whimper. ‘Don’t go!’ Richard smiles and stands up. ‘Just a moment. I’m going to find out who did this.’

You curl up into a tiny ball and watch him open the door. There’s nothing on the porch. Richard steps outside and looks around. The clown is nowhere to be seen. All that’s left of the scene that happened moments ago, is the empty candy bowl. It lies on the ground, the candy still scattered around it. Richard bends down and starts to pick it up. You force your body to get it together again and you stand up slowly, using the wall as support. You take little steps and make it to the doorway. You almost fall down again as you see the clown nearing your ignorant boyfriend.

‘Good evening sir Armitage.’ Pennywise cackles as he almost jump on him. ‘Do YOU like to play?’ Richard rises on his feet again and towers over the clown. ‘Do you think this is funny?’ he asks, clearly annoyed by the whole matter. The clown tilts its head. ‘Shall we play, Richard?’ When Richard doesn’t reacts and just eyes the clown in an irritated manner, it quickly turns and watches you again with that awful grin. ‘Or do you want to play, miss S?’

Richard clenches his jaw. ‘No, we will not. The only game I WILL play, Scott Miles, is if I should tell your parents about this or not.’ ‘Please don’t, mister Armitage.’ The clown howls and he forgets to stay in character. ‘I’m already grounded.’ ‘Scott?’ you exclaim, not believing you didn’t recognize the eldest spawn of your neighbors earlier. You descend from the porch and inspect the clown’s face. It’s indeed Scott, your fifteen year old neighbor kid. You suddenly feel stupid for being so afraid. Of your fucking fifteen year old neighbor. ‘God damnit Scott!’ you hiss as you try to reign in your anger. ‘I can’t even…’ ‘Nin.’ Richard says calmly. ‘No.’ you reply. ‘I’m going to tell him EXACTLY what he needs to hear!’ ‘Nin, love.’ Two strong arms touch your shoulders. ‘Look at me.’ Richard pleads. You look up, and his face makes calms you down a bit. ‘I got this.’ Richard smiles as he strokes your cheek. ‘Go inside.’

You shake your head and grit your teeth, knowing that Richard is right. You should remove yourself from this situation. Right now, you just want to smack that stupid teen in the face. Of course he couldn’t know that he would confront you with your worst fears, but walking around the streets dressed up like Pennywise the clown when children are around… Some people got stupid ideas, but this one is the dumbest you’ve ever encountered. You turn around and walk into your house again. It’s probably for the best that you leave the talking up to Richard. You’re too hotheaded now to react in a normal way. You slam the door of your bedroom shut and lie down on the bed. You close your eyes and try to consciously slow your breathing, but the image of that horrible smiling face won’t go away.

You’re still in bed when Richard lies down next to you. ‘Are you okay, darling?’ He asks as he pulls you into his arms. ‘Hmmm.’ You groan. ‘Scott told me he just wanted to prank his younger siblings.’ Richard rumbles. ‘I don’t even…’ You sigh. Richard chuckles. ‘I know, it was a stupid idea, but he told me it wasn’t his intention to scare you like that. He was following his brothers and little sister around the whole evening, trying to find a right moment to give them a good scare. He hid in our front yard when his brothers suddenly ran away. He didn’t want to frighten Rosie, but when he saw you walking away with her he thought it might be funny to pull a prank on you instead.’ You mutter something under your breath and Richard starts laughing. ‘He’s just a kid, Nin.’ He says. ‘Besides, will you tell me why you’re so terrified?’ You shrug. ‘I don’t know. I just am. I don’t like them. They’re creepy.’

Richard kisses your neck and you can feel your muscles slowly relaxing again. ‘From now on I’ll be here to protect you from any scary looking clown.’ He teases. ‘Until you have to leave to do a new project.’ You say. Richard chuckles. ‘Talking about projects… Where is my script?’ You giggle. ‘I have no idea, mister Armitage. I truly believe my cats ate it.’ You inhale sharply as Richard’s hands start to roam over your body again. ‘What were we doing before the doorbell rang?’ Richard breathes, his lips brushing over yours. ‘I don’t know.’ You murmur. ‘I think I was trying to seduce you.’ Richard purrs. ‘Is it working?’ ‘It’s always working.’ You reply. ‘Even when you don’t mean to.’ ‘Good to know.’ Richard pulls you closer and lands his lips on yours. It’s a sweet kiss, but you want more. You know exactly what renders under that soft, dorky surface of his, and you need that. Right now. You push your hips against his and ruck up his shirt. Richard growls into your mouth and his strong hands dig into your hips. You smile as he rolls on top of you, his mouth exploring your body greedily. You can feel the anger and stress being melted away by each kiss. Heat flares up in your body and your mind becomes hazy again.

You bite your lip. This man is a magician, and there’s no doubt he’s able to make you forget what happened tonight. You’ll probably forget your own name too. Your head falls back on the bed as Richard’s hands slip under your shirt.

Oh god.

This is going to be a long, very long night…

[arplis]

Arplis - News: Cover Reveal and Excerpt: YOU’RE NEXT By Kylie Schachte

We’ve got a debut murder mystery for you to put on your radar. Check out the cover for You’re Next by Kylie Schachte, out June 2020, and read the exclusive excerpt below! When a girl with a troubled history of finding dead bodies investigates the murder of her ex, she uncovers a plot to put herself—and everyone she loves—on the list of who’s next. Flora Calhoun has a reputation for sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong. After stumbling upon a classmate’s body years ago, the trauma of that discovery and the police’s failure to find the killer has haunted her ever since. One night, she gets a midnight text from Ava McQueen, the beautiful girl who had ignited Flora’s heart last summer, then never spoke to her again. Just in time to witness Ava’s death from a gunshot wound, Flora is set on a path of rage and vengeance for all the dead girls whose killer is never found. Her tunnel-visioned sleuthing leads to valuable clues about a shocking conspiracy involving her school and beyond, but also earns her sinister threats from the murderer. She has a choice—to give up the hunt for answers, or keep digging and risk her loved ones’ lives. Either way, Flora will regret the consequences. Who’s next on the killer’s list? Chapter 1 Greg Garcy leers at me from his mug shot: bastard doesn’t know I’ve nailed him yet. I clutch his WANTED flyer in my hand and race down the hall, but I can’t look away from his crushed, sneering nose and bleary eyes. You can’t run from me. The bell rings. Damn. I’m so going to be late for chem. I spent my free period in the parking lot listening to the police scanner on my phone and lost track of time. It was worth it. Garcy is wanted for a string of serial rapes upstate. He’s attacked dozens of women, and he was allowed to get away with it for years. Until now. The hot pulse of adrenaline zips through me as I dash through the halls. I got him. I really got him. I need to run a plate, but⎯ I slam into someone. The Garcy flyer, my bag, pens, and various notebooks scatter across the hallway. There’s a brief tangle of sharp elbows, and I yelp when the corner of my chem textbook lands on my toe. Of course this is the day I didn’t wear my steel-toed boots. “Balls! Fuck! Ow! Shit!” I yell. “Flora Calhoun, you kiss your mother with that mouth?” I squint through the red haze of stubbed-toe agony. Ava McQueen gathers up my papers, pens, and the lone tampon I dropped. One corner of her plum-painted mouth tugs up in a troublemaker’s smile, and a fizzy feeling climbs the back of my neck. It’s been eight months and four days since the last time I kissed her, but I still remember exactly how her lips felt against mine. “H-hey, Ava.” I drop down to help her. “How you been? Haven’t seen you around much.” Yeah. We haven’t talked a whole lot since you started avoiding me. “Um, good. You know, same old bullshit.” She picks Garcy’s WANTED flyer up off the ground and stands. “Clearly.” I blush, which is basically the most annoying thing in the world when you’re a redhead. Ava always makes me feel like I’ve just missed the last step in the staircase. Ava is a year older than me, but we took the same elective on the history of political activism during my freshman year. One day, she shut down this Young Conservatives idiot who called the Black Panthers a terrorist organization. Everyone clapped, Mr. Young Con crapped his khakis, and I fell in love. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that she plays bass guitar, or that she’s bananas hot. I mean, with her curls done up in adorable space buns, and the lipstick, and that funny little smile she’s still giving me? Which is super confusing, since she hasn’t smiled at me like that in a long time. Eight months and four days. Can’t be thinking about that. I focus on shoving my stuff back into my bag. “Oh, uh. You know me. Can’t keep myself out of trouble.” She does know. I’ve always suspected that’s why she stopped talking to me⎯stopped kissing me⎯in the first place. Ava stares at the flyer in her hand. When she glances up at me, the teasing smile has vanished, and something dark flickers in her expression. She looks down again, trying to hide it. If there’s one thing I know, it’s what fear looks like. I take a half step forward, any weirdness between us forgotten. “Ava? Are you okay?” She fingers the edge of the paper. “You ever do something stupid? I mean, like, really, really stupid? Can’t-take-it-back stupid?” “Almost every day.” My face heats again. Why did I say that? “You know”—Ava’s eyes flick from Garcy’s face to mine—“I believe that.” That stings, but I ignore it. “Ava, if you’re in trouble, I can help you.” She opens her mouth, but her eyes catch on something over my shoulder. She stills. I glance behind me. Nothing but the usual throng of people trying to get to their lockers. No one looks this way. Ava folds the Garcy flyer in half, then quarters. “No worries. I have it under control.” I take another step toward her. “Seriously, I do this kind of stuff all the time. I know we haven’t, um, talked much lately, but I can⎯” Ava’s smile is cold, nothing like before. Shit. I shouldn’t have brought up the her-and-me stuff. “I got it. Just being dumb, right? Nothing I can’t handle. You take care of yourself, Flora.” She tucks the flyer back into my bag. For a second, she’s close enough that I smell her warm, woodsy perfume, but she walks away before I can get another word out. I’m being dumb, right? She just remembered that she doesn’t want to talk to me, that’s all. So why is my chest suddenly tight with dread? I shake off my confusion and chase after her, but by the time I round the corner, she’s already gone. I tap my pen on the worksheet in front of me. Balance the equation: C5H8O2 + NaH + HCl → C5H12O2 + NaCl I usually like the tidiness of balancing equations, but today I can’t focus. Was Ava worried, or am I manufacturing an excuse to talk to her? Or maybe she was scared, but she didn’t want to talk to me about it? “Dude, please. You have to listen.” Two tables away, Damian Rivera scribbles on a slip of paper and slides it across the desk to his best friend, Penn Williams. Penn knocks the note to the floor without looking up. The space beneath his desk is littered with scraps of paper. I lean forward in my seat. Is that a bruise on his cheek? It’s a faint yellowy-purple, like he tried to cover it with makeup. That’s not sketchy at all. “Please,” Damian hisses. “Let me explain.” Penn’s chair scrapes against the linoleum as he stands. He grabs the bathroom pass off its hook and stalks out of the room. Is it me, or is he limping a little? Mrs. Varner calls out, “Ten more minutes, guys, then we’ll discuss.” I’m only on question two. Between Garcy and Ava, I have enough intrigue in my life for one day. I drag my attention back to the double displacement reaction on my paper. Balance the equation… Penn never returns to class. When the bell finally rings, Damian races out the door. Rushing to hunt down his friend, maybe? Those abandoned scraps of paper are still on the floor. I shouldn’t. The last thing I need is to get sucked into the breakup of Penn and Damian’s bromance. I bend down and scoop the notes up. The first one says: I’m sorry. Please talk to me. The second: You have to understand. And the third: You don’t know what she’ll do to me. I pocket the scraps of paper and leave the classroom. “I have so much to tell you.” Cassidy Yang, my best and only friend, waits for me in the hall. She’s kind of impossible to miss in her oversize safety-orange sweater. Straw-like blond hair peeks out from under her gray beanie. She bleached her hair months ago, and now the black is making a comeback. When I try stuff like that, I look like an idiot. When Cass does, she looks like she’s in some magazine spread on street style. “What’s up?” I ask, my mind still half stuck on Ava’s terrified face. Cass and I make our way down the hall. She’s practically vibrating with enthusiasm. One kid winces as he passes, like he’s blinded by her sweater. “They did it!” she says. “They finally approved the funds for rock ensemble.” “Seriously? That’s awesome.” For the first time this afternoon, my anxiety about Ava fades a little. “I know!” Cass does a gleeful little shimmy. “There are only seven spots in the class, though. I have to do some intense practice tonight. Auditions are tomorrow.” “You should bring some of your original songs.” Cass stops dancing. “Maybe.” I roll my eyes. I was a little surprised a year ago when Cass bought a guitar and started teaching herself to play from YouTube videos. She’d never expressed any kind of interest in it before, but she’s already really good. She still gets shy about her own songwriting, though. I don’t push it. “Hey, you’re in history with Penn Williams, right? Have you noticed anything weird lately?” Cass considers it. “Not really, but that’s normal. Penn’s so quiet.” I tell her what I saw in chem class. “You think he’s in trouble?” she asks. “Maybe. Or maybe I’m sticking my nose in where it doesn’t belong.” “Well, you wouldn’t be you if you didn’t,” she says dryly. “Should we try some good old-fashioned internet stalking? If Penn’s got issues, bet you it’s all over Instagram.” We spend the rest of the walk to her car discussing post frequency, content, and filter choices as possible clues of distress. A few times, I almost tell Cass about the strange, tense conversation I had with Ava, but then I don’t. Maybe I was imagining it. Maybe it was the same old awkwardness between Ava and me, left over from last summer. If I bring her up now, Cass will want to talk about it. It might have been eight months and four days, but I’d still rather launch myself into the blazing sun than deal with all those feelings. Cass drops me off, and I promise to call later to help her prep for the audition. “I’m home!” I call out, dumping my stuff in the doorway. “Yes, I was able to deduce that from the sound of the door opening at precisely the same time you come home every day.” My grandfather appears in the doorway. I’m about 99 percent certain he’s ex-CIA from the golden years when they had free rein to deal with those pesky Russians. William Calhoun has been retired for years, but he still wears a custom-tailored suit every day. “You know, most parental guardians open with a ‘Hello, honey, how was your day?’ when their progeny return from the battlefield of high school education.” “How quaint.” He retrieves my bag from the floor and throws me a pointed look as he hangs it neatly on its hook. The scents of butter and cinnamon draw me into the kitchen. “Did you make cookies?” “Yes, I thought you might appreciate a post-battle snickerdoodle.” “Forget those other loser grandfathers, you’re the best,” I call back. I’ve always wondered if he learned to bake when he was undercover. He’s a little too good at it. Gramps hums to himself as he dons oven mitts and pulls out a fresh batch of cookies. He’s downright cheerful today. I guess it’s as good a time as any to ask. “So, I need a favor.” He ignores me and grabs a spatula. Maybe some buttering up is in order. “I have a new theory about you,” I tell him. “You were attempting to unveil a Soviet spy stationed within the French government. You went undercover as a baker’s apprentice at the patisserie where the pinko went every morning for his petit déjeuner, and that’s where you learned this delicious sorcery.” I brandish my cookie in the air for emphasis. “Inventive.” He scrapes dried batter off the tray. “So, this favor…” No one sighs like William Calhoun. So soft, and yet weighted with such vexation. He begins transferring cookies from the baking sheet to the cooling rack. “In case I have not mentioned it yet today, I must tell you that your tenacity is a rather ugly character flaw. What can I do for you this time? Plant listening devices in the home of a Venezuelan dignitary? Order the assassination of your physical education teacher?” “Nah, I’m saving that one for a graduation present. I was hoping one of your old buddies could run a plate for me?” “I thought we had finally realized that potential love interests seldom appreciate stalking as a precursor to courtship.” “Yeah, well, if I never have a serious relationship, we’ll know who’s to blame. No crush. It’s Greg Garcy.” I pull the WANTED flyer from my bag. “The case has been cold for months, but I heard on the tip line he’s been spotted a few times in the area. I’ve got a lead on the car.” “Flora, we have discussed this.” He scoops fresh cookie dough onto the baking sheet. “I do not mind you illegally tapping into the police phone system; I simply don’t wish to hear about it.” “Yeah, yeah, I get it. You’ll call some of your friends in Virginia?” He blinks. “I have no idea what you mean. I was nothing but a humble midlevel diplomat.” “Is that why there’s a framed photo of you and William J. Donovan, founder of the CIA, on your desk?” I ask through a mouthful of cookie. “Has anyone mentioned how off-putting it is for young ladies to be so observant?” “Yes. You. Frequently.” “Well, all right, then. I will call up some of the old boys for you.” “I love you, and not because you’re my affable and genteel grandfather, but because of the goods and services I can extort from you.” “I would expect no less.” Olive walks into the kitchen. She’s dressed for ballet class, every strand of her hair pulled up tight in a perfect bun. I finger the ends of my own sloppy braid. Olive is only thirteen, but she has her shit way more together than me. “Mom called.” She grabs a banana from the fruit bowl to put in her bag. “You just missed her.” Yeah, I bet. My mother has lived in Germany for the last year and a half. She’s a painter at this artist-in-residence thing in Berlin. She was only supposed to be gone for six months, but here we are. She knows my school schedule, and yet somehow she always calls about fifteen minutes before I get home. It’s a convenient way for her to pretend to be my mother without having to, you know, mother me. “Hm,” is all I can think to say. Gramps watches me, but I avoid his eyes. “She’s good, if you were wondering. Her gallery show is next weekend.” Olive’s spine has gone very straight. She does that when she’s annoyed⎯practices her dance posture. “That’s great.” I try to sound sincere, but it mostly comes out exhausted. I don’t even know how I’m supposed to feel about my mom anymore. Olive rolls her eyes. My attempts to appease her only piss her off. Olive and I get along about as well as any sisters would, for the most part, but it’s no secret she blames me for Mom leaving. She’s not wrong. Olive turns to my grandfather. “Can we go?” “Of course.” He wipes the flour from his hands with a dish towel. As they’re about to leave, he turns to me with pretend sternness. “Allow those cookies to cool before gorging, please.” I give him a salute. “Yes, sir.” “I’ll get that license plate for you this evening.” The look in his eyes is gentle, and a little sad. He doesn’t really know how to feel about the Mom stuff, either. “Thanks.” That night, after my grandfather has plied me with more tacos than I should reasonably be able to fit inside me, I call in the Garcy tip. The cops aren’t particularly thrilled to hear from me—we don’t have the best working relationship—but Gramps cashed in a favor with the Department of Transportation and got me the tollbooth photos of Garcy entering the area, his face and license plate number clear as day. Hard for the police to ignore me when I hand them a perp on that kind of silver platter. In the state of New York, you must be at least twenty-five years of age and have a minimum of three years’ relevant experience to apply for a private investigator’s license. Needless to say, I fall short on all of the requirements. The cops pretend that I’m some dumb kid who barely stays out of their way. I play along because it protects their delicate egos and keeps them occupied while I do my job. Because it is a job. Garcy was a special case—I found him in an article about how the NYPD finally tested thousands of rape kits they’d held in storage for years—but most of the time I work for hire, and I get paid. All under the table, of course, and if the IRS ever calls, Cass and I are running a very lucrative babysitting business. I pull up all of Penn’s and Damian’s social media accounts and start combing through them. The two of them are part of that crowd that hangs out in the art studio during their free periods, so most of their pictures are of their work. Half of Damian’s feed is taken up by progress shots of a giant white snake sculpture. There are no obvious signs of distress, but one thing sticks out to me right away: up until about three weeks ago, both Penn and Damian commented on every single one of each other’s posts. And then nothing. I hesitate, then pull up Ava’s profile. I haven’t let myself look at this in a long time, but I can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong and Ava was too afraid to talk. Not much has changed on her feed. Lots of pictures of her and her friends, laughing and goofing off. A screenshot of a bell hooks quote. A dark, grainy video of her playing her bass in her bedroom. I scroll down farther. I shouldn’t, but I can’t help myself. There: last July. One picture, the only proof that the two of us were ever anything. A selfie she insisted we take. We’re lying on our backs; our cheeks are pressed together. I’m flushed with giddy embarrassment. Ava’s smile is as dopey and glittering as mine. No hint that a month later she would refuse to speak to me, let alone be in the same room. If you look closely, you can see the floral print of my pillowcase under her head. My phone vibrates. Ava McQueen’s name lights up my screen. There’s a flutter of fear and pleasure in the no-man’s-land below my belly button. Does she know I was looking at her, somehow? Does she want to talk to me? But she had that look on her face earlier. That dark look. “Hello?” “Flora?” Ava whispers. “I need your help.” #YoungAdultLiterature #Excerpts #Mystery/Thriller #CoverReveal

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