#on the other i'd jump on a beach right about now if i could

[spacebagfullofstars]

Honda Oddysey Scene but in Evolution

This is a snippet of my X Men Evolution Deadpool AU that's been on my mind lately. Inspired by the most talked about scene in Deadpool and Wolverine

It was hard to tell when exactly the night rolled around. It was still dawn when they arrived in San Francisco and they haven't left their beaten up meat truck since.

Wolverine was still driving without any kind of direction. His mask was on, but his frown was visible through it. Deadpool, driving shot gun, seemed to had completely dissociated himself from his surroundings. He was switching between radio stations and trying to find the right music. The mutant, unfortunately, had to suffer through each song whenever the other man changed his mind. Currently, they were listening to Cher's 'If I Could Turn Back Time'.

A few seconds passed. Another switch, they were listening to 'War' by Edwin Starr.

Another few seconds. 'Shake your Groove Thing' by Peaches and Herb.

Another few seconds. 'Sugar, Sugar' by the Archies.

Before another few seconds passed, Wolverine reached out and turned off the radio, momentarily returning his attention on the road. The lack of eye contact and how quickly it happened made it come off as passive-aggresive.

"I was listening to that." Deadpool said, in all his audacity. Logan didn't give him the luxury of response. The mercenary tried to focus on the window, but without the background noise, his need to open his mouth grew stronger.

"I was going to give you half of the cut, you know." He said after a second, looking at Wolverine, who still refused to give him time of a day. "I'd never make it not worth your time. Think whatever you want of me, I treat my business partners with respect."

"You lied to me." Logan suddenly growled. Somehow, he sounded even more angry than usual.

"Strike two, ferret man." Deadpool said, making a peace sign at him. "I said that I needed your help, and I said that the old Hydra base could be of interest to you. Not my fault they didn't have any info on your past. That didn't count as lying, I just didn't tell the whole truth."

The mutant snarled, making Deadpool jump. He saw him gripping the wheel, which he was sure would leave a few dents. Not that he planned on returning the vehicle at that point.

"What? Tell me honestly, would you help me if I came up to you and said: 'Hey, Wolvie! Some rich weirdo paid me to go and steal something from this place that looks like a horror rip-off of Area 51! Also, did I mention that this place is full of freaky water tanks? Also also, did you know that apparently, our healing factor isn't immune to drowning?'"

"Would've been nice knowin' that before you waltzed right into a trap." Logan retorted through gritted teeth.

"You've had your healing factor longer than I have." Wade said, leaning against his seat and crossing his arms. "That one's just on you."

And just like that, Wolverine's buttons were pushed. Without any warning, he made a sharp turn. Deadpool regretted not tightening his seatbelt when he had the chance as he crashed onto the door next to his seat. The truck fell off the road and down the hill. It was far from a pleasant experience, but thankfully, it survived to tell the tale. It landed on a beach right under their road. It was empty, so the mutant parked on its sand.

As soon as the vehicle stopped, he swung and punched Wade in the face. The mercenary screamed, hiding it in his hands. He was lucky that he wore his red mask because he was pretty sure Logan broke his nose.

"Dude-!" Wade shouted. Before he fully recovered, he felt a strong grip on his neck. Now that Logan wasn't focusing on the road, all of his rage was directed at him.

"You want an apology? Fine, I'm sorry!" The mercenary managed, holding onto the hand crushing his neck. "If I knew you'd be so mad, I'd ask that brute Sabertooth to come! But I didn't, because I like you more!"

Logan roared as he slammed him against the back of the seat.

"You lied to me! You wasted my time! And because of you, we're bein' hunted down like animals!" The mutant's voice was barely there with all those grunts.

"I didn't lie!-"

"Yes, you did! You used my lost memories against me! You knew how much it meant to me to regain them and you still manipulated me into doin' your dirty work! You used me as a weapon, just like everyone else!"

"... Oh, boo-freaking-hoo!" Deadpool frowned, growing more defensive. That shift caught Wolverine off guard. "Little Wolverine can't remember his first day in new school! Guess what, jerk, I don't remember much after my experimentation either! But I don't let that hold me back! Here are some hard pills to swallow: You're so desperate to know your past that you let me of all people make a monkey out of you! Me! Keep trusting the wrong guys and soon you won't even have a future to look forward to!"

After he finished, he looked back at Wolverine. He was staring at him with this empty look that freaked him out even more than the angry snarl. Suddenly, he let him go and Wade fell back on his seat. He coughed and massaged his neck.

"Look, Wolv. I'm sorry." He tried, because he couldn't handle seeing him like this anymore. "Really, I am. But take it from me, maybe it's better to just forget... No hard feelings?..."

He didn't know yet that he said too much. Wolverine was silent for a few more moments. Then, he wheezed. The mutant threw his back against the seat, and running his hand up his scalp, he succumbed to his laughter. It wasn't a pleasant sound at all. It was strained, almost hysterical, and obviously provoked more by his fury than actual amusement. Still, it was the first time Deadpool actually made him laugh.

"Oh wow!... " The mercenary said through his nervous chuckle that was muted by Wolverine. "So that's how you laugh! Just as terrifying as the rest of you!... I didn't say any joke yet, though."

"You didn't have to." Logan sighed deeply, partially regaining his posture. The next look he gave Wade was entirely venomous.

"You are the biggest joke I've ever seen! There hasn't been as much of an audacious, or insecure, or callous stain on humanity than this manchild I have the displeasure of sittin' right next to! You're good for nothin' but spreadin' mysery everywhere you go! You ain't got no morals, no friends, and you make it everyone's problem, 'cause you can't ever accept the fact that your actions have consequences!" Logan paused to catch his breath. Deadpool visibly shrinked in his own seat. Suddenly, the mutant's claws came out and he shoved them to the back of the truck, scraping its surface in a long line.

"Oh, how I wish I pushed you off that cliff first time we've met! Maybe that would've gotten the message through your dense skull, just how much I want to see you set on fire! Hate doesn't even begin to describe what I'm feelin' towards you! Ain't no wonder why that blue woman you keep yappin' about hasn't come back to you yet! You have to make up an imaginary girlfriend to protect your delicate feelin's from the fact that nobody will ever want you! How 'bout this hard pill to swallow: The doctors that tortured you didn't ruin your life! You did! You have to act like an obnoxious clown, otherwise no one would ever give you the attention you're so obviously cravin'! I can't wait for the day when you'll wake up and realise that you'll be spendin' the rest of eternity alone, and you can thank only yourself for that! But that's just wishful thinkin', 'cause you're-" His claws pulled back and he slammed his fist against the marked metal.

"-too-" Slam!

"-stupid-" Slam!

"-to think of anythin' outside of your own bubble of insanity!" SLAM! The wall bended and partially fell apart, just enough for them to see the inside of their cargo.

At long last came the silence. Logan used his hand to support himself from collapsing. He panted and bared his teeth at the mercenary who grew concerningly quiet. Not for Logan, though.

"No more jokes, bub?" He leaned closer and sneered, not being able to resist one last jab. "Come on, give me a real tear-jerker. I'm feelin' like laughin' for a change."

He looked directly into Deadpool's eyes. All he saw in them were two empty voids. The mutant settled back on his seat and tried to catch his breath. A second later and he would've regretted some of the things he said.

"... Take it back." Deadpool murmured softly. Had it not been for Wolverine's super hearing, he would've missed it.

"You don't know when to quit, do you?" The mutant snorted loudly. It was his own enjoyment of seeing the mercenary be put in his place that led him to lower his guard. Before he knew, Wade grabbed the back of his head, painfully gripping a handful of hair and hood.

"I said take it back!" He roared with the anger he never let anyone see. Without any warning, he slammed Wolverine's head against the front of the car. Then he did it again and on his third time he accidentally turned on the radio.

'Why Can't We Be Friends?' by War started playing.

Slam!

'Express Yourself' by Madonna.

Slam!

'You're the One That I Want' from the musical Grease.

"Why you little-!" Wolverine wouldn't take it any longer. He grabbed onto whatever he could and prevented Deadpool from slamming his head again. He pulled out his claws and jammed them into the other's right shoulder. Wade cried out. Using the moment of distraction, the mutant freed himself. Then, he grabbed Wade's head, pulled him close, and then slammed his head against the radio. This time it played 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart' by Elton John and Kiki Dee.

Despite being a taller man, Deadpool had to trouble slipping into a different position in his limited space. He kicked Logan onto the door, breaking the window and leaving a huge dent. The mutant growled, glaring back at him with pure fire in his eyes. Deadpool tried to throw a hit, but Logan caught his fist and then repeatedly punched him in the face. Wade dodged and a hit full of claws meant for him punctured the already beat down back of the truck.

The mercenary used this for his advantage. He managed to grab Logan by the shoulders and then threw him in order to take down the rest of the space separating them from the cargo. They both fell into the cold, smelly abyss where they could barely see each other. Not that it would stop them.

[acecroft]

The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two (2020) dir. Chris Columbus

[lizthewriter]

i'll take care of you, that's true / poly!billy loomis & stu macher

PAIRING  billy loomis x stu macher x fem!reader

SUMMARY  it's been plainly obvious to your group of friends (and probably everyone in the entire school at this point) that you, stu, and billy harbored a heaping amount of feelings towards one another. see, the problem was that while billy and stu were completely aware of their feelings for each other and for you, you had made no efforts to be as obvious with your feelings as they did. stu was always launching some flirty line at you that made your heart stumble and insisted on paying for anything you wanted when you went out - billy offered to carry your book bag from class to class and you always caught him staring at you with this hungry look in his eye. you hadn't expected to spill your feelings towards them in the oddest way - when your depression claws it's way back from the dead.

TAGS  billy loomis x stu macher x fem!reader, fluff, angst, no hurt just comfort, happy ending, idiots in love, soft!romantic!stu, billy is a lil' inexperienced with those things called emotions, but we ball, reader is quite feminine, reader loves pink, reader has depression, no ghostface we die like men, implied stalking

QUOTE  "stand beside it, we can't hide the way you make us glow . . . i'd take care of you if you asked me to," - take care by beach house

WORD COUNT  1.5K

WRITTEN  10.25.2023

Stu thought back to the previous morning - you had walked into school in one of those cute pink numbers of yours that he knew Billy secretly loved. He watched you approach your locker from across the hall and open the door. Hoping to suprise you, he snuck up and hid behind the door, waiting for the inevitable moment when you would slam the door close and jump in suprise at his sudden appearance. It happened exactly as Stu predicted - you placed one last book in your locker and closed it shut, suddenly jolting when you noticed Stu, and clutching your heart through your chest.

"Geez, Stu, you scared the crap out of me," you said breathlessly, your mind on a heightened alert from the adrenaline of the jump scare. You noticed he was holding something behind his back and furrowed your brows, a questioning smile spreading across your face. "What's that?"

"Suprise!" Stu exclaimed loudly, revealing what he was hiding behind his back. You ignored the stares from your other classmates in the hall and bit back a grin as you graciously received his gift. Filled iside a plastic box were shortbread cookies filled with strawberry jam, powdered sugar covering the top.

"Aw Stu, you really shouldn't have," you said, unable to stop the flush from rushing to your cheeks. "Thank you, these look amazing! How did you know I liked shortbread?"

Stu shrugged as though he just happened to select the right cookies. But really, he had seen you buy something similar when he followed you out into town once. He also knew of many other foods you were paticularly fond of, which lead you to joke around that he had some sort of superpower, always knowing what food you liked. "Dunno, just reminded me of you, babe."

-

This morning, however, a very different aura surrounded you. You came in wearing one of your usual outfits, offering what seemed to be sweet smiles to classmates who greeted you in passing. But something was utterly wrong and Stu could definitely sense it.

This morning, he stood by Billy's locker, which was a little down the hall from yours. Stu had been so preoccupied in his own thoughts about you, wondering what was wrong and how he could fix it, that he hadn't been paying attention to Billy. He felt someone rap him sharply on the head and let out a yelp, turning to face Billy.

"Hey, that hurt, man!" He exclaimed, rubbing the back of his now stinging head.

"Well don't ignore me next time." Billy slammed close his locker and glanced back towards Stu. Curious about what had his friend so preoccupied, he followed Stu's line of sight to you. The edge of his lips curled up slightly. "Oh, I see what it is. That pretty little minx has you all wrapped around her finger, huh?"

"No - well, that too, but something's wrong with her," Stu said, worry etched into his expression. He watched as you slowly filled your locker with textbooks, your arms shaking weakly.

"Are you sure? I mean, now that you say that, she does look a little . . . pale." Billy went silent as the both of them watched you, mentally debating what to do. "I'm not really good at all that 'emotions' stuff. I think it would be better if you talked to her."

"All right, but at least come with me." Billy huffed, pretending as though it was all an inconvenience, but immediately followed Stu as he cautiously approached you. Today, there was no jumpscare when you closed the door to your locker. You offered yet another fake smile to the boys, but Stu couldn't help but notice the bags under your eyes.

"Hey boys," you said. "Look, I have a class soon, so I really think I should -"

"Are you okay?" Stu asked softly, bringing a hand up to caress against your cheek gently. You cringed away from him, causing a pang of hurt to echo through his heart.

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine." You couldn't meet his eyes anymore, much more focused on your feet now. What were you supposed to tell him? That you cried yourself to sleep last night? That there was some sort of gaping hole in your chest? And you couldn't even figure out why it was there? That, what, you barely enjoyed any of your old hobbies, that everyday chores were beginning to turn into difficult tasks?

"Please, Stu, just -"

"Don't push us away." Both of you glanced towards Billy - the two of you were surprised to hear him speak. "We just care about your well-being, that's all."

"Yeah, come on, just talk to us? We just want to help you, make you feel better."

You bit your bottom lip and the gears in your head turned - the boys could see the internal debate going on in your head. You grabbed both of their wrists, leading them to a nearby janitor's closet. Although it was only a few steps away, it felt like forever walking there, especially when you felt as though you were about to cry again.

Billy shut the door behind both of you, causing you to dissolve into a blubbering mess as soon as he did so. "I feel - so terrible all the time and . . . don't know why - can't talk to anyone." Your words were interrupted by sniffles, hiccups, and sobs.

"Babe . . ." Stu said with a frown, sitting you down on the janitor's small desk chair. Your gaze was directed towards the ground, so he got on both knees just so you would meet his eyes. "It's okay. I get like that too sometimes . . ."

"You . . . do?" Even Billy tilted his head, glancing towards Stu with an arched brow. Funnily enough, in their relationship, Billy had always been the one to talk about their problems, but never Stu.

"That's right babe. And most of the time I don't get it either - I just get sad and hopeless. And sometimes nothing can make it better. But I feel less shitty when I'm with my friends." He grabbed both of your hands and held them in his own, offering you a kind smile. "Hm? You can talk to us, pretty."

All your thoughts came out faster than intended and soon enough you were ranting quite vivaciously to the two of them, who both listened patiently and waited for you to finish before saying anything. You felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off of your chest with each and every word that spilled from your lips. You wanted to say more, to get it all out. Suddenly, one paticularly heavy secret came to mind and you found guilt seeping through every vein in your body. You glanced between the two boys with trepidation. While Atu was watching you in admiration and understanding, Billy seemed lost in his own world, almost like he was in longing.

You had to admit that you were attracted to both of them, something that made you feel incredibly guilty. They were both your friends and you always felt as though you were hurting the other when you were paying paticular attention to only one of them.

"What is it, baby? Is there something else you want to get off your chest?" Stu asked.

You withdrew your hands from him, causing him to furrow his brows. "Well . . . there's something I need to tell the both of you. I owe it to you, to tell you . . . So, uh . . ." Your voice trailed off as you met Stu's puppy eyes once again. "I like you, both of you."

Stu grinned. "We like you too!"

You shook your head, standing up. Stu rose from the floor with you, a confused grin on his face. "No, you don't get it. I like like both of you and it's obvious the two of you feel the same way, but . . . I don't want to have to choose."

"No, I don't think you're getting it," Billy said, pushing himself off the wall he'd been leaning against and approaching you. "We like you too. We want you."

Stu grabbed your shoulders and pressed a kiss to your forehead. "Don't you see, we both love ya!" He exclaimed excitedly. A small bit of hope leaked into your expression and you looked up at them with those adorable, innocent eyes that had the both of them reeling.

"Really?"

"Really," said Billy.

"We'll always be here for you -" Stu boomed your nose, wrinkling his with affection. "- whenever and however you need us. So . . . let's play hooky! The two of us will take you out and we'll have a blast! Turn that frown upside down! What do you say?"

You bit back a shy smile and nodded. "That actually sounds . . . really nice."

[feelingdozy]

I love your writing omg <3 it's MARVELOUS I'm so jealous!! could you do finnick odair flirting with a shy!gn!reader? Like he calls them cute and they just freak out and hide into their shirt or a blanket, etc etc? And he just keeps flirting until reader just covers his mouth and they make eye contact and it's a HUZZAH moment before finnick just kisses them?? sorry if this is really specific!! thank you if you fulfill this request <3

A Little Shy

Finnick Odair x Reader

Hunger Games Masterlist

Summary: you go out to town to find some supplies for fishing as it's the perfect season. You find yourself inexperienced with tridents, and someone comes along to help you find the perfect one to fit your needs.

Note: this is a super cute request and will probably take awhile to post because I want to make sure it is absolutely perfect, also thank you!! I try my best to write as nicely as possible

Warnings: mention of death and killing, slap (hand over mouth)

You had wanted to go to the market in district 4 for awhile, wanting to see what there was to offer at this time of the month. It was the prime time for fishing, so a lot of people had been stocking up.

You stayed for a few hours getting the basic supplies, making your way over to the tridents. You had never been a pro even as a district 4 victor, but had always admired people who were able to use a Trident so easily.

You looked around slowly at all they had to offer, wondering at that point if maybe you should get your own and try it out.

"that one's nice, huh?"

You jumped at the voice that came from behind you, quickly turning around. You should've recognized the voice, of course it was Finnick.

Naturally, you got shy knowing how much you admired his Trident skills as he'd won with them as the youngest in the arena. You hated the games, but loved the skills of the weapons that came with it.

"are you good at using a trident? I've never seen you use one"

He was watching you? I mean he was your mentor back then, but you were really a nobody. You thought your win was a bit sad compared to other people who had won with skill. It was the career in you talking, quickly coming back to realize the horror that came behind it all and that you were lucky to be standing here alive right now.

"not really, I'd love to learn though.."

Your voice was quiet and faded off as you glared at other ones surrounding the two of you.

"how about you come down to my house later and I'll teach you a few tricks y/n?"

You turned to him, his charming smile placed on his face as he found your eyes.

"sure"

A blush found your cheeks, a little intimidated to be taught to use a trident by the Finnick Odair. Even though you should've learned how to use a Trident in the training for the games, you focused on your hand to hand combat and nature tips and tricks then the main weapon of your district. It made you feel a little more reassured that you wouldn't die by accidentally eating the wrong type of berry.

You picked out a trident fitting to your hand, comfortable in your hold. Then it was time to start walking to the victors village that was surrounded by ocean. Their backyards went out to a beautiful beach, and then water. Constant, neverending water leaving room to do anything you aspire to.

The walk was peaceful, as usual. The weather was hotter than usual so if you were going to be in the water, why not change into a bathing suit? You quickly went home and put on a bathing suit beneath your clothing, hiding it before you got to his house.

You knocked on his door, his footsteps getting closer and your heartbeat faster. The anxiety hit as he opened the door. You just now realized his height compared to yours and how shy you were. It's the Finnick Odair. How could you not be a little scared?

"come in"

He said with the same charming smile as before, gesturing for you to sit anywhere you'd like. His place was nicely decorated, ocean themed items around you at every turn. Tridents sat on the wall, some framed and some just hung as a decoration.

He had gone to the kitchen, his back turned towards the living room. You looked at his hair that always looked amazing and you wanted to ruffle it and run your hands through it- wait. We're you actually thinking of.. no. This was Finnick Odair. Loved by the capitol, loved by the people in his district and by the other victors. He was an amazing person despite what he had gone through, most not being able to handle it all.

He brought out some cookies and sat them on the table in front of you. He sat down, the couch dipping with the new weight beside you slightly pulling you toward him, slowly sliding. Your cheeks now had a light blush again from simply being in his presence. His eyes glistened in the light of his house, his hair fluffy and his face charming and cute. You thought Finnick Odair was cute. The Finnick Odair.

He stared at you for awhile before breaking the silence.

"soo, you've never picked up a Trident before y/n?"

You nodded your head no. He sort of knew when he was training you many years ago, just a year older than you, wondering why you didn't pick up a trident. He admired your other abilities back then, knowing how to identify different leafs or berries and hand to hand combat were great abilities in general, but especially because you got put in the arena where you'd need just those skills, like it was almost fit for your win.

It's funny because you were by far the shyest tribute he had ever seen, you didn't talk much or make a fuss like many other tributes had done, but instead listened and took any and all information and tips and tricks from the past victors that only wanted to help. Why did people go out of their way to make a fuss?

Your head was turned down from his, scared to actually make eye contact with him no matter your past relationship.

"you can look at me y'know. I don't bite?"

He laughed, your head hesitantly turning upwards, scared that you'll reveal the layer of red forming on your now heat-radiating cheeks.

"no need to be nervous, y/n."

He said, and you swear he was teasing you at this point. You looked into the distance again, seeing him taking in your facial features from your peripheral vision. His eyes widened a bit before his classic smile appeared on his face that he always wore, except it seems a little more.. genuine than before.

"you're cute."

Your eyes then met with his again, and now greatly flustered in front of the man. He memorized your face in the moment, how your cheeks gained more color and your eyes widened. You couldn't even make words come out of your mouth, your heartbeat pounding too loud and mind too fuzzy to make a coherent sentence.

"huh-?!"

Was all that came out of your mouth. He slowly lifted himself up to where his arms were to the side of your face. You quickly pulled up your shirt, covering your slowly reddening face to where you might've been radiating heat, heat that he must've felt through the fabrics that layered because it was so warm.

"You're so cute. Shy hm?"

Your heartbeat pounded louder and louder within your chest as you once again admired the man who was above your sitting, now laying form. You buried yourself even deeper within your shirt before he could see even more obvious and powerful hints of red on the rest of your face.

"look at you. So red. You like me calling you cute sweetheart?"

A slap echoed in the room as you couldn't handle it anymore. You put your hand over his mouth, your heart not being able to take anymore of his flirting. You could feel his signature grin form under your hand as he put his hand on your arm. His hand slowly slid up til it reached yours, taking it and kissing the outside of your palm.

Your eyes met with his sea green. His other hand creeped onto your cheek, his head slowly getting closer to yours.

his lips collided with yours with a deep need to feel your lips for the first time. He deepened the kiss, his soft lips feeling amazing on yours. You couldn't believe your first kiss was with the Finnick Odair. Part of it because you were already in your twenties and you had never kissed anyone before, not having any partners when you were younger. But mostly because it was him.

You let him take the lead, not knowing what else to do. You let go as you had to take a breath even though you never wanted to let go of his soft lips, feeling like you had been in another world while kissing him.

"promise me you won't explode if I kiss you again?"

He laughed as you nodded, going in again for another kiss that had sucked you in, captured you.

You had just kissed Finnick Odair. Twice.

[oisins-stuff]

Starstruck

lo'ak x male metkayina reader

summary; lo'ak sees y/n almost get his shit rocked and falls in love

word count; 2.6k

warnings; homophobia, parent issues, blood, violence (hate crimes?), cussing and little gay dudes

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

lo'ak sat on the beach with his feet resting in the water. he didn't like this place. it wasn't his home and he couldn't pretend it was. "tsahey!! i'm sorry, dude! it was a joke! calm down!" he heard someone yelling and sand shuffling. before he even turned around he heard a punch land. it wasn't too hard, but it definitely hurt whoever received it. he heard someone spit, get hit again, and suddenly the yelling was much closer. he turned around to see one smaller boy- probably around 7'5- being beat by two bigger guys. "so was it not funny?" he chuckled as he tried to scoot back. lo'ak didn't know if he should help or not. getting in a fight wouldn't be the best thing for him right now. one of the taller boys got closer, but the one on the floor tripped him and tried to run. the other grabbed him while his buddy stood up. "skxawng! y/n, you're fucked!" he was about to throw a punch. y/n kicked the man who was holding him in the knee, causing him to be dropped onto the sand. the other boy punched his friend on accident giving y/n enough time to grab the one who had yelled at him by the tail and kick his ankles. both boys were on the ground in minuted, leaving lo'ak to believe his wasn't needed. "fuckers!" y/n kicked sand on the two before he ran off to another section of the beach, struggling to climb over some rocks. it made lo'ak chuckle. this boy just took down two kids twice his size but can't get over some rocks. he walked over and picked him up, gently setting him on the other side and then jumping over himself. "thanks.." y/n was quiet, which was unexpected since he just did what he did. "no problem. what were they so pissed about? i thought they were about to kill you." lo'ak crouched slightly to look closer at the boys face, his nose was bloody and there was a little blood around his lips. he had a bigger bruise forming on his shoulder, lo'ak turned him slightly to get a better look. "i made a joke- i swear it was a joke- about something. they thought i wanted their girlfriends because apparently i was staring and i said some shit like 'i'd rather have you', it was a lie. they lost it." y/n started trying to wipe the blood off of his face but it'd already dried. "it was a bit dramatic, in my opinion. looks like they almost killed you. what's this mean?" he pointed to the arrow tattoo on his back. "something about struggle and triumph. i just like it because it looks cool, but tsireya insisted it had a meaning. i don't even know how to use a bow and arrow." he was still trying to wipe the blood off. "here," lo'ak crouched down, scooping some water up before putting his hands on y/ns face to wipe off the blood, "i could teach you. maybe you should stay over here for awhile, i don't think you dropping those guys made them any happier." he tried his best to ignore the way y/n was staring into his eyes as he grabbed the shorter boys chin and started to wipe off his cheek. "i would, but i have stuff to do. i don't have food, or any of my supplies. i need to weave baskets and make jewelry." his eyes never left lo'aks. "i can grab you stuff. i'd say lay low for at least two days, even if it isn't the entire day. like come out during the day and switch up where you sleep, ya know?" he dropped his hand from the others chin, rinsing the blood off. "thanks, man."

lo'ak hopped over the tall rocks, the bag on his shoulder almost falling off. "hey, y/n!" he looked down at the boy who was drawing in the sand. he jumped up when he saw lo'ak. "what'd you bring?" he was smiling from ear to ear and standing on his toes, trying to peak in the bag. lo'ak dropped it, letting it all fall out. "some of your basket stuff, jewelry stuff, food and a blanket. i can stay over here, but my siblings might get snoopy." he sat beside y/n as y/n dug through everything. "you have siblings?" he asked, biting into one of the things lo'ak brought. "yeah, three. neteyam is the oldest, but tuk would probably be the one to follow me." y/n seemed so genuinely interested. "i don't have any. my parents don't talk to me much anymore, the made me find my own pod to live in after they found out." he picked up some string and beads and started making a bracelet. "found out what?" he watched as y/ns hands quickly moved to construct whatever he was making. "that i like dudes. they flipped out. they're trying to have another baby because they said they don't want the bloodline to end. i'm a disgrace for being so selfish and refusing to give them grandchildren." he shrugged as if it was nothing. "oh.." lo'ak didn't know how to reply. what if he liked dudes? he thought he might, but girls are cute too. his parents definitely wouldn't react that way, but what if they wanted to meet y/ns parents?

"i... think i might like guys, too. but girls are pretty cute and i've never kissed a guy or anything." he confessed. "wanna change that?" y/n joked, putting his bracelet down for a minute and looking up to smirk at lo'ak. "hey, if you're offering i'm not declining it." he winked, causing the bracelet maker to go quiet. it was obvious he didn't know how to respond after being flirted with, he probably had always been the only flirty one. lo'ak scooted closer in response to the silence. "you can tell me to stop, 'kay?" he waited for any form of consent. y/n nodded, "okay.." he leaned in closer, kissing the corner of y/ns mouth. it was where he had wiped the blood of before. he moved slightly closer with each kiss, eventually getting to his lips. they didn't have a make out session or anything, just a ton of little kisses. y/n was on his back, wrapping his arms around lo'aks neck while lo'ak held himself up with his hands on the sand.

"lo'ak?" neteyam called out from behind the rocks, startling lo'ak and y/n enough to make a small sound. before lo'ak could throw himself off of y/n, neteyam was jumping over the rocks. y/n tried to hurry and get away, but it made them look more suspicious. "woah." neteyam stared at the two, how was he supposed to react to his brother on top of some guy? kiri hopped over the rocks carrying tuk. "dude!" lo'ak flung himself off of y/n to save tuk from seeing them. "oh my god i'm going to vomit!" kiri started gagging and tuk hopped out of her arms to meet y/n. "listen guys, it isn't what it looks like. we were wrestling and he was loosing." neteyam started chuckling and kiri watched tuk. "oh yeah? his arms were around your neck. what's that move called?" neteyam stepped slightly closer. "uh- y/n? what's that move called?" he looked back, but the boy he had been kissing was too busy drawing in the sand with his little sister, both of them crouched in front of their art. "hm?" he looked up, not bothering to help lo'ak defend himself. "lo'ak. you're lips were touching. a lot. i don't think you were wrestling." neteyam started punching him in the arm. "but good for you, dude!" he walked over to y/n to investigate. y/n didn't stand up, still focused on the art. "you do realize you have to introduce us, right? and mom and dad." he walked back over to the rocks. "i'll let you do it later, but it's your turn to watch tuk."

"lo'ak, am i your boyfriend?" y/n was now playing in the shallow water with tuk. "i mean- it's only been a few days. if you want to be, you are. no pressure." he kicked a little water at y/n. "well then, i'm your boyfriend. you're mine. when can i meet your parents?" tuk was now on y/ns back, trying to climb up to his shoulders. "tonight, if you wanna." he smiled as tuk started pulling on y/ns braids to guide him where she wanted to be carried. "alright. i don't know if those guys are still mad, though."

y/n and lo'ak were getting themselves ready to go to the family meeting. they hopped back over the rocks, lo'ak once again helping y/n, for the first time in a few days. lo'aks parents were back in their pod, and lo'ak led y/n up the netted pathways into their home. "hey." lo'ak said as he turned the corner sharply, still holding y/ns hand. y/n was about to pull away when he realized lo'aks family didn't care. he was really shy about touching in public. he didn't want lo'ak to get hurt like he was. "hi!" tuk ran over to y/n and hugged him. neytiri smiled, y/n being good with tuk was a really good sign to her.

when they were all sat down, lo'aks parents started introducing themselves. y/n was really intimidated by jake, simply because he was so much bigger. if he reacted the same way y/ns parents did, he'd be dead. "how did you two meet?" neytiri asked, tuk in her lap. "i cleaned him up after a fight. almost got his ass kicked." lo'ak was quick to answer, he wasn't at all ashamed of this. "no i did not! you said i did good!" y/n punched lo'aks arm before realizing that was just a way to get him to talk. "he did do really good, actually. i saw it." neteyam wasn't choosing lo'aks side on purpose. he did see it, he just didn't care too much. "a fight?" jakes voice was slightly deeper and he seemed mad. y/n wanted to run, just to get a head start. "i- uhm.." lo'ak put an arm around his shoulder. "it wasn't his fault. he was defending himself. he did kick their asses, though. they were way taller than me, even neteyam." neytiris eyes narrowed slightly, she didn't fully believe y/n won the fight. "do you have any family?" kiri tried to break the silence. "kinda- well, yes, technically. my parents, but i don't live there anymore." everyone in the room seemed confused. y/n wanted to make a run for it. he was sure jake was about to kill him, neytiri was about to yell, and neteyam was gonna get him later. sneak up on him in his sleep or something.

"y/n!" lo'aks ears pressed flat against his head. it was the same guys who had been fighting him days before, they were still mad about it. "tsahey!" y/n stood up so fast it made lo'ak jump a little. "i'm so sorry." he ran out of the pod to make sure tuk didn't see it. she shouldn't see this. he was gonna get hurt, bad. he knew it. "fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck..." he whispered as he tried to quietly sneak down to his hiding spot. he couldn't see the boys. "i got you, you stupid little fuck!" one of the boys grabbed him from behind, scaring him so much he screamed. "no! i'm sorry!" he tried to claw himself free. "it's too late for that." the one holding him drug him down to the beach, out in the open. he put y/n down, still holding him by the upper arm. the other boy came over and stood there. one of them punched y/n in the stomach, but he wasn't sure which. he looked back to see the entire family had come down to help him. either that, or join in on the killing of him. he couldn't let himself be embarrassed that bad in front of them, he had to prove that he wasn't a weak little pussy like his dad thought. "fuck you!" he tried again to claw himself free, hoping it'd distract them from him turning around. he got punched again, but he managed to kick the man holding him in the stomach, freeing himself. the other tried to grab him, but he ran slightly farther and tried to make him trip over his friend. it didn't work, instead it made the boy catch up to him. y/n tried to run in circles, zigzags, anything to confuse him. it worked, giving y/n enough time to kick the back of his knees. once he was on the ground, he assumed he was okay.

the other boy, who he thought had been on the floor, came up behind him. he held a knife up to his neck and started taking him to the shore, turning away from the sully family. he really thought he was going to die. he truthfully didn't think he'd make it, he had fucked himself this time. he heard someone stomping- sprinting- over, so did his attacker. he dropped the knife slightly to look back, only to see the father of y/ns boyfriend towering over him. "you think tonowari would be happy about this?" he grabbed the boy by the hair, pulling him off of y/n. he took the knife out of his hand and drug him to tonowaris pod, neytiri grabbing the other. lo'ak rushed over to see if y/n was okay, hoping he hadn't been cut. "holy shit, are you good?" he grabbed y/ns chin, just like he had when they first met, to look at his face. his nose was bleeding again, the bruise on his shoulder hadn't gone away, and he was wheezing, probably had some bruised ribs. "i'm fine." y/n tried to look away. he was tearing up. he let himself be humiliating in front of the only people he wanted to impress. when he looked back up, jake and neytiri were there. "fuck. i'm so sorry. i really didn't know they'd come get me like that." y/n wiped his eyes, trying not to cry. "don't apologize, it wasn't your fault." neytiri tried to comfort him, but he was in too much pain to process what she'd said. "i'm so fucking sorry. i didn't want tuk to see that. i didn't want you guys to get involved. i'm sorry-" he was cut off by neytiri hugging him. he was about to burst into tears. his own mother hadn't hugged him since she'd found out. he really did start crying when neytiri let go and jake hugged him. even though it was only for a second, his own father had beat him after finding out. he hadn't been hugged like that for a long time.

the sully family took y/n back to their pod, gave him a blanket, and sat him down on a bed. lo'ak sat beside him and the rest of the family sat on the floor. "why were they so mad?" kiri seemed genuinely confused. "cuz i'm gay." y/n leaned his head on lo'aks shoulder. he accidentally fell asleep almost straight away. "can he sleep here tonight? please?" lo'ak practically begged his parents, and they said yes.

lo'ak turned his boyfriend and covered him up, crawling into bed with him once his parents had left. his boyfriend. he smiled every time he said it. y/n was really well known on the island, even if it wasn't for a good thing. lo'ak considered himself starstruck.

r-struck

/ˈstär ˌstrək/

adjective

fascinated or greatly impressed by famous people, especially those connected with the entertainment industry.

[bigwishes]

So I’m a kinda skinny guy, try going to the gym often to keep my six pack, and there’s this guy at the gym that’s hot as hell. Sweaty, musky, bulky. Big pecs, arms, every muscle is just huge. He never looks my way though, I wish I could impress him, could you help?

he never looks your way? not from what I've heard mate, from what I hear he's be trying to find a way to ask you out for a while, he even wished for things to go smoothly so I guess things seem to be working.

You were surprised when the big hulking goliath came over and sheepishly asked you out on a date, without even a moment to think about it you jumped at the chance.

Later that night he picked you up in his black car, it was cheap and sounded like it needed a service but you weren't gonna complain about some guys car. Once you got in he sheepishly said hello, he was acting like this was his first date and you could practically hear his heart beating out of his chest. You noticed he was in workout gear whilst you were in a nice shirt and jeans.

"s-sorry I'm underdressed bro, my jeans don't fit no more"

You laughed at what you thought was a joke but there was something else behind the serious tone of his voice that had you worried. Something else, his car was a mess inside and he stunk. Sure the musky sweat was hot in the gym but when you saw sweat pouring from his pits like a waterfall and saw big sweat marks from where his hands touched his steering wheel whenever he lifted them off.

Soon you pulled up in the carpark of a junk food place. All your excitement for this date completely died off, It wasn't the gym wear that was a turn off, a guy that big clearly wants to show off, but he didn't even shower after the gym? and now junk food as a first date, not even junk food looking at the sunset on the beach or something outdoors, just junk food in the parking lot of the place. You and your nose had had enough, you were already to go home but you felt sorry for him. He was clearly shy and embarrassed, you thought it best not to make a fuss and just not call him back after the date.

The two of you had dinner in his car, You watched him practically inhale 3 deluxe family meals, 3 thick shakes and a hand full of burgers, after which he sat flexing his biceps in his rear view mirror whilst burping. He drove you home and right as you were ready to leave the car the big guy thanked you for giving him a chance, "sorry it was just take out for dinner bro, can't really get into fancy places, look I know I stink and I'm a bit muscle obsessed when I see myself in the mirror but...do you mind if I kiss you bro?"

After the worst date of your life a moment of weakness hit your heart as this giant looked down hanging his head in shame. You leant forward to give him a kiss, when he kissed you he let out a small burp that bypassed your lips, his hot breath flew straight down into your lungs. You leant back feeling like the air was flooding out of your chest to other parts of your body. Your arms ballooned out, your legs tore your jeans to shreads. You felt you underwear start to get caught up in your growing ass. Suddenly you began to sweat like a pig and you smelt a wave of B.O twice as bad as the guy sitting next to you flow out from your skin. You felt you seat grow damp and squelch beneath your now hulking frame as you shot up a foot and a half feeling your head collide with the roof of the car. You continued to change as you heard the giant speak.

"Sorry bro, I made 1 wish, a few months ago, I was dumb and horny and asked some guy to turn me into a muscle slob online, I didn't think I'd really become one. Turns out its really hard to hold down a job or a boyfriend when all you care about is size and your own B.O"

You felt your head fill with blood, you could barely remember where you were or what was going on, it was almost impossible to focus on his last words.

"at least this way we both get what we want out of it"

You head was suddenly re-written, you remember your life, and your old life was like a dream, like something that happened...but never really happened. You remember graduating highschool, but also remember flunking out, too obsessed with the gym? your head was filled with multiple memories and you didn't know what was truely yours. You turned your head to look at the guy who was now slightly shorter than you.

"eeeer?? were you sayin somthin babe? I like totally brain fogged huhu, you thanks for picking me up, lets go get take out"

With just one kiss from the guy you wanted so badly to notice you, you were erased and replaced with a new you, a stinking meat head version of yourself totally and utterly in love with the guy next to you.

[joelswritingmistress]

Camp Crystal Lake: Chapter 11

Requested by @yellowjacketsbuzzbuzz

Joel Miller x f!reader (romance/horror)

Setting: Camp Crystal Lake

The reader is taking on the position of a camp counselor at the infamous Camp Crystal Lake. While she begins to enjoy her summer, even crushing on the camp director Joel, a killer lurks in the woods unbeknownst to anyone.

I couldn't remain in the cabin with all the commotion going on outside. I already heard Joel addressing the situation as I got myself together and hurried out the door, reaching for a paint brush as a prop for good measure.

Ralph stood there in the same clothes I'd seen him in the other day, gripping the rusted handles of his bicycle as he glared at Joel.

“I told the others!” The old man said, “They didn't believe me. Don't you care about your people here?” Ralph’s glare doubled down, “You're doomed! You're all doomed!”

“You can't keep doing this,” Joel said to him. “I'm going to have to call the sheriff the next time-”

“There won't be a next time!” He motioned with a crooked, boney finger. “Not if you stay!”

“Alright.” Joel removed the cell phone from his pocket and began to dial, though Ralph quickly hopped on his bike and struggled to take off into the woods - again.

“What's with this guy?” I grumbled, looking at Joel first and then to Sandra who leaned an arm on Jeff’s shoulder.

“He's a real prophet of doom,” Jeff said, smirking as he shook his head.

“And the cops hauled us in.” Sandra rolled her eyes. “But not that creep.”

“I'll call up the local department and let them know he's been hanging around,” Joel assured all of us. He wiggled his iPhone and nodded, “Let's get back to work.”

My eyes met Joel's and we shared a subtle smile before returning to the cabin. When I went to dive back in, his lips met mine but he pulled back and rested his hands on my waist. A lazy grin lingered on his face.

“Why don't we agree to meet back here after dinner tonight?” Joel suggested, “We can have a little privacy. I should probably be keeping a closer eye on things, anyway.”

“That's fair.” I nodded closed my eyes when he pressed his lips against mine again. I giggled when he playfully kissed down my neck and then back to my lips.

“I'm giving people one last night on the town, so maybe we can have a few drinks, I'll come back and make my rounds and then we could agree to ten o'clock?”

“I'll be here at 9:45.”

Joel chuckled and pecked my lips again. “Alright. I'm going to chase down Ralph and call it in, then I'll be back to help you paint.”

When three o'clock rolled around I felt the muscles aching in my sunburned arms. “No wonder Mr. Myagi had the Karate Kid painting all the time,” I said when I met up with Sandra down by the lake. We both stripped off our t-shirts, sporting bathing suits beneath them. “That was an arm workout.”

Sandra tossed her shirt and did some arm circles, shrugging her shoulders each time she did. “You're telling me. I'm wiped out.” She hurried onto the dock ahead of me and began a tiptoed jog down the length of it before diving into the cool water.

I trailed my new friend, following her lead as I, too, didn't waste time jumping into the lake. Mine was more of a pencil dive.

“I'm joining you!” I heard Teri call out when I resurfaced. She ditched her shorts and tank top on the beach sand to reveal her tye-dye bikini and came sprinting down the dock. Her petite body managed a giant cannon ball, causing Sandra and I to laugh when water splashed over us.

“Perfect 10!” Sandra shouted.

The boys joined in soon after, leaving Vicki and Mark at the edge of the lake where she doused his broad shoulders with lake water. He didn't seem to mind as their flirtation continued.

My heart ached for Joel, even though I was having plenty of fun splashing around in the water with everyone. When he finally appeared through the trees, a heat rose in my chest.

“Coming in?” Scott asked when Joel made his way down the dock.

“Not right now.” Joel grinned and put his hands on his hips.

“Forget your Speedo?” Ted asked.

“I have my pink one on under these,” Joel teased back, toying with the fabric on his cargo shorts. I giggled along with the rest of them.

“No, I'm actually here to let you know that if you'd like one more night on the town, tonight's the night; at least until mid summer when we have a week break to prepare for the second session.”

“A night out, I'm in!” Sandra said right away.

Jeff slicked back his hair, “I'm in, too. What kind of nightlife does this town have?”

“A couple dive bars,” I told him with a laugh.

“There is that place on the water on the opposite side of the lake.”

“The Casino Bar?” I asked.

“You have a casino here?” Sandra asked.

“Not quite,” I said with a laugh, “That's just the name of it.”

“It's a semi dive,” Joel said with a laugh. “Good views though.”

“I'm in,” Sandra repeated.

Teri scrunched her nose, “As much as I might regret it, I'm exhausted. I think I'm going to stay back and get to bed early.”

Scott pretended to yawn, “I'm sorta tired myself.” He smiled at the still-uninterested Teri, “Think I'll stick around, too.”

“I'm going,” Ted raised his hand.

“You driving?” Joel joked.

“Ehhhh…” He made a face.

“Mark?” Vicki turned to him and smiled, “Do you want to go?”

He made a face. “Nothing spoils a party faster than a drunk in a wheelchair.”

“That's crap.” She shook her head, “I'll take care of you. We can go together.”

“I think I'd rather stay in.”

She wore a little grin, “Would you mind my company?”

Mark smiled back. “I wouldn't mind at all.”

“(Y/N)?” Joel looked right at me.

“Yeah, sounds like fun.”

“Okay, then it's settled.”

Ted cleared his throat, “I think our wanderers should drive us.” He motioned to Jeff and Sandra, “They caused the uproar over here with the cops, and-”

Jeff swam a few feet over and dunked him under the water. When Ted came back up for air he never opened his eyes but continued trying to make his point about Jeff driving. Jeff dunked him again.

I couldn't help but laugh. This group felt like they were my people. I had only been around them for a short time but we all seemed to click.

“What time, boss?” Jeff asked, finally letting go of Ted.

“You want to leave here around seven?”

“Early bird special,” Ted continued to tease him, “The old man gets tired around nine.”

“Seven is fine!” Sandra shouted over him.

“Don't make me change my mind,” Joel shot back with a lopsided grin, pointing at Ted.

“Teddy!” Sandra shouted and Jeff dunked him again.

I looked up at Joel and he gave a wink, mouthing the words, “Ten o'clock,” and holding up all ten fingers.

I smirked and nodded before he bid everyone a temporary farewell and headed back through the trees towards the main cabin.

CLICK HERE FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER

@gissellec1 @cattt777 @mellymbee @armybts20137 @bbiophiliaa @littleblackcatinwonderland @mermaidgirl30 @brittmb115 @yellowjacketsbuzzbuzz @beltzboys2015-blog blog @lwfics @pedropascal111 @mellymbee @itscatrodriguez-thepearl

[daydreamgoddess14]

Support System pt. 6

MASTERLIST

CH1 | CH 2 | CH 3 | CH 4 | CH 5

Roy Kent x Reader

Are you ready? Cos we get really very spicy now my friends so.... be warned. Also, good god I think I'm in love with Roy Kent.

Chapter 6

She pushes the phone into your hand so you have no choice but to bring it to your ear, you still watch Roy who's moved to the otherside of the room. Your heart is still pounding and you feel like you've been given an electric shock. 

"Yeah?" You ask into the phone. 

"Can we talk?"

"Umm, we've just got back from the beach. I'll get Lexie settled and call you back?" You hang up without waiting for any real response.

"I'd better go." He says. 

"Thanks for a cool day Roy! Thanks for winning my unicorn teddy and the ice creams and for letting me go on your shoulders and… and… everything!" Lexie says jumping from foot to foot. 

"Thank you for the best day Lex. We should go again in the summer."

"Yeaaaaaah! Can we mum?"

"Of course we can bunny. Let's get you ready for bed, huh?" She zooms into the living room to gather up the new toys for her room while you see Roy to the door. "I'll see you soon?" You sound unsure, you've no idea where his head is at after the kiss. No idea where your own head is, really. You still feel a little dizzy from it and the coil in your belly is wound even tighter. 

"Yeah, see you soon." His eye catches the sunburn on your shoulders, now joined by beard burn and a little bite mark. He brushes it lightly with his finger and you can't help but lean into him. "Should have put some more cream on." He says quietly before closing the door behind him. You're left in the hallway in a weird limbo of being disappointed that he left and unbelievably turned on. It wasn’t fair, you should be on cloud 9. Instead, you head upstairs and concentrate on real life. You get Lexie into the bath and bed before doing the same yourself. You reluctantly pick up your phone to call Andy back, seeing that Sara has sent some pictures from the day with plenty of sunshine, ice cream and beer emojis on a group message to both you and Roy. There’s the kids playing in the sand, you and the girls looking at the shells you’d collected, one of you pointing and laughing at something out of focus - head thrown back, sunkissed and happy. In the picture, Roy is next to you but he’s not looking at whatever it is that’s got your attention, he’s looking at you. There are others - really great photos, a selfie of the three of you and then one of the five of you. They make your heart flutter. You respond with a heart emoji, not quite able to put into words just how much they all mean to you - and that’s without confronting your growing feelings for Roy. The photos were exactly what you needed for your next task. You press Andy’s contact picture and let it ring.

“Thanks for calling back.” You’re surprised, it’s the most civilised he's been for months. 

“Sorry it took a while. We both needed to get half a beach off us.”

“Did you have a good day? Did you go alone?”

“We went with one of Lexie’s friends from school. It was a lovely day.”

“She said you’re changing jobs.” 

“Yeah, handed my notice in last week. I’ve got about 6 weeks left.”

“You… don’t need to do that you know. Maybe we could work something out?”

“What do you mean?”

“I miss you.”

“Are you pissed?”

“No! Why?”

“You’ve been an absolute fucking nightmare for months - you’ve punished me and belittled me and shamed me for having a better job than you and what? Now I’m giving it up, you think we can get back together? Are you for real right now?” You’re trying to keep your voice down but you don’t think you’ve felt a rage like this in your life. Not even when you were both fighting constantly. 

“I just thought it would be good for Lexie, mum and dad together, making it work?” He mumbled.

“What’s good for Lexie is a happy family life - even if that’s separately. Making it work? Making both of us miserable more like.”

“I wasn’t miserable with you.”

“You had an odd way of showing it Andy. You’ve barely laid a finger on me for years, you criticise everything I do. I’m sorry, I can’t make Lexie happy by destroying myself in the process. I deserve to be really, really loved and you can’t do that. What’s this really about?” You’ve stripped away his arguments, Lexie being his trump card, he has no comeback.

“Lexie keeps talking about your new friends. I just thought… is there anything I can do to change-”

“No Andy, you’ll never change my mind on this. I wish I’d been brave enough to leave you rather than wait for you to leave me to be honest. We won’t talk about this again. Goodnight.” Absolute wanker! You hang up and grab a pillow to scream into. Jealousy, of course. You’d seen it briefly when you’d gone to his flat to pick Lexie up when she’d been poorly but because you’d seen him so rarely recently it hadn’t really registered. You could laugh, it’s only taken him the best part of 8 years for him to actually feel anything for you. 

The next couple of days are a blur of Easter holiday club for Lexie and work for you. There’s still no luck on the job front which makes you nervous, and Andy’s done you the decency of not calling you again. You’d naively hoped that he’d woken the next morning with a hangover and had been appalled at his own behaviour, but you also didn’t really care. Sara had taken to using the group message she’d sent the photos on for childcare planning - it made sense but it also meant that you didn’t have any other excuse for solely messaging Roy. When you finally unpacked the bags of junk from the beach day, you found his book rather than yours in the bag. You were picking the girls up that afternoon and taking Phoebe straight to her nans where Sara would pick her up. They came out of school with paint up their arms and in their hair from the craft activities laid on for them. You were looking forward to seeing Roy’s mum again and she welcomed you as she had before, with a huge hug. She was over the moon to finally meet Lexie who took to her immediately. When Sara arrived back from work a little while later, the girls helped her shake off her tiredness with a dance party (Taylor Swift of course) so the five of you - including Roy’s mum - were dancing around with music blasting, singing at the top of your lungs.

“Standing by and waiting at your back door, all this time, how could you not know, baby? You belong with me, you belong with me!” Until Phoebe screeched,

“Uncle Royyyy! I haven’t seen you for ages!”

“You saw me like two days ago you little weirdo.” He said surveying the chaos ahead of him. “Having fun?”

“It’s a dance party! Sara was sleepy so we needed to wake her up.” Lexie told him.

“Sara’s still sleepy but thanks for trying, guys.” She laughs.

“Come on Lexie-loo. Time for us to go.”

“But muuum!”

“No buts, we need to get you ready for dad’s tomorrow.” The two girls looked sombre that they’d be separated for a few days, but Sara grins at you over their heads,

“Freedom!” You get bags and shoes and say goodbye to Roy’s mum. You stop suddenly in the hall, not realising Roy was right behind you and making him bump into you. He puts a hand to your waist so he doesn’t push you over but it brings you flush to his chest. With his hand on your stomach, you know he had to feel the shuddering breath that leaves your body. You reach into your bag and turn to him, “nearly forgot, I ended up with your book.” 

“Keep it, I’d finished it. Did you finish yours?”

“Yeah, keep it. I promised it to you.” He watches you with dark eyes. You know nothing is going to happen, of course it’s not - there’s a house full of people, Lexie is behind you by the front door putting her trainers on. He nods once and puts a single kiss to your forehead.

“See you soon.”

“Bye,” you look over his shoulder intending to shout goodbye to Sara and her mum but Sara’s in the doorway, eyebrows raised and wide eyed.

“Bye babe, I’ll text you later.” She says casually with a look which is far from casual.

You have the following day off for a couple of interviews so you’ve arranged to pick Lexie up from holiday club and take her round to Andy’s yourself. You don’t really want to have to see him, but the plans were made before his pleas to try again. 

“Here’s your bag, bunny, your coat is inside. Be good, I’ll see you in a few days, ok?” You give her a big hug and kiss and she goes straight into the flat. Andy hovers by the door.

“You look good.”

“Thanks, I’ve had a couple of interviews.”

“Any good?”

“Not sure yet, we’ll see.”

“Ok well… good luck.” You nod, ready to escape but you can see he’s itching to say something else. “I just wanted to say sorry about the other night.”

“It’s ok, forgotten already.”

“Oh, cos I just wanted to check that you’re sure?” You shake your head with a little laugh,

“Yes, Andy. I’m sure. Please, don’t ask again. It’s not going to happen.”

“Right, right. Ok. Have a good week then.”

“Yeah, you too.” You leave his flat feeling lighter. You go back to your car leaving him behind, the clocks have changed so the evenings are light. Your drive takes you past the football club and down Roy’s street. His gate is open and the car is just inside. You turn in before you have a chance to chicken out. You ring the bell and wait. The double take as he answers the door means he didn’t see it was you on the doorbell camera,

“It’s you.” He states,

“Yeah, I was just passing. Is this a bad time, I can go?” You make to leave but he’s quick to stop you.

“No, no, of course it’s fine, come in. I was just cooking. Jesus, you look fucking gorgeous.” You leave your bag by the door and step out of your heels.

“Thank you. I’ve been interviewing today.”

“How did it go, what were the roles?”

“Still Deputy Comms Director. I’m not sure, it’s so hard to say. It’s been ages since I interviewed anywhere.”

“Did they give you any feedback?” Already your conversation with Roy is a complete contrast to Andy’s indifference. You have his undivided attention, he’s curious and interested.

“Not really. I think it’s just a waiting game. It’s so annoying, I only have about 5 weeks left. I’m worried that I was wrong to just resign with nothing to go to next.”

“Bold, not necessarily wrong.” He offers, pouring you a glass of wine.

“I think you’re being too kind there.” You laugh,

“Bollocks. If forced retirement has taught me anything, it’s that you have to accept what’s right for you. Sometimes that means it feels like you’re doing the wrong thing until it becomes the right thing.” You mull on his words while he cooks. The speaker is on quietly in the background while you drink your wine. It feels comfortable.

“Do you regret retiring?”

“Fuck no. My knee thanks me every day for it. I didn’t dare let myself think I’d actually enjoy coaching - I tried to make out like I’d hate it.”

“It felt like the wrong thing to do until it didn’t?”

“Exactly. You’ve got to trust yourself.” He puts a plate of pasta in front of you.

“Oh, thank you.”

“Don’t turn up at my house at dinner time and not expect to get fed.” He takes the seat next to you. 

“Tell me about the club. I’ve heard the rumours that Coach Lasso is leaving?”

“Doesn’t know what he fucking wants. He’s in love with the boss.”

“Really?! Does she know?”

“Nah, they’re both being idiots about it. Neither of them will say anything so he thinks the answer is to leave.”

“And it’s not?”

“No, he should tell her. Shouldn’t he?”

“Course he should. What happens if he leaves?”

“Not a clue. Guess I’ll find out if he ever makes a decision.”

“Not long to decide though. Maybe you should give him your ‘being bold’ pep talk.” You continue your meal together and help clean up afterwards. You didn’t have a reason for visiting in the first place, so you certainly didn’t have one to stick around, but he poured another glass of wine anyway. He seemed to be holding back from you a little, engaging in conversation about work and families but he didn’t once acknowledge the evening you’d returned from Brighton. You cleared your throat, “I had to see Andy today when I dropped Lexie off.”

“Oh yeah?” His frown deepened and unlike with Andy, you saw it immediately - jealousy. 

“Hmm. He, uhh, reckons we should try again.”

“Oh.” He picks at the label on his beer bottle. “Bet Lexie’s happy?”

“She doesn’t know.”

“How come?”

“Well I didn’t think it was a wise idea to tell my 8 year old that I told her dad to fuck off… so, there’s that.” He looked up sharply,

“You told him to fuck off?”

“Not in so many words. But I made it very clear that he should never ask me again.”

“Good. It’s probably not good for you - or Lexie - to keep dragging shit like that out and-”

“Roy?”

“Yeah?” You leaned up from your stool at the kitchen island and kissed him lightly. When you moved away, you watched him carefully, 

“If I’ve got this wrong again, I-” He stepped up to your knees, your tight skirt preventing him from getting much closer, and pulled you to him, kissing you so softly. It was entirely different to the first time he’d kissed you and yet felt just as desperate and wanting. He pulls your blouse out from the waistband of your skirt and leans back just enough to ask the silent question, are you sure? You’re not drunk, there are no kids to interrupt, no phones ringing… you know you’re sure, but you have to know that he is too. He anticipates what you’re about to ask,

“Course I’m fucking sure. You’re not wrong. You weren’t wrong last time. You were drunk, I didn’t want you to think I was taking advantage of you.”

“And now?”

“I’d really like to take advantage of you, that ok?” He says with a chuckle.

“Yes, definitely yes.” You laugh, relieved. He kisses you again and though you know you have all the time in the world, you don’t want to waste a single second. 

“Fucking gorgeous.” He whispers against your neck, “borderline obscene, actually.” You laugh at his stolen compliment. His deft fingers pull your top up and off and you’re thankful you wore one of your really, really good bras for good luck for your interviews. You both decide at the same time that the other is just not close enough, your damn skirt in the way. He takes your hand to help you down from the stool and circles your waist, “this looks amazing, but it’s in the way.” You guide his hand to the zip at the side while you step up onto your tiptoes to pull his training t-shirt off. The skirt pools at your feet and his hands cover you, trying to explore everything all at once. “Up.” He taps your hip,

“Are you sure?”

“Fuck off.” He laughs, lifting you anyway. He doesn’t take you far, only to the sofa where he drops down with you still in his lap. You sit up on your knees so you can take your weight off his bad knee but he grips your hips, puts you back down and sides you further into his lap. You can feel him hard against you and it’s never been like this before, you’ve never been with someone who has made their need for you so obvious, never made you feel so wanted before. This thought alone helps banish your insecurities to the very back of your mind. He kisses a hot, wet path down your neck to the tops of your breasts, your sunburn faded to golden, but the freckles remain. The sensation of his beard against your skin makes you moan and you can’t help but roll your hips into him. He grips you tighter, holding you against him. You reach down between your bodies to pull at the waistband of his shorts. He takes the hint and lifts you both slightly so he can get rid of them. With the shorts out of the way, he can feel the heat and dampness of you against him, “Fuck me-” he breathes, hands tracing up your back to the clasp of your bra.

“Yes, please, yes.” Your hands are in his hair and you pull him back to your mouth for another searing kiss. You have to let go while he takes the straps of your bra down your arms but you press back up against him as soon as you can, the hair on his chest rough against your skin. You grind your hips down again, desperate to feel him against you. His hand goes between you both and he stops to check in again before touching you. You cup his cheek and nod, a shy smile. His fingers find your centre and brush against you. You breathe his name and your eyes flutter shut. Two fingers slide inside you and you think that’s already enough to send you over the edge. You rock against his hand, your forehead against his.

“Open your eyes,” he rasps, “I want to see you.” The second you open your eyes, he presses his thumb to your clit and you cry out. He doesn’t let up, working you through your orgasm until you're choking back a sob. You catch your breath for a moment, but the need for him is overwhelming.

“Need you now, have you got-”

“I’m clean, constant fucking medicals. You?” You nod and he slips your underwear to one side. You lift up to line him up against you and slide down onto him slowly. The stretch is exquisite, too much and yet absolutely perfect all at the same time. You take him fully and pause for a second to revel in the feeling of having him inside you. He kisses you softly, “you feel incredible. God, you’re so beautiful.” He takes your hips while you set the pace but it doesn’t take long for either of you to reach the edge. You come again with his name on your lips and he’s right there with you, bruising your hips with his grip. You slump against his shoulder, nose against his neck.

“Holy shit,” you manage eventually, feeling him laugh against you.

“Yeah, you’re not fucking wrong.” He pulls a blanket from the back of the sofa and wraps it over you as you slip off his lap to sit next to him. Neither of you says anything, his hands run up and down your calves as you sit with your legs in his lap. He reaches over to tuck your hair behind your ear, “will you stay?”

“If that’s ok?” He gets up and takes your hand, pulling you with him.

“Come on, shower and bed. I’ve got training with Jamie at 4am.”

You wake up briefly to a kiss on the back of your neck.

“Back in a bit, go back to sleep.” He whispers, kissing your earlobe. You sigh happily and snuggle down into the bed, pulling his pillow with you. You hadn’t gotten much sleep, waking every so often to soft caresses and kisses. Your body ached in a way you’d never felt before. You slip back into sleep again, waking a couple of hours later to a cup of tea and warm arms around you.

“How was training?” You ask, voice still full of sleep.

“Painful.” He laughed. You sit up to drink your tea, sitting in between his legs, his back against the headboard and yours against his chest. “Can I ask you something?” He murmurs, a hand drifting over your thigh, you let out a needy moan, it’s almost absurd how he can make you want him so badly. “Remember I had that suit fitting? There’s a gala for work next week. Will you come with me?” You turn to put your tea down and then kiss him.

“I’d love to. Thank you.” You smile.

“I’ve got an hour. What time do you have to go?”

“Same.”

“Good.” He smirks, pulling you back down to him.

[citrusrei]

In Every Lifetime.

Joel Miller x Reader MDNI 18+ Summary You fell for a man before the world went to hell. Nearly 20 years later, he’s there again in a different lifetime. Genre: a lil angst if you look at it right, Smut, fluff TLOU!Universe Word Count: 10.7k Warnings: Post-Outbreak!Joel, aggressive situations, a couple of hasslers, smut (piv ~unprotected~, fingering, hand jobs, creampies (again), slight breeding kink maybe? vocal dirty joel, mutual masturbation), age gap (14 years, joel is older duhh) lots of good Ol’ soft Joel, slightly possessive joel (again cause i love him), insecure joel :( happy ending cause my heart couldn’t take a sad one  *please imagine whichever Joel you’d like whether it’s pedro’s or videogame joel cause I pictured both at certain points.*

AN: This is truly one of my fav things I’ve ever written lol Joel is so babygirl in it i’m crine. also this can be read as a one shot if u haven’t read the first one~ (but read the first one hehe)

pt. 1 

listen to these as you read~

Life after the apocalypse was nothing anyone could have anticipated. Before the outbreak, you’d seen countless movies about zombies or the undead, or infected. But this was different. It wasn’t a virus, or a bio-weapon used to control the population. A fungus. A fungus that just so happened to mutate and create this global panic. 

The night it happened you were with a friend of yours testing out a new club downtown. Everything was great. The drinks were cheap and tasty, the music was amazing, the vibe was just immaculate. You and your friend Holly danced, drank, and sang the night away. A little before 11:00pm is when things got strange. The music changed, slower now. Holly asked if you wanted another drink to which you declined, but followed her to the bar anyways.

“Another sex on the beach please!” she urged.

“You’re addicted to those, ya know?” You laughed, shaking your head.

She laughed with you, “I am not! They’re just so delicious I can’t help myself.”

As the bartender handed Holly her drink, you sent Joel a quick text asking him how his birthday was. You’d been taking things slow since the night you and him finally hooked up. He had admitted his feelings for you and you were right there with him. The both of you decided to give each other a shot. You had wanted to see him today but he had told you he was working a double and wouldn’t be home until late so you had planned something with him later in the week.  

- 10:45pm Joel <3: Got home a couple hours ago. Sarah wanted to watch a movie and knocked out. Lil girl can’t run with the big dogs.

- 10:45pm Me: lol hopefully she got to see at least a bit of it! Holly dragged me to this club tonight and I’m kind of over it. Would rather be in bed with you rn 😉

- 10:46pm Joel <3: You got no idea how much I'd like that bout now darlin. You got me all weekend.

- 10:46pm Me: You better promise me that, Joel Miller!

- 10:46pm Joel <3: Promise.  

- 10:49pm Joel <3: Tommy just called me. He’s in the county jail. I gotta go get him... text you in a bit.

- 10:51pm Me: You’re kidding...... jesus Tommy. But ok. Text me once you get him. Talk soon <3

You slid your phone into your bra and sighed, not surprised that Tommy found himself in a predicament like that. He was so headstrong and stubborn. You wondered what had happened to him. 

“Everything okay?” Holly asked. You nodded but still you were unsure. Your eyes floated to a couple on the dance floor as your eyebrows knitted together. The woman began to twitch, her limbs snapping in different, odd directions. It continued a moment. People around her began to notice and step away, creating a circle around her. The man she was with held on to her as an attempt to keep her steady. She fell to the ground, her body still moving slightly. As this happened, the man pulled his cellphone out, most likely trying to call 911. In the blink of an eye, she rose to her feet, jumping on to the man in front of her and sinking her teeth into his neck. It physically startled you as you latched onto Holly’s arm. “We need to leave.” You said, eyes never leaving the woman, the crowd now starting to panic. People dispersed in a matter of moments. You could see someone trying to pry the woman off the man who laid what looked to be lifeless on the ground. That person suffered the same fate. She was on him in an instant.

Holly looked around and realized what was going on before pushing you towards the door. Once outside, everyone was scrambling. And not just people from the club but the man across the street, locking his bail bond business up or people fleeing from a nearby diner a few doors down. It was mania. Your heart was pounding in your chest as you looked around a moment, not exactly sure where to go or what to do.  

C’mon, ___! We gotta get to my car!” You followed Holly down the street to where she had her car parked when suddenly a horde of people ran by, being chased by what seemed to be someone covered in blood. Mucous and viscera gargled from his mouth as the sounds echoed through the street. The man dove to an older woman in front of him and began his attack. Holly screamed at the event which cause the man to turn his attention to her. He swung his arm out for her, grabbing her wrist and pulling her forward. You leapt into action, grabbing her body and pulling her back to you with such force, you could feel her back pop.

“Come on, run!” You screamed. The two of you sprinted to her car, not even minding the fact that both your heels had broken off in the process. She started the ignition and sped off, driving anywhere besides here.    

“What the fuck is happening?!” She yelled, checking her rearview mirror to make sure no one was following.

“I’m not sure. I need to call Joel.” You pulled your phone out and dialed his number, but it went straight to voicemail. “Fuck!” You called a few more people, Tommy, your mom, your sister. No one answered.  

“I gotta get home, ___. My-My son... I left him with the babysitter.” Holly cried, tears flowing now as she thought of all the possibilities of what could be happening to her child.

“Okay- It’s okay. We’ll go get him.”      

You and Holly sped to her home, not minding the speed limit as literally no one was. You both got to her house without a hitch, thankfully. However, upon arriving you noticed the door was wide open. Holly’s eyes widened.

“Stay here. I’m going to go in.” She breathed, shaking so bad she could barely unbuckle her seatbelt.

You nodded, checking your phone again and seeing you had a missed call from Tommy. You called him back immediately. It rang once, “Tommy! Hello? Can you hear me?”

“___! I can hear you but barely.” He was staticky. The call was barely hanging on. “Where are you? Are you safe?”

Tears began to prick your eyes as he spoke, his voice comforting you. “Yeah, I’m okay. I’m with Holly. We’re getting her son. What is happening? Are you with Joel? Is Sarah okay?”

Tommy sighed, “I’m not sure. It’s a mad house. Av-oid downtown bu-t drive west. We’re over that w-ay. I was with Joel and Sarah b-ut I got sep-arate-d. Meet us p-ast the theater o-n the west side, okay? I got to g-” Suddenly the call dropped, showing no signal. At the same time Holly ran out with her son RJ in her arms. She set him in the back seat and jumped into hers, her tires squealing as she backed out of her drive way. Just as she pulled out, the babysitter came running out of her front door, growling animalistically. Your eyes flashed from her to RJ, checking for any wounds which you found none. He was bawling, completely terrified.   

“Hey, Tommy said drive to the west side past the theater and we can meet them there!” You said, climbing into the back seat to comfort RJ. You cradled the 2-year-old and hushed his sobs. He clung to you for dear life as you rocked him back and forth. You drove just outside of Austin, avoiding the mobs of people. Many people had the same idea as you but the flow of traffic stayed decent, only stopping every so often. The three of you rode in silence until a blockade came into view. It looked like the military was stopping people and directing them east. The exact opposite of where you needed to go. As Holly pulled up to the officers, they signaled her to roll her window down.

“How many in the car?” he asked, shining his flashlight in the vehicle.

“Just us three.” She answered.

He nodded, typing something on a tablet he held, “Okay, head east 15 minutes from here. There’s a larger Military presence over there and they’re taking survivors. I’ll add 2 women and a child to the list so they know you are coming.”

“No-No, we need to head west! We have people we need to meet!” You said quickly. The officer scowled and shined his light back to you and RJ who had calmed down into sniffles.

“Sorry ma’am but you can only go east. West side of Austin is under lockdown and no one can leave or enter. You go east.” He finished, walking to the car behind us.

You set RJ down next to you, buckling him in before returning to the front seat. “We need to find Joel and Tommy. We can’t go East.”

Holly shook her head, turning her tear-soaked cheeks to you. “No, we’re going east. I have RJ to think of, ___. If Joel and Tommy are smart, they’re already there waiting for you.” You sighed, defeatedly. She was right. The Miller brothers were very resourceful. It was a possibility. Maybe they were already at the safe zone. Same with your family. You nodded, your heart twisting in your chest as you agreed with her and then you were off.

It was a 15-minute drive but you could see the lights and helicopters before you even got there. It was massive and there were hundreds of people and tents popped up everywhere. It would be forever before you found anyone. The officers let you all in, setting you and Holly into a medical tent with a few other people. RJ slept in his mother's arms as the Doctors and Soldiers came in and out of each tent. Your leg bounced with anxiety. You glanced around the tent and around the area in general. People sobbed and cried and yelled, asking where their loved ones were, or what was going on, and saying they wanted to go home. You couldn’t help but to agree. You wanted nothing more than to go home and go to sleep and wake up and have this all be dream. 

Some time passed before the fedra soldiers came back with water and blankets. They said they were transporting people to quarantine zones as soon as possible. You wanted to fight back and say you had people to find, but everyone was saying that. So you sat and obliged.  

Finally, the doctors made their way into your tent, checking on the other habitants first. They did a full body check on the young girl sitting on the cot. She was clean. Next was the mother, she didn’t speak any English. She cried to the doctor, “Por favor, doctor. No estoy enfermo. Quiero irme a la casa.” The doctor just looked at her, checking her body over anyways. She cried and cried and your heart broke for her. It made you sick. You wanted to go home too, desperately. You wanted your mom or your sister. Or Joel. The doctor finished his search and nodded to the soldier. The soldier came over to the woman and dragged her away. Her daughter screamed on the cot as they subdued her. You couldn’t look anymore, it hurt too much. You averted your gaze back to Holly and RJ who was awake now, rambling in her arms. She raised her hand to wipe the hair out of his eyes, and that’s when you saw it. Your eyes widened as you noticed the three scratch marks on her wrist.

         Present Day.                                                                                                    It was fall now. Mid-October. The cold decided to make an early appearance and you were thankful for the older couple you’d stumbled upon a few weeks ago. They’d stocked you up with a good amount of food and a thick winter coat. The old man had been saying it was going to be a Winter with a sharp bite and offered you the jacket. Who were you to deny an old man and his wisdom? They let you stay there a couple days. Maybe they had been too trusting. You could have easily killed them while they slept a few doors down from you. You’d even thought about it. They had plenty of food and a barn with a couple cows and chickens. You could just take it if you had really wanted to. You hated that those were thoughts you had. They were showing you such kindness and trust, hell, the older woman even baked you a pie. A fresh baked pie?! It had been probably 20 years since you’d had one of those.

The course of the last 20 years moved in a blur. From you being split from anyone you’d known and sent to a QZ in Illinois, to that said QZ being destroyed by fireflies only 5 years of being there. You’ve had to do horrible, heinous things to survive; which you hated yourself for. You searched and searched for anyone familiar. Someone you’d gone to school with, babysat, or maybe a neighbor. Anyone. And that never happened.

As you scrambled for a place to find shelter, dark storm clouds rolled in, bringing a late fall storm. The trees all shades of burnt sienna and burgundy as their leaves fell to the ground, leaving the smell of their decay lingering in the air. It was a comfort to you. You’d always been a fall type of person and being out here in Wyoming, it was almost magical. You adored the whip of the wind across your skin as the air became colder, a few drops of rain kissing your cheeks. In the distance, you could see a small shack, clearly (hopefully) abandoned. You trudged on forth, minding the ache in your knees. You’d been walking for a while now, and you definitely weren’t 22 anymore.  

As the shack came into a better view, the rain began falling harder. You picked up speed, not wanting to be completely soaked and thankfully mother nature allowed you to reach your destination before it really pelted down. Once inside you looked around and no surprise, it was empty. It was a small, dusty home. Only having a living area, kitchen and bathroom with a bedroom off to the side. You sat your backpack and rifle on the couch as you sat next to it, reclining and stretching into the cushion. You were so comfortable as you listened to the rain patter against the roof. The room was dark and cold, you couldn’t help but close your eyes and drift off for a bit.

You weren’t sure how much time had passed, but when you woke up it was still raining. You stretched, shaking off any remaining drowsiness but when you went to reach for your backpack a gun cocked at the back of your head. You froze, raising your hands in compliance.

“Stay fucking still.” The voice said. You blinked, annoyed with yourself that you let your guard down. “Don’t plan on going anywhere.” You retorted.

You sat there a few moments before another voice spoke, “Hey, kid! What are you doing?” The gun’s nozzle stayed firmly planted against your skull, “She was in here asleep! I was getting the upper hand!” The other person came up to your assailant and pushed the gun away before stepping in front of you, hand at her gun on her hip.

“Who are you?” She asked. She was average height, darker skin tone and had these beautiful braids in her hair. She seemed a bit younger than you but had to have been in her mid to late thirties.

“Doesn’t matter, I’m just passing by.” You sighed, not really in the mood for an interrogation. I mean, you’d just woken up.

“Why are you in the area?” she asked, probing further. The other person, a young girl, went to stand next to her, eyes locked tightly onto you. Did you really come off as that threatening? The girl had to have been 13-14 no older than that. Maybe 15. You couldn’t really tell.  

“I told you. Just passing by.”  

“Maria, she doesn’t really look like much of a threat...” The younger girl hushed. The older woman, now known as Maria, sighed. “What’s your name?”  

“If I tell you, will you let me leave?” You asked, your annoyance increasing.

“It’s pouring still. You want to leave in the middle of a storm?” The younger one remarked.

You sighed, “It’s ___. My name is ___. I don’t have any intention of hurting or robbing or killing any of you. Just needed a place to stay while it rained. Is this your place? I didn’t mean to intrude.”

Maria shook her head. “No, it’s not. We were out on a hunt and it started pouring. Saw this place and had the same idea as you, I suppose.” Maria relaxed, removing her hand from her hip and settling down on a chair opposite from you. “I’m Maria. This is Ellie.”  

Ellie scoffed, “Maria! We could have used fake names!” You smiled softly, loving the kick-back. Maria just shrugged, relaxing further into her chair. “Where you from, ___?”  

Your eyebrow quirked as you thought of an answer, “Good question. Kind of everywhere. Midwest originally. Stayed in the Chicago QZ after the outbreak. Didn’t last long. Been traveling since.” Which was mostly true. You were in Texas of course for a while, and there had been groups you stayed with since the QZ fell, but none of them worked out in the end.

“Why Wyoming now?” She pondered.

“Well, just kind of found myself here. Was with a few people and that ended. Now? Well...”

“What happened to them?” Ellie asked.

“Doesn’t matter. Looks like the rain is letting up. Am I free to go?”  

Maria sighed as she hesitated for a moment. Ellie watched her intently not quite sure where she was going. After some time, Maria spoke. “Alright. You can go if you’d like. Want to follow us though? We have a town a bit north from here. Could set you up a place to stay for a few nights, get you some food, a shower...?”

“A shower?” You asked incredulously. It’d been so long since you’d had a proper bath and you knew you needed one desperately.

She chuckled, nodding.  

“A hot shower too!” Ellie chimed in.

You hesitated a moment, weighing your options. One, you could go and have an amazing shower and meal and sleep in a safe place... maybe even on a bed. Or two, it was a trap and they were going to sell you off or maybe even kill you and cook you. If it were the latter, they probably would have killed you by now, so you decided. Fuck it.

“You have a deal.”

You followed Maria and Ellie a few miles until a rather large town came into view. You could see the area had power as the sun had begun to set. Lights twinkled throughout the homes and your heart almost got caught in your throat. “You guys have electricity?”  

Maria nodded, “Yep. We have a dam nearby that give us power and stuff.”

You all walked a bit more before finally reaching the town. It was massive considering things. As you approached the guarded gate, you could hear people chattering and kids laughing. What were you about to get yourself into?  

Maria raised her hand at the guard who stood at his post, signaling for them to open the gate. As they did, a man rushed to Maria’s side pulling her into a tight hug. You didn’t pay much attention to it as you peered into the town, eyes wide.

“Where have you been? It’s been hours! I was worried sick!” He spoke. Maria rolled her eyes, “I don’t know if you knew this but it was raining cats and dogs about an hour ago? Ellie and I found a little shack and waited it out. We found her too.” She said, pointing towards you.

Your attention was brought back to Maria and as you looked to the man in front of her, your eyes widened even further. His face matched yours as you both stared at each other.

“T-Tommy...? No fucking way.” You stood there like you’d seen a ghost. Tears pricked your eyes and you blinked them away immediately, scared that if you looked away, he’d disappear. Tommy rushed to you, pulling you into a tight hug, squeezing the air out of your lungs. You clung back to him, letting the tears fall freely.  

“___… I can’t believe it.” He breathed into the side of your head, bringing his hand up to your hair.

“I’m guessing you know each other?” Ellie asked.

The two of you embraced a moment longer before he let go of you, keeping you at arm's length. “What... where... I can’t even formulate a sentence right now.” He said, tears of his own stinging the corners of his eyes. You laughed, biting back more tears that dared to spill, “I’m in the same boat, Miller. It’s been so long.”

Your heart was pounding as you reunited with your former friend, just stuck in a  state of shock that after all these years, you’d run into someone like Tommy Miller. What are the odds?

“This your place, Tommy?”

He nodded, “Yeah, Maria and I oversee things for the most part. Come on, let’s get some food in ya.”

You followed Tommy, Maria, and Ellie through the town until you reached the mess hall in the middle of it. As you walked through the streets, people greeted Tommy and Maria. They were doing their duties or relaxed on their porches, enjoying their space. Enjoying their life. Their guards totally let down. It was a sight to see. Children played with each other, splashing in the fresh rain puddles and chasing each other down in a game of tag. It was almost unreal.

The four of you entered the mess hall, the smell of fresh cooked food entering your nostrils. You’d been living off canned beans and peas for the past few weeks so your stomach was instantly rumbling. Tommy sat you at a table while he went and grabbed you a bowl of chili and bread. You could have cried as you ate your first bite; it was hot and fresh. “Is it good?” he laughed. All you could do was nod, stuffing your mouth with another spoonful.

After you ate, Tommy and you caught up to date as best as you could. Ellie and Maria had wandered off somewhere else leaving the two of you to yourselves. “So, you and Maria?” Tommy smiled, “Yeah. Couple years now. Even married her.”  

Your eyes widened, smiling at your longtime friend, “No shit! Wow, who would have thought Tommy Miller to be married.”  

He laughed, “Yeah, yeah. Such a shock, is it now?” You just laughed back, looking down at your empty bowl.

“What about you? Anyone special over the years?”  

You rolled your eyes jokingly, “Maybe a few here and there. Nothing serious though.”

“Don’t know why. You’re still a looker.” He poked.

“There’s the Tommy I know and love.” You grinned, pushing his shoulder playfully, “Not everyone has the luxury of living in a town like this one and meeting the love of their life.”  

Tommy leaned back in his chair, agreeing with you. “Well, maybe it’s sudden but you know how I am. You know you have a place here with us. We’ll set you up with a lil’ house. Get you on the board for some jobs. Wasn’t a doubt in my mind when I seen you out there that I was gonna let you leave again.”

“You gonna hold me hostage, Tommy?” You laughed.

“Might have to.”

You’d be a fool to pass it up, you knew it. But you were nervous. How could you adjust to a life of ‘normalcy’ after being essentially feral for so many years.

“Mind if I think on it a bit?” Tommy shook his head, “Take all the time you need. In the meantime, I got someone you might want to see.”

Your eyebrows knitted together in thought. Who could he have been talking about? And then it hit you. In the excitement of everything that had been happening in the last couple of hours, you hadn’t even considered the idea that Joel could be there. Your heart started pounding in your chest again, butterflies swarming in your stomach as the thought of seeing him entered your mind. You’d convinced yourself that he’d died years ago. That both him and Tommy had died and Tommy was in fact here before you. It’s been 20 years and the idea of seeing Joel Miller still sent you spiraling. “He isn’t…” you began. Tommy smiled at you as he radioed someone over the talkie, “Anyone got eyes on Joel?”  

Your heart hammered so hard Tommy could probably hear it. He had to have been pulling your leg. You started becoming self-conscious. You hadn’t showered in weeks, you were grimy, you had aged. You couldn’t help but laugh to yourself because when was the last time you’d had to worry about that?

“He just got in from patrol, you need him?” A man said on the other side of the radio.

“Yeah, send him to the mess. Got someone he needs to see.”

“Roger that.”

Tommy made small talk while you both waited for Joel to arrive. You couldn’t process anything though. You were suddenly so nervous. How was he going to react? Would he be just so happy and cry? Yeah right, that was so anti-Joel it was laughable. Would he just be nonchalant? Like, wow. Been a while. Nice to see you. You couldn’t even predict it. Tommy could sense you were anxious and placed a hand on your shoulder to calm you down. “Hey… it’s Joel. You know him. No need to be nervous.”

He was right. You did know him. But the keyword was did. You knew him 20 years ago. You’ve changed since then so of course he’s changed as well. What if he didn’t even remember you? God, you’d be so embarrassed. “Y-You’re right. I’m just in my head I guess.”

“Well get out of it. I think you’ll be surprised. Want a drink?” He offered.

“God, yes. What do you have?”

“Well,” he began “probably don’t got those fruity little drinks you used to like but I can sure get you a glass of whiskey.”

You laughed, exhaling a breath you didn’t even know you were holding, “Okay. Whatever you got.”

Tommy returned with the drink quickly. You downed it as soon as it hit the table, the whiskey burned the back of your throat and chest as it went down.

“Still can’t shoot whiskey, huh?” Tommy teased. Your face scrunched up into a look of disgust, “Fuck, guess not. That’s awful.”  

Tommy opened his mouth to say something but was distracted by the mess doors opening. There he was. Joel Miller in all his glory. Tommy walked up to the man, patting him on the back before striking up a conversation. You were out of earshot so you couldn’t hear anything but you weren’t sure you wanted to. If you were anxious before, you didn’t even know what to call how you felt right now. You felt like you could throw up on the spot, but maybe that was the whiskey talking. He was the same. A bit aged, but still Joel. His hair was grayer, bit longer too. Still scraggly, but it’s always suited him. Maybe he was a bit more muscular but you couldn’t exactly tell cause of all the layers he had on. You stirred in your seat as your heartbeat went a thousand miles per minute. He was here, and he was alive.

Tommy led Joel over to the bar and poured him a glass of amber liquid, maybe in a way to prepare him. Joel took a sip, not noticing that his brother had signaled you over. You stood from your chair, stomach in your ass as you made your way over to them. Nothing could prepare you for this. You had half a mind to run out and never look back. But your heart yearned for him, even if it were just to be in his presence, even just to say ‘Hi’.  

You reached both men, standing at the chair behind Joel who had his back facing you.  

After a moment of you trying to talk yourself up, you spoke. “I’ll have another one, Tommy.” You said, sliding your glass over to him. Joel turned around, finally aware of your presence. His eyes scanned up your body until they met your face.  

A chill ran up Joel’s spine as he heard a voice ask for another drink. It was a voice he knew all too well. One he hadn’t heard in 20 years, besides in his dreams. His eyes met yours for a moment, until you turned away under his gaze. No words were said and honestly you didn’t feel like they needed to be. He stood from his chair and faced you fully, eyes shimmering behind the tired look on his face. Almost like he was renewed.  

“Hi, Joel.” You managed to get out, your words finally finding you again. Confidence found you too as you looked the man in the eye. He sputtered a moment, not quite sure what to say before he decided nothing was best. He wrapped his big arms around your frame, pulling you in for a hug that was even tighter than Tommy’s. You hugged back, gripping to the back of his flannel. He smelled the same with just a hint of something new. That warm, musky Joel smell that reminded you of cedar and whiskey with the added sent of pine. You could have gotten drunk off it. Not in a million lifetimes could you have imagined the day would come where you were reunited with him. You had to have been dreaming. More tears spilled and you cursed yourself, tired of all the waterworks.

Joel held on to you for what seemed like an eternity. You didn’t mind at all. In fact, you welcomed it. It’d been too long since you’d been touched in general you hadn’t realized how much you’d been craving something like this, let alone from him.

“I’ll give the two of you a moment.” Tommy said, knocking on the bar and walking over to Ellie who was coincidentally walking up to you all and pulling her away with him, “Oh c’mon, Tommy!” She yelped.

Joel finally pulled away, but still keeping you at bay, “I don’t... I don’t understand. Where did you come from?” He was breathless. He kept thinking it was a dream, you being here. He didn’t want to wake up.

“Well, that’s a long story,” You laughed, “Most recently from Colorado. But it doesn’t matter. I don’t even know how we’re both here to be honest.”

Joel smiled down to you, his grip tightening, “It’s kind of unreal, right? I kind of.... thought-”

“That I died? Trust me, when I saw Tommy, it was like I’d seen a ghost.” You recalled, eyes softening as it really hit you that Joel was here in front of you. Unchanged, just slightly grayer.

“I-I looked for you... For years. I kind of went mad about it for a while. So much happened that night.” His face twisting into a look of discomfort as he remembered the night things started.  

The two of you sat and spoke for hours, catching up on everything. Joel told you about Sarah and how Tommy stopped that soldier. You cried when he spoke about her; he teared up too. You told him about Holly and how she’d been taken that night. How you looked after RJ until he got sick one winter when he was 8. He didn’t make it either. He told you about the Boston QZ and people he’d met along the way. How he met Ellie and how that went down. You did the same. A lot was similar in the way you lost people, and a lot was different. 

At some point during the conversation, Joel reached over the table and took your hands into his. You couldn’t even imagine pulling them away. By the time you caught each other up to speed, the clock above the mess door said it was nearly one in the morning. At this point, it was only you and Joel in the room. It was so strange to you how 20, almost 21 years had passed and it was like you’d talked to him yesterday. You both fell so naturally in line with each other, you had no idea why you were so nervous to begin with. The two of you sat in silence while Joel rubbed circles on the back of your hand with his thumb. You hadn’t felt this kind of comfort in so long, you didn’t want it to end.

Suddenly, the doors burst open to reveal an irritated Ellie and an exasperated Tommy. “Joel, you have all day tomorrow to catch up. You promised me you’d teach me that dumb song on your guitar.” she said, throwing her body down on the chair next to Joel.  

“I’m sorry, we tried everything in our power to keep her entertained. You know how she is about her Joel.” Tommy joked, pushing Ellie’s head forward slightly.

Ellie scoffed, “Yeah, right. This old man? I’m just making sure he makes good of his promise.”  

“You know I always do. But, she’s right. It is gettin' late. I’m sure you gotta be tired.” Joel said, looking over at you. You nodded, finally paying attention to how exhausted your body was.

“Yeah, I am. I’ll give you Joel back, Ellie.” You said smiling to her, “Tommy, you said you got a place I can stay a while?” He nodded, beckoning you with his hand to follow him. You went to follow him but not before Joel grabbed your wrist, stopping you from going any further.

“Promise we’ll talk tomorrow?” His eyes searching yours for something you weren’t sure of.

“’Course. I’m not going anywhere.” Your answer seemed to satisfy him as he gently let go of your wrist and stood. “Alright.”

The next few days flew by. You’d gotten cozy in your tiny home. Which really wasn’t so tiny. Two bedrooms, a working bathroom and kitchen. You could have died there you loved it so much. Tommy had taken you to the pantry to get some essentials stocked up in your house. They gave you a few days to settle in before getting your answer on if you’d be staying long term. Which, of course you were. You saw Joel and Ellie every day. She was always in tow behind him which you thought was the cutest thing ever. She’d been growing on you and you hoped you were growing on her as well. She acted tough at first, almost like she wasn’t interested in getting to know you, which Joel told you she’d come around. You really hoped for that. And you succeeded. 

It seemed like Joel made up any excuse to see you throughout the day. Literally the most mundane things, and there he was. Knocking on that red front door of yours.

“Tommy told me the sink has been leaking. Figured I’d come take a look at it.”

“Actually, the sink has been doing just fine.”

“Oh, well. Maybe I should take a look anyways.”

Or, “I made an extra sandwich. PB&J. Ellie said she didn’t want it. I figured we could have lunch together.”

“Oh, I actually just made some eggs. Also, aren’t you on patrol today?” He pouted, “Oh, yeah. I have a lunch break though. It’s alright if you don’t want it. Jus’ thought I’d ask.”

“... a peanut butter and jelly sandwich sounds pretty good right now.”

And even, “Hey, Maria said they’re playing that one movie you liked at town hall tonight. The one with the green guy and the donkey?”

“Shrek?”

“Uh, yeah. I think so. Want to go watch it me? Or, uh... I mean, Ellie and I?”

“Sure, Joel. I’d love to.”

It was so funny to you. But you loved it. It was so in character for him to beat around the bush or to just make the little excuses to see you or hang out with you without just plain saying “Let’s do something.” You’d come to realize Joel really hadn’t changed much at all in the decades you’d been apart from him. At least, in the ways he’d been showing you. You also realized maybe you hadn’t changed much either over the years. You found yourself falling into ‘normalcy’ easily. You lived for the moments where Ellie would come over and ask you to have dinner with them. Or the little excuses Joel made up to see you. It filled your heart in ways you weren’t even aware of. You were excited to wake up each day, knowing you were with people. Maybe even your people.  

Days turned into weeks and you’d even been assigned work at the preschool during the day. Sometimes you’d take shifts at the mess halls bar, serving drinks to the men and women in the town. You figured it was a good way to make friends. Joel and Ellie always sat at a table near the bar when you'd work with the excuse of keeping you company. Not that you minded, at all.  

One night, a few months after settling in Jackson, you called Ellie over to the bar, “Hey, come here. Wanna teach you something.” Ellie pointed to herself making sure you were talking to her to which you nodded, smiling to her.

“What’s up?” She asked.

“Wanna learn how to make a drink?” You offered. Ellie’s eyes lit up and she agreed eagerly, “Um, yeah, duh! What drink?”

“Well, let’s see what we got. Not much to work with but here,” You said handing her the glass, “Put some ice in it, and fill it up to here with this.”

You handed Ellie the bottle of bourbon on the shelf behind you. She opened the bottle and filled the glass halfway, eyeballing it to exactly where you had pointed. “Hmm, how about we top it off with this?” It was an almost empty bottle of ginger ale. She followed your instructions, filling the glass to the brim. “Okay, now take this spoon, put it at the top of the cup and slam it to the bottom.”  

Ellie looked at you with her eyebrows quirked, “Slam it? But why?”  

You laughed, “Just do it. Trust me.”

Ellie tilted her head, unsure, but did it anyways. She slammed the spoon down, causing the glass to fizz up, nearly spilling over the edge. “Oh shit... Can I drink it now?”  She asked eagerly.  

You laughed again, now tilting your head as you thought a moment, “Well, not too sure about that one, Ellie. Why don’t you go ask your dad?”

Ellie grabbed the glass and carefully walked over to the table Joel was sitting at. You watched from a distance as she asked the older man if she could drink her creation. Joel looked over to you and gave you that look, you mouthed a sorry and stifled a giggle. “Not today, kiddo. Try again when you’re older.”

“Oh, c’mon, Joelllll. I can’t even have a sip?” She whined. It was endearing.

You watched as the two of them went back and forth, arguing over the drink and who was going to drink it. You smiled to yourself. The moment felt so... domestic. You didn’t know what to think of it. But by the way your heartbeat picked up, you figured you might have liked it.

You were cleaning glasses and organizing the liquor when a couple of men sat at the bar, and removed the hats off their heads. “Back from a late patrol, boys?” You asked, placing cups in front of them and pouring some whiskey into it.

“Yes, ma’am. Not much out there when it’s ‘bout 10 degrees and snowing.” One of them said. He was a regular. Here at the bar every Thursday and Friday. Maybe Sunday’s. You’d picked up from his friend that his name was Luke. He was younger. Probably about 25, maybe 26. His friend, who you learned was named James was a bit older. Mid-thirties, married, had two kids. They were both nice, however, James was a flirt despite being wed. Luke tried but he was pretty inexperienced. Both alright looking though, the younger being taller and thin, blond hair and blue eyes. The older one was shorter in stature, bit thicker, with darker hair and green eyes. If you were honest, you weren’t the biggest fan of James, but a you remained cordial.

“It is a chilly one out there,” James began, “Luke needs someone to keep him warm at night. You’re single, aren’t ya, ___?” He said, smiling. His grin somehow gave you bad vibes, but you smiled back nonetheless.  

“I am. But I'm not looking right now. Sorry, Luke. I’m old enough to be your mom!” You laughed, finishing up wiping a couple of glasses and setting them in a tray under the bar. “Barely! Maybe if you were a teen mom or something.” He retorted. You just smiled and went about your business.  

A little while later after a few more people came and drank, it was almost time to call it a night. You peaked behind the people finishing up their drinks and sure enough, Joel was still there, with a book, listening to the random music that played on the stereo. You bit your lip, hiding the smile that adorned it. He was always there.

“All I’m saying is that, if I weren’t married, I’d be all up on that! Luke, c’mon she’s a single cougar. Get your head in the game.” You overheard James's whispering to the younger man next to him. James sighed, “I don’t know, James. She’s been seen with that Miller guy. Not Tommy but the other one. He’s scary. Heard he’s killed a bunch’a guys.”  

“Oh, come on. He’s not that bad. Just an old dude. Plus look at her. She’s fucking worth it, man. The ass she has on her? God, and those tits.” James continued.

You mentally scoffed. You figured he was a slime ball but this was just flat out gross. Thank God the mess hall was closing soon because you were about ready to give the man a piece of your mind. Suddenly, James said something, attempting to get your attention but you pretended not to hear.

“Helloooo! I said can Luke get another drink here?” He repeated himself.

“Oh, sorry. I’ll pour you one more but we gotta close up soon.” You replied, filling Luke’s glass once more.

“Jesus, Luke. You see that? Dumb and hot. I bet you could convince her to get in bed with you.” This was your last straw. You get they’d been drinking but they clearly lacked common sense. You turned to the sleazy drunk, ready to tear him a new one but it turned out you didn’t need to. You stood there; arms crossed waiting for whatever was going to happen next.

“What’sa matter, baby? Suddenly want a piece of what Jamesy-boy has to offer? Got enough to go around!” Your eyes rolled as he tried again, digging himself a further hole.

“Don’t think she likes what you’re offering her, Jamesy-boy.” Joel said behind him, placing both of his hands on either of James shoulders. Luke’s eyes widened at what was happening, or at least about to. He had some decency to know what James was saying was wrong, but he lacked the balls to say something about it.

“Wha-What... How would you know what she likes and doesn’t? How dare you come up and put your hands on m-” James bit his tongue when he turned around to see a seething Joel behind him.  

“Wanna repeat what you were about to say?” Joel asked, leaning down into the man's face. James shook his head quickly, struggling to move from his seat as he was so frightened.

“If I see or hear you talking to her again, hell, even lookin’ at her, I’ll mess you up so bad, your wife won’t even want what ‘Jamesy-boy' has to offer. Y’hear me?” Your eyes widened at Joel’s threats and you couldn’t help but like what he was saying. His words turned in your stomach as you felt the heat build there and further down. Only God knew what that said about you.

James nodded, trying to slip past Joel. Luke got up as well, ready to follow his friend out. “I didn’t hear you say it. Out loud, now.”  

“I-I won’t talk or look at her again. S-Sorry about that.” He stuttered.

“Good. Don’t apologize to me though.” Joel said, signaling over to you.  

“I’m sorry, ___. It-It won’t happen again.” You nodded, acknowledging him, waving him away.

The two of them scurried away like the rats they were. Good riddance. You looked at Joel who was now sitting at the bar. “Jesus, Joel...”

He scoffed, “What? Was that not okay? He was harrassin-”

“I think you’ve gotten softer in your old age.” You chimed in. Joel stared at you, confused as to what the hell you were talking about.

“Excuse me?” He asked. “I told him I’d beat him so bad he’d be disfigured and that was soft?”

You laughed, finishing up the last of the cleaning before close. “Yeah. The old Joel I knew would deck a guy for saying something to me.”

Joel sat there a moment as he recalled the night at the bar where he broke a man's jaw for calling you a slut. He smiled lightly, “That’s right. You’re right... maybe I have gotten soft.”

Your eyes rolled as you grabbed your winter jacket and throwing it on, “Come on, softie. Walk me home.”

Joel obliged, getting up from his seat and following you out of the mess hall. The two of you walked into the frigid air, almost instantly shivering from the lack of warmth the place provided you. The sun had set a long time ago, leaving the milky blue hues of the night appear next to the luminescence of the moon. It was a sight. You stared up at the floating rock in the sky, entranced by its beauty. If everything in this world has changed, the moon stayed the same. You were a big fan. You were so engrossed in the way the moonlight shined; you had no clue someone was doing the same but to you. Joel walked with you, paying no mind to the road ahead of him. His eyes were on your frame, on the swell of your breasts, on your lips. He noted how your irises twinkled as you peered up to sky. It caused a lump to form in his throat, his heart rate picking up as he tried to swallow it down.

“Hey, Joel?” You asked suddenly, his gaze quickly leaving you as you looked to him.

“Yeah? What’s up?” He replied, clearing his throat.

“Back there… in the mess. I could have handled that myself.”

Joel was taken aback for a moment before chuckling softly, “Oh, darlin’ I know. He should have been more scared of what you were gonna do to him instead of me.”

You laughed back, nudging Joel on the shoulder with your own, “I mean it! I would have tore him apart had you not been there.”

Joel smiled, “I know, I know. Maybe I just wanted some points in my favor with you. Make me look cooler, maybe make you like me more.” He continued.

You looked at him with a confused face, “Like you more? Joel, I’m not sure if that’s even possible. I think I like you too much.” Your nerves started getting the better of you as you realized what you’d just said. Joel’s eyes widened but only for a second. He started slowing his steps down as he turned to you, “Like me too much, huh?”

“Just forget I said it.” You piped in quickly, trying to back track.

“Don’t think I can do that, darlin’.” Joel said, stopping you from going any further. He wrapped his calloused hand around your wrist, lightly pulling you to him. Your eyes softened as you looked up to the man, your cheeks reddening under the yellow-toned streetlight the two of you stood under. You wanted to look away. You didn’t want Joel to see the way he so easily made you blush. “Stop hiding from me. You look so pretty, tonight. You always do.” Joel placed his free hand under your jaw, leading your eyes to meet his.  

“Why can’t you forget I said anything?” You hushed, entranced in the way he was looking at you. Like you were the most precious thing in the world. He just laughed, bringing his hand from your wrist to the other side of your face. “Don’t want to. Think I might like you too much, too.”

You smiled, heart racing, stomach flipping; everything. You brought your hands up to Joel’s jacket, running over the wrinkles until you hit his neck and kept them there. Snowflakes began to litter from the sky and danced around the two of you, melting as soon as they hit your bodies. “Well, Joel Miller. If you like me so much, why don’t you kiss me?”

“Can I?” he asked softly, nudging his nose with yours as he closed the space between you. All you could do was nod as your words failed. That’s all he needed before his lips were on yours. His soft lips met yours, only a little chapped. You moved with him as he kissed you, one of his hands wrapping around the back of your neck while the other fell to the nape of your spine. Your own hands wrapping around his neck and lacing through the bottom of his hair. You both stood there for what felt like forever, just enjoying the embrace. At one point Joel nipped the bottom of your lip, asking for an entrance. Your tongues moved and intertwined with each other as Joel deepened it even more. You didn’t want to break away as you were quite literally seeing stars and hearing fireworks but Joel stepped away first. “We-We need to stop, baby girl.” He said breathlessly.

“Why? I want to kiss you more.” You insisted, moving your head to kiss him again.

Joel grinned, pecking you again lightly once, twice, maybe a third time. “Trust me. I need to kiss you more. But not here.” You agreed with him as you pulled him further down the street. It was a straight shot to your house when suddenly Joel stopped again.

“What’s wrong?” You asked.

He hesitated, his face etched in concern. “You’re not gonna regret taking me home with you, are you?”  

Your eyebrows pulled together as you looked at him like he’d said something ridiculous, because it was. “Joel, do you think I’d regret it?”

He hesitated, unsure of himself, “Don’t know... ‘S why I’m asking you. Don’t want you mixed up with the ‘crazy old guy’.”

You paused a moment, almost laughing at how silly it was. You walked right back up to Joel, placing both of your hands on his cheeks a pulled him into you, kissing him once again. It was full of intensity. You wanted to show Joel just how badly you wanted him, crazy or not. Hell, you were old too. Joel fell naturally into it, wrapping his arms around your body. He chased your lips like he was addicted. It sent you soaring. After a moment, you pulled away, “Come on. Take me to bed.”  

Joel placed his forehead against yours, holding you to his body. You could hear the heavy, desperate breaths coming from him like he was wagering with himself. Joel cupped your face once again, his lips ghosting over yours before whispering, “Let’s go.”

The trip to your bedroom was hazy. You were so out of your mind with want for this man you were shaking. As soon as you both entered your room and the door was shut, Joel was at you. He shed you of the thick winter jacket you had on and the fleece sweater under that. You did the same to him, pushing off his coat and flannel in one go. Your lips met fiercely, your hands running up his chest to his neck, pulling him closer. You wanted to be engulfed in him in every way. It scared you a bit at how much you wanted him in this moment, how much you needed him. You shivered at the lack of clothing as Joel pulled your jeans down, leaving you in your bra and underwear. He stepped away but only for a moment as he discarded his shirt and worked on his pants. His eyes ever left your body. His breath grew heavy again, watching the way his chest puffed up and down. You could see the strain of his length, begging to be released as he stepped out of his own pants and returned to your body.  

Joel kissed from your clavicle to your neck, biting and sucking as he saw fit. You moaned as you wrapped your arms around him, scratching his back lightly. He grunted, shuddering from the pain as it turned into pleasure. Joel grinded against you, his erection poking your belly. Your hand flew down to it, rubbing him through the fabric of his boxers. He sighed, kissing up your jaw to your mouth as he fucked into your hand. “f-fuck, baby girl. You’re drivin’ me insane.” He stuttered, his hands at your panties as he slid them down. He left them just below your ass, gripping your cheeks and kneading them in his large hands. You moaned again, your own hand slipping into his underwear as you continued your ministries. His cock was already slick with precum. God, he was so needy for you. Never in his life had he had a desire this intense. Both your bodies felt like fire as your fingertips danced over the expanse of each other’s skin.  

You were just as desperate. You could feel the wetness drip from your folds on to where your underwear sat, your swollen bud just aching to be played with. It’s like Joel could sense that, as one of his hands left your ass and dipped inside of you. He circled your clit slowly at first which you could have cried at. You needed more. You bucked your hips into his hand and he got the hint, picking up his speed. You both stood there at the side of your bed, getting each other off. Both moaning into each other’s mouth, licking up his jaw as he did to yours.

“Baby, need to be inside of you. F-fuck, I’m goin’ crazy.” He breathed; his breath muted as he spoke against your lips. You were already so close from Joel working so hard on your clit, but you knew coming around his cock would be way more gratifying. You nodded, separating yourself from him as you shucked your bra off and climbed on to your mattress, minding the way you wiggled your behind ever-so-slightly to which Joel moaned out loud at. Joel rid himself from his boxers and climbed over to you, hovering over your body as he pecked hot, open-mouthed kisses up your body.

“You’re so f-fucking beautiful.” He spoke, eyes on you. Your own eyes rolled as you wrapped your hands around his neck pulling him in for another kiss.

“Quit buttering me up, Miller.” You sighed, licking a strip up his tongue. Joel’s grip on your waist tightened. He was so hard it was beginning to hurt. “Not doing no such thing, darlin’. You’re so fuckin’ pretty. Look at how hard you get me. Been doing this to me a while now. Just lookin’ at you, I could cum.” His words went straight into your heat as you clenched around nothing. You needed him in you or you’d quite literally die.  

“Oh yeah? How long you been touching yourself to me?” You asked, your hand returning to his cock as you lined him up at your entrance. Joel slid his leaking tip in between your folds, running it up to your clit, rubbing there for a moment.  

He laughed softly, “Long time, baby girl. Here and there before. But now that you’re here with me again; it’s almost every night.” Your back arched at his confession. There’d been many nights you’d lay awake since you moved to Jackson. Your mind thinking of the events of the day, but they’d always end up on Joel. They way he’d sip from his glass of whiskey, or bourbon. The way he’d come into the mess hall after a patrol, always a little disheveled and sweaty. Or the way he was always so intense with you, never looking away when you spoke, when you laughed. How he’d always find a way to have a hand on you, just to be as close as possible.  

“Joel, put it in, fuck- all the way. Please fuck me.” You begged, your legs wrapping around his waist.

“You ready for me, sweetheart?” He asked, teasing your needy hole with his tip, pushing it in slowly. You nodded, lips back on his. Joel pushed himself in easily. You were beyond ready for him. He gasped at the sensation. He loved the feeling of his cock being swallowed up by you. He looked down at your cunt as he bottomed out, moaning at the sight.  

“Jesus... you take me so well. Y’always have. Like you were made for me.”  

His words sent you spiraling, your eyes rolling back as you felt his fat cock fill you up. He started at a slower pace that was still intense. His lips on yours as he kissed into your open mouth. You couldn’t help the moans and sighs that escaped your reddened, plump lips, abused from Joel’s own. Joel pumped into you, your slick mixing with his as you both created a symphony of wispy moans and slaps against each other’s skin. It was fucking beautiful. His hand pushed the stray hairs away from your face as he picked up speed, thrusting into you as the claps became louder. “Yes-s, take it. Let me see that pretty face of yours. So fucked out ‘cause of me.”

You loved how vocal he was. It was a driving force as he slammed into you, on the edge of his high. You were right behind him, the coil in the pit of your stomach on the verge of snapping. Joel’s thumb worked on your swollen bud again, circling quickly as he wanted you to come with him.  

“Joel I-I'm so close, fuck!” You cried out, your arm thrown over your eyes as he rutted into you.

“Move that arm of yours, wanna see you when you come for me.” You obeyed, your arms wrapping back around his neck pulling him down to you. Joel kept his pace steady, and with a few more flicks of his thumb, you were unraveling. Your hand flew to his hair, gripping it as you moaned, calling out his name. Joel felt your cunt tighten around him, gripping him to you. “Yes, fuck, take it! ’s all yours, baby. Always yours.” His pace slowed; you felt the hot ropes of cum filling any leftover space inside you, coating you. Tears pricked your eyes as he continued the remainder of his thrusting, everything becoming too much.  

Joel’s softened dick slid out of you and was replaced by two of his long fingers, “Don’t want you to waste a drop. Keep it all in, baby doll.”  

Your eyes closed; body enamored with pleasure as your legs shook from the af effects of your orgasm. Joel collapsed on to you, pecking your chest and neck with more kisses and love bites. His hands found their way up to your hair and weaved into it. He wanted you close, but you weren’t going anywhere.

The room was quiet besides the sounds of both yours and Joel’s labored breaths. You could hear your heartbeat in your ears as you basked in the comfortable silence. It was a while before either of you spoke. You actually thought Joel had fallen asleep which sucked, cause while you loved him being on top of you, he was getting heavy.

“Do you regret it?”  He spoke suddenly.

You pushed yourself up onto your elbows as you peered down to the older man on you. You looked at him incredulously, like you’d been shocked. “Regret what we just did?” He nodded slowly, eyes on yours.

“Joel,” You began, fully sitting up as you pulled him with you, “Why would you even ask that?”

“I just... Dunno. Just feel like you could do better than an old, crazy guy. Lots of guys ‘round here dying to have you even look at ‘em.”

You sighed, your shoulders slumping. Your hand reached out to Joel’s face, petting the grayed scruff on his jaw. You took some time to figure out how to say exactly what you were feeling, even then it was hard to explain. “If you think that, genuinely; You really must be an old, crazy man.” You laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

“I don’t think you realize that I am absolutely in love with you, Joel Miller.” Joel’s breath hitched as his eyes widened slightly. His heartrate picked back up. He really wasn’t expecting to hear that.  

“Not Luke. Not James. No one else. Ever. I get that might be a lot to place on you so sudd-”

Before you could even end your sentence, Joel’s lips were on yours again. He kissed you so deeply, so passionately, that you could have exploded. Your body was so warm even with the bite of the negative temperatures outside. He pulled you on to his lap and just... held you. He held you so delicately, like you’d break with any amount of pressure. After a moment, he broke away and maybe you were just seeing things, but you could have sworn you saw a little tear drop, threatening to fall. Your eyes glazed over, tears of your own beckoning an appearance. You truly were just so in love with him, it was crazy. You’d only been reunited a few months back but, it was as if you’d spent the last 21 years with him. It felt as though no time was spent apart at all. Things between you just worked so naturally and flowed so well. Like you were made for him, just as he said. And as though he were made for you.

Another comfortable silence lingered in the air. You both just genuinely enjoyed the presence of one another. Joels hands rested at your waist, one them made its way to your back, rubbing small circles on to your skin. His head fell into you, resting just above your breast as he breathed you in. Your own hand had moved to his hair, scratching his head lightly.

Joel sucked in a big breath of air before speaking, “Don’t think I’ve heard those words in a couple’a decades.” You nodded along with him. It’d been a long time for you too. Joel looked up to you, too comfortable to move any further. His eyes glimmered as he looked into yours. It was as if you held the universe within those orbs of yours. He couldn’t look away.

“I am absolutely in love with you too, my sweet girl.” Now it was your turn to be surprised even if you weren’t really. Not like you’d been expecting him to say it, but it was still something. You couldn’t help but smile as a tear fell. You didn’t want to cry, not at all. But you couldn’t help it. Your body swelled with emotion as every cavity of you filled with love and admiration for this worn-down man in front of you. Both of you changed in so many ways, some for the better, maybe some for worse. But when you really looked at it, not so much was different. He was still Joel Miller, and he was yours.  

“Good.” Was all you could say as more tears threatened to fall.

Joel smiled, a small laugh escaping his lips. “Good.”

taglist: @paleidiot, @aestheticangel612​

i hope u all like this part! soft joel is my absolute weakness and i love writing him. i think i might take some requests so if anyone has any ideas for Joel Miller or even Din Djarin :o i’d be glad to see them! also lemme know if anyone else would like to be added to a taglist <3

likes and reblogs are always appreciated and welcomed <3

[jaded-jezz]

Secret Smiles

Hi, this is my first one-shot so I obviously had to have Jack Champion kick off this account! Let me know your opinions or requests too!

Please do not repost this, reblogs are appreciated.

Jack Champion x F!Reader

☁︎ Fluff

summary: your relationship with Jack is still private so you communicate across events in different ways.

The Emmy Awards. I've heard that so much recently that its starting to sound like a made-up word. I still get goosebumps every time I remember I get to attend these prestigious awards with my cast, friends and-

"Y/N, as beautiful as you look right now, it is time to get up"

And- my boyfriend.

Jack and I have been together for almost 7 months and due to me living in England most of the time, we have been able to keep it a secret. Our relationship is like that Taylor Swift song “London Boy” but flipped. Because god he loves the English.

I give in to the whispering voice and slowly start to stretch to wake my body up. As I open my eyes I realize the curtains have been opened and warm yellow light is pouring down onto the mop of curls bouncing around me.

"Compliments already Champion?" I ask grinning as Jack whips around to see I'm awake now, "Maybe I should stay asleep forever if you think I look that good."

"Yeah but then all my bad jokes would never be laughed at again" he says as he walks towards me offering his arm and bowing slightly, "M'Lady, breakfast is waiting and it'll be cold if we don't hurry" he exclaims in his best British accent before grabbing my hand and pulling me through the hotel room in a fit of mischievous giggles.

He had ordered my favorite from room service and had it set in front of the window with a view of the beach in the distance. Although I woke up later than planned we were still ahead of schedule so we took our time eating and just talking to try and ignore the nerves for tonight.

A knock at the hotel door made us jump and we remembered Jack was supposed to stay in his own room. I tried to whisper that he should wait somewhere until it was safe to leave but my manager and the rest of my team walked in. I'd forgotten they had a key.

"Oh... I let myself in as I thought you over slept but I can see-" She glances at Jack trying not to break her serious face, " you are awake and have company"

Everyone glances at each other for a few moments before erupting into laughter as it's almost an unspoken tradition that me and Jack don't listen to staying separate before something so nerve wracking as The Emmys.

Sadly, Jack was kicked out swiftly so that my team could help me with my hair and makeup and eventually get into my dress. This is one of my favorite parts of the day because everyone is talking and having fun while music plays as background music for us to dance, sing or just listen to. One thing we love to do is make TikToks about the process of my makeover.

I thrive off musical.ly transitions and the fans love it every time, and it makes me so happy. My fans have always been some of my favorite people. When I first started out I followed the first fan accounts and we continue DM regularly after all this time. But even though they are lovely, Jack and I are still wary of hate and also some of the threats that his fans may throw at me. We will tell people eventually but right now its fun to mess with them and give subtle hints for the detectives among the followers.

I am finally ready. I've finished the last parts of TikToks, taken photos and grabbed my bag of essentials like plasters, gum and tissues. I shoot Jack a text and he's at my door in less than 30 seconds. Even though he has seen pictures of my outfit, his eyes almost pop out of their sockets when I open the hotel door.

"Hey-" My face starts to go red after realizing why he has stopped talking "Jesus Y/N, you look gorgeous, like actually breathtaking, I need an inhaler, Do you have to pay for inhalers? Where do you even buy them from?" He rambles as he becomes flustered in front of the beautiful woman he gets to call his girlfriend.

I grab his face, to stop the word vomit, and kiss him trying not to smile too much. "Thank you Jack, you look as amazing as always" I retort "Is it hot in here, somebody catch me I am going to faint, Cause of death: Jack Champion" We both laugh before our managers tell us its sadly time to separate for the ride to The Emmys.

We text non-stop throughout the journey talking about everything that has ever happened because neither of us can stay on one topic without branching off into a rant or an important piece of backstory to the first conversation. But Jack has to arrive at the theater first so that he can walk the carpet at a similar time to his cast mates, and so that I can do the same. So we text our goodbyes.

Stepping out of the car onto the carpet with fans shouting and cameras flashing is a feeling I will never get used to. The rush hits me as I remember to smile and walk properly to not look like Bambi on ice. My manager is that my side lightly guiding me towards the queue of celebrities next to the paparazzi for our official photos. I use the waiting time to scope out the brown head of hair that will calm me down.

I hear him laughing before I see him. He is doing an interview with one of his favorite cast mates and I feel my face already start to ache from smiling at him. However he doesn't spot me until I'm on the carpet.

(Jack's Interview- Jack's POV)

"So yes, we are extremely proud of this movie" I end my answer for the interviewer. They start to ask another but I am distracted by the roar of noise from behind me. Y/N.

She looks stunning. I can tell why she has such dedicated fans, I mean look at her. I finally catch her eye and we do our little signal.

It's like we have made up our own language for these events. Little head wiggles, eyebrows and nose scrunches and sometimes we risk it by lip syncing the words and we just pray that no one can see we are communicating with each other.

I laugh to myself before I'm pulled away from the trance she has put me in. My cast mate is elbowing me and I realize a few people are staring at me, expecting an answer.

" Oh I'm so sorry, I got distracted" Y/N is never going to stop talking about this, "What was the question?"

(Back to Y/N's POV)

As I walk off the end of the carpet my manager appears, telling me all about Jack's distraction and I already knew he was going to be so embarrassed about this even before I pulled out my phone to be met with the long stream of manic texts from Jack.

(Later that night, in the comment section of Jack's Interview)

jackonion: Is anyone else trying to work out what got Jack so distracted? ↳user142: no omg i was trying to do that too! ↳Y/N's.heart: It was definitely Y/N, you can see her dress at the end of the video. I might be going delusional but it's because I ship them.

"Uh Oh" Jack and I say at the same time.

Wow! So that is the end of my first piece?! Please let me know if its too long or doesn't make sense as I am now paranoid that I just wrote a random bunch of words with my eyes closed. I don't really know if this can have part two but if you think of anything let me know.

Requests are open, so send them through! Use as much detail as you want or have.

Please do not repost this, reblogs are appreciated.

[genshingorlsrevengeance]

Springfield, M4 and AR-15 showing their new bikinis off to their S/O

(GFL) M4A1, ST AR-15, M4 SOPMOD II, and M16A1 showing off their swimsuit to their S/O

So, much as I'd love to endlessly thirst and show you M4 and STAR's outfits, one problem with that.

They don't have swimsuit skins, which is a CRIME. Springfield's is right in this link, so as compensation I'm throwing in the rest of the AR Team.

M4's hair blows back from the winds gently brushing against her face.

She stood near the water wearing a modest dark green bikini, both her top and bottom adorned with flowing skirts that didn't reveal too much of her skin.

M4 couldn't help but feel a bit nervous, a combination of the fact that T-Dolls cannot be immersed in saltwater for long, and she felt so...naked.

Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned her head and saw S/O approaching in a thankfully modest swimsuit as well.

(M4A1) "...You look nice."

(S/O) "Thanks. The green really suits you."

(M4A1) "Think so? Well, I think it could look a little better with a bit of help."

Her voice softened as she gave them the compliment, shyly reaching her hand for theirs.

Her usual shyness and self doubt seemed to disappear the moment she got close to them.

As their fingers intertwine with each other's, M4 respectfully examines their swimsuit as she notices they're doing the same.

She doesn't stay in the water with them for too long, instead they just stroll the beach talking about whatever came to mind, hand in hand.

STAR stares down at her swimsuit with a frown. It was a cute pink swimsuit that showed off a moderate amount of skin.

But that was the problem. Looking at the other members of the AR Team, their tops all had curves.

Hers clearly did not.

Author's Note: No boing boing.

STAR failed to notice S/O approach her, tilting their head in confusion.

(S/O) "STAR, is everything alright?"

(ST AR-15) "Huh?! Y-Yes, I'm fine."

Sighing she looks at S/O before she suddenly jumps, seeing their own. The close vicinity with both of them wearing so little made her blush and turn her gaze away.

(ST AR-15) "Just don't look too close, okay?"

(S/O) "Embarrassed I'll stare at my lovely girlfriend?"

STAR lightly punches their arm, failing to keep her smile growing at the edge of her lips.

(ST AR-15) "I'm not that easy to please, you know."

SOPMOD wears a very revealing red one-shoulder top, showing off her curves and flaunting it.

She eagerly waited for S/O to show up, and when they finally began approaching she almost sprinted to them.

(SOPMOD) "Hey, hey! Check me out, aren't I sizzling?!"

(S/O) "W-Wow, that's really nice...!"

(SOPMOD) "Come on, say that when you're actually looking at me and not staring at the ground!"

She begins to pout, satisfied when S/O looks at her closely. SOPMOD hugs them tightly as she drags them to the water.

(SOPMOD) "Now get your hot bod to the water too, I wanna catch a fish!"

She doesn't make it obvious, but SOPMOD felt really happy that S/O was so shy looking at her.

It meant two things, that the swimsuit did her job, and that her S/O really loved her if they got so flustered they had to turn away.

It was cute.

SOPMOD mercifully didn't bring much attention to it, instead determined to bring back a souvenir to her room.

M16 was lazily sprawled out on the sunlounger underneath an umbrella, her Jack Daniel's resting comfortably on her stomach.

Her black longline bikini had her stomach wide open, and she was quite proud of it. She had zero shame in how little her top and bottom covered. Since it was really only S/O, the Commander, and very few human personnel nearby, she didn't have to worry about telling anyone off.

Her eyepatch remained underneath a pair of sunglasses. As a T-Doll, both eyewear was unnecessary, but the eyepatch was a memento she refused to be rid of, and the sunglasses were there to make her look cool.

Seeing S/O approach, she raised her shades up to her forehead and smirked.

(M16A1) "'Sup?"

(S/O) "I see you're enjoying yourself. Not gonna swim?"

(M16A1) "Nah. Just gonna sit here and enjoy the view."

She winked at them.

S/O had no reaction.

...Oh right, eyepatch.

(M16A1) "Well, this chair's got room for one more, you know."

(S/O) "Wha-You're already on it."

(M16A1) "Guess I can just lay on top of you.~"

She laughs so hard upon seeing S/O's flustered reaction, to the point she snorted and quickly shut herself up.

(M16A1) "...You didn't hear that."

(S/O) "Hah, you sure?"

(M16A1) "Get your ass on here before I change my mind."

She jokingly says as she scoots over, both of them lying on the chair together and watching the others enjoy their time on the beach."

M16 got to admire her S/O's swimsuit very up close and personal, making a mental note of how they looked outside of their normal uniform.

[candlemouse]

Warrenessa Fablehaven Edits

except we do not have significant footage and I am not an editor so it's actually me just writing out what I would do if both of those previous statements were not true

Is this insane? Yes. Was my train delayed by 40 min today w/no service? Yes + might be related

Italics are lyrics. Small is my reasoning or film direction! Click below for more

imgonnagetyouback - Taylor Swift

I see this one from the perspective of Vanessa after the betrayal / falling in love again.

I can feel it comin', hummin' in the way you move / Push the reset button, we're becoming something new

Here, the song kind of hits the beats on the syllables of "we're becoming something new," and I would have like those flashes of them from the earliest form we see them, to the betrayal, and to Zzyzx and after. Highlight maybe Vanessa winking at Warren. She would have done this. Or the other way around

Say you got somebody, I'll say, "I got someone too"

I would use the Sphinx + Vanessa here (not Errol bc I don't really interpret their relationship as meaningfully romantic) and maybe Elise bc tbh when I first read these books as a kid, I thought they were together. But, no, Kendra just wonders if Warren thinks she's pretty. That was enough for me when I was 8 though lol. Also could put Dougan in. Not that I think him and Warren have a relationship but bc I think it would be close enough

Even if it's handcuffed, I'm leaving here with you

Leaving the Inverted Tower, when Vanessa is bound by rope, but a clip where she looks at Warren?

Bygones will be bygone eras fadin' into gray (fadin' into gray) / We broke all the pieces but still want to play the game (oh) / Told my friends, "I hate you but I love you just the same" / Pick your poison, babe / I'm poison either way

This last half of the bridge is just so perfect for them I don't even need to elaborate! Pick your poison? Have both scenes of battle between them + kissing!

The Promise - When in Rome

This would be a short edit about longing!

I'm sorry but I'm just thinking of the right words to say / (I promise you)

If you listen to the song, the syllables hit harder/slower/something different after "right." So the beginning is like a couple second scene of them interacting but after "right", on the syllables, there's jump cuts between them. Maybe times when they've been at odds.

I know they don't sound the way I planned them to be / (I promise you)

Now, im using made up footage so ideally here I would use a scene from my warrenessa fic where he talks to her (in the dungeon) after the inverted tower battle, but a shot where Vanessa's Face is framed by bars

And if I had to walk the world I'd make you fall for me / I promise you, I promise you I will

Clips of Vanessa on her field trip w/Seth + the satyrs, literally traveling the world (an outcome is that she sees Warren again)

I will, I will

Here, I would use footage of Vanessa sitting on the beach alone at the lighthouse and Warren sitting down and joining her. It would be a shot from the back with the ocean in front of them and you can't see their faces. This will be a scene in my fic but also could be plausible bc I bet if Fablehaven was a TV show they would show the confrontation between Warren/Vanessa on lighthouse beach instead of just hinting at it. At least in my ideal world

Soft fade to black with the music fading (as the 80's loved to do)

The Black Dog - Taylor Swift

I see this one from Warren's perspective immediately after Inverted Tower betrayal.

I move through the world with the heartbroken / My longings stay unspoken / And I may never open up the way I did for you

Sad clips of Warren -> flashback clips of them being cute in the Knights. I really thinking of them every time I hear that last line. Bc will Warren ever open up like that again after betrayal/deception?

And all of those best laid plans / You said I needed a brave man / Then proceeded to play him / Until I believed it too

Flashback clips again of the Knights era w/Vanessa being strong/kind etc to Warren. She's acting! An actor. This fits so well guys u don't even know

And it kills me / I just don't understand... / How you don't miss me / In the shower / And remember / How my rain-soaked body / Was shaking

"And it kills me" -> scene of vanessa handing Warren the sword in Inverted Tower and then for lines after: Ideally a rain kiss scene! (But I don't know of one) Other scenes work as well

Do you hate me?

Transition where old flashback Warren cuts to sad Warren. You know like where they're in the same kind of position so the transition is like seamless? I've watched too many edits

Was it hazing? / For a cruel fraternity I pledged / And I still mean it

Fraternity -> Knights of the Dawn (I mean like oh my gee yes!!!) This part could have the audio of like Warren reciting the pledge (or Kendra when she was being initiated) underneath

Old habits die screaming

This has the iconic huge like drums or whatever so I think jump cuts of various clips of vanessa + Warren would be perfect, and it's all the really dramatic, big scenes

Six weeks of breathing clean air / I still miss the smoke

Since the song gets quiet, the scenes get "quiet." Clips of mundane things like Warren pouring coffee, waiting at baggage terminal (in GotSP), stuff like that. Also I wrote a fic with this title about Warren too 🫣

Were you making fun of me with some esoteric joke? / Now I want to sell my house and set fire to all my clothes / And hire a priest to come and exorcise my demons

Clips of Inverted Tower Battle, on house we have establishing shot of Warren's cottage, and clothes had a shot of the knights of dawn garb

Even if I die screaming

Warren falling through the air half-dead in inverted tower battle scene

And I hope you hear it

Cut to Vanessa watching him fall and pierce the big cat

Honorable mentions:

guilty as sin by tswift (can you tell a certain album came out when I started writing the warrenessa fic?

bite the hand by boy genius (this is quite literally the title of the vanessa fic. for good, good reason!!!!)

and ofc iconic "always an angel never a god" audio from boy genius's "not strong enough" as well

[lonelywretchjervistetch]

The State Bird Initiative: New Jersey (#3) - Results

Another week, another poll! And this one...this one had the results in super fast. So, we're gonna get right into it, as well as the personal choices by the SBI. But OK, which species does Tumblr think should be the State Bird of New Jersey?

Which of the following should be the state bird of New Jersey, the Garden State?

Look...I'd be lying if I said I didn't vote for that one, too.

SBI Elected State Bird of New Jersey: Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla)

The American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) has been replaced by popular vote by the Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) in the latest polls! And there's a part of me that wonders if this is for the meme...and there's a part of me that thinks this actually makes sense.

Read the original post here if you want my rationale, but...yeah, I stand by this being a good choice. NJ is a coastal state with a long coastline and a strong beach culture, to the point where "the Shore" is a recognized area in the state with an international reputation. And yes, while other shorebirds could be associated with the state, the Laughing Gull is essentially the only one whose breeding population heavily depends on its Jersey population. Plus, it's a recognizable and iconic bird with a known presence, and could easily be associated with the state it's been selected for. I can dig it. Just sayin'. And yeah, this is the bird chosen as a personal choice by the SBI as well. If you'd like to see the other personal choices from the SBI, stick around after the jump! And if this is all you were waiting for, then no worries! Check out Georgia's entry and give it a vote while you can!

The State Birds Initiative Personal Pick - New Jersey (#3)

State Game Bird of New Jersey (SBI): Brant (Branta bernicla)

Wait...WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? I never brought this bird up as a contender for State Bird? So, what is it doing here? Well, I never brought this guy up for State Bird because they don't breed in New Jersey, and honestly couldn't come up with a solid argument for it to be in that position. However, it was always a contender for State Game Bird, because New Jersey is home to the largest population of this goose, the Brant (Branta bernicla), on the eastern coast, with other concentrations being in Virginia and Rhode Island. But they'll get different birds for this category.

Now, time to talk further about what a State Game Bird is. Game birds are not a single taxonomic classification; rather, they're a sociological one. These are birds prioritized for hunting, usually for culinary purposes, if not just for sport. While they come from a few taxa, the vast majority of game birds belong to orders Galliformes (chickens, pheasants, quail, etc.) and Anseriformes (ducks and geese). The Brant represents our first member of the latter in this category! New jersey is known for its Brant hunting, and the state has major regulations during its Brant hunting season for conservation purposes. I could've put the Snow Goose (Cher caerulenscens) here as well, since New Jersey actually prioritizes hunting of this overpopulated bird...but the purpose of this is to promote birds of conservation interest that have a significant role in the state, and the Brant fits this a lot better than the Snow Goose. With that, let's move on!

State Raptor of New Jersey (SBI): Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonicus)

The Gray Ghost wins the category of State Raptor of New Jersey! This one, of course, I put in the original post and poll, and it unfortunately didn't get far at all. Not sure why, since it's the logo for the New Jersey Audubon Society, it represents a major ecosystem in the state, and it's generally a pretty cool bird. But, hey, that's the price of democracy. Either way, the Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonicus) is a charismatic raptor of conservation concern, and a generally pretty neat bird all around. Check out the original post for more details on this guy, but for now, we'll move on!

SBI's Big Fifty - New Jersey: Saltmarsh Sparrow (Ammospiza caudacuta)

So, in my original post, I mentioned that the Saltmarsh Sparrow (Ammospiza caudacuta) wasn't a great fit for State Bird due to its similarity to other sparrows, and that would be difficult for the average citizen to parse out. A sparrow is a sparrow is a sparrow, right? Well, not to birders it ain't! This is a pretty big bird for any birder's life list, mine included, making it an important focus for that community. So, in order to give the sparrow its day in court, the Saltmarsh Sparrow wins the prize for New Jersey's representative in SBI's Big Fifty, adding it to the countrywide scavenger hunt that this list represents. Sorry, Massachusetts, I know you could've had this one, too. I'll give you a neat one, I promise.

State Conservation Focus of New Jersey (SBI): Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus)

OK, so, the Conservation Focus of New Jersey is sort of disingenuous in this entry, since the bird is far less of a focus than its habitat, but I'll use it as the symbol of the habitat. The Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus) is an accessible symbol for the average person to see when going to the ecologically significant (and always in danger) New Jersey Pine Barrens, also representing a larger community of birds with which it tends to be geographically associated. But more than that, the real symbol of the Pine Barrens isn't quite as accessible. For that reason, there really should be two focuses for the Pine Barrens, one for bird people, and one for ecologists. And if you know anything about the New Jersey Pine Barrens, I think you know what the other symbol is.

Now, to be fair, the Pine Barrens Tree Frog (Dryophytes andersonii) is, despite the name, not endemic to the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Instead, it can be found in the Carolinas and the Florida Panhandle, all in isolated areas and...well, pine barrens. But, its populations are decreasing in size, with the Georgia population already extirpated, and is a species of conservation concern. Frogs are, of course, less easy to spot than birds, especially nocturnal ones like the tree frog. So, it's not a great public symbol of the forests as a result, but is still an important inhabitant of the New Jersey Pine Barrens. So, consider this another conservation focus endorsed by SBI. And for the record, it's actually the state frog of North Carolina, so it hasn't been completely shafted!

And with that, we've reached the end of the personal choices by the SBI for ornithological state representatives! Be sure to check out the Georgia poll currently running; still a day or two for votes to be counted!

See you next time, and happy birding!

[bera-post-things]

If your open could you do a continuation of "Genshin Sagau drabble 2# When you say “bye love you!” To them"? Because LISTEN I am guilty of saying that to Kaeya in my teapot. And if you have the time I'd think it would be great to hear how he's think of that.

Genshin sagau drabble 2# Continued… When you say “bye love you!” To them

Sure! Of course I have time!

A/N: Thanks for being my first request! :D

A/N: I hope you liked the Kaeya one I tried to put his personality into this one and some slight changes here and there but here you go!

Feat: Yoimiya,Kaeya,Hu Tao,(might add more people)

❤︎♡︎❤︎♡︎❤︎♡︎❤︎♡︎❤︎♡︎❤︎♡︎❤︎♡︎❤︎❤︎❤︎♡︎❤︎♡︎❤︎❤︎❤︎♡︎❤︎♡︎❤︎❤︎❤︎♡︎❤︎❤︎♡︎❤︎♡︎❤︎♡︎❤︎♡︎❤︎♡︎❤︎♡︎❤︎♡︎❤︎♡︎❤︎♡︎♡︎❤︎♡︎❤︎♡︎❤︎♡︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎♡︎❤︎♡︎❤︎♡︎❤︎♡︎❤︎♡︎❤︎

Yoimiya

She would be embarrassed and happy at the same time mostly happy how can she not be happy? “the creator the almighty one just said they love me!” She thought as she watched you walk away “wait!” She said catching your attention from walking down the stairs leading away from nagahora Fireworks “huh? Yes Yoimiya?” You said smiling “do you mean it?” She said to you making you think back on your words “yes I meant it why?” You answered back to her seemly forgetting what you said only remembering saying that you’ll meet her at the shores of Ritou torrmrow saying makinh the poor girl very flustered and joyful that she was basically jumping up and down in glee “oh it’s nothing I’ll see you torrrmrow Y/N!” She was going to make the biggest firework ever to show her her gratitude to you at the beach torrrmrow! She couldn’t wait!

Kaeya

The devious Calvary captain the usually sly one always with a smirk on his face on that delectable face of his this would be the only time where you would see him lower his guard and turn his face turn a dark shade of red you would be drinking with him at a bar with diluc intenty watching you in case his brother would try nothing to the creator which you assured was fine but he cotinued to watch you hike his brother just laughed and talked with you occansially taking big sips of exspensive wine in the end he would surely be a bit wobbly his words slurring and his face with just a tint of blush he looked like he wouldn’t be able to walk straight which you would be right it but back on topic as you toke a few sips of your grape juice that diluc served you cause he refused to serve you anything else you looked to your side, seeing the drunken gaze of the Calvary captain he still looks sharp as ever even when intoxicated you thought to yourself but you unknowingly spoke it out loud with out you even realizing it Kaeya now had a smirk on his devious face now sitting up straight with his arms now laying against the bar looking down at you “what was that dear creator I didn’t hear you can you please repeat that?” He said slyly as your eyes widened now realizing what you said stuttering from his intoxicated gaze and the situation as Diluc only raised an eyebrow at this waiting for your response “oh um..Sorry I have to go mabye we can hangout later?” You didn’t wait for a response and just said “bye love you” you again unknowingly said as you went to close the door of the tavern before hearing him say “oh so now you love me now? I’m so happy about that creator” he said chuckling deeply to him self “I didn’t know that you had these type of feelings for me but now that I know…” he cotinued saying making you pause at the door “wha-what no!” You siad before quickly walking out of the tavern and leaving you with a huge permanent blush on your face even the cool night breeze couldnt cool your heated cheeks it felt like your body tempurture was hot as the sun as you called your cheeks how would you talk to him now?” You thought embarrassed you looked like a school girl who had just gotten to interact with their senpai the very first time which earned you looks from other people but you didn’t care you stood there at the entrance of the taverns door hands one the knob on the door before retracting your hand, you cannot go back in there not After that you’ll leave it all for tomorrow you all you wanted to do was sleep… and that’s what you did that night

Hu Tao

I would see her as being happy and glad it was mid afternoon you two would be coming acbk from your walk around Liyue harbor going around as pranking people and scaring people for the most of afternoon until the sun was setting and you had to go as you two walked back to the funerual parlor ready to say your good byes you where ready to go you where about to wave good bye to hu Tao until you suddenly siad the words “bye love you!” After she would turn around and walk back inside the Funeral parlor but  hearing this She woukd turn around and smirk before saying “oh where did this come from suddenly confessing your love to me like this?” She said softly laughing to herself behind her hand(forgive me again I don’t really know how write for Hu Tao also lol)

[judgementdaysunshine]

You got me now

Pairing: Elizabeth Swann x Fem reader

Description: You and Elizabeth fall in love and end up with everything you both thought you would never have

Oh you got me weak in the knees just trying to figure out what is going on here seems like you got a spell over me don't wanna let it go cause I think it feels good

You met Elizabeth when the two of you were twelve when she snuck to the beach to see you in a beautiful, loose, and thin yellow dress with sea shells walking along the shore in the water with a basket joining in and learning to make jewelry and putting some on her clothes sewing the shells in becoming fast friends.

Why you trying to steal my heart don't you know I'd give it to you willingly all you gotta do is ask me now and it will be yours I've got my eyes set on you you've got me feeling like some sort of love fool keeping me on the edge of no return how many times I gotta fall before I learn

As you both snuck out, met up, and spent time together the feelings and bond grew the both of you realized how you felt after four years of being friends protecting her and being captured by Barbossa after she was saved by Jack Sparrow and you saved your and elizabeth's childhood friend Will Turner before things changed vastly for the both of you and your lives forever.

That sometimes the fun's in the way you fall through the air and not having a care of how you land uh oh you got me now I'm seeing stars and feeling your love in all my uh oh you got me now I'm fallin underneath your love spell

The two of you kept your feelings secret pretending to be in love with Anamaria while she pretended to be in love with will afraid of the other not reciprocating or the thoughts of other ruining what could possibly be for the two of you until you both stood up and had enough of it one night on land.

Uh oh you got me now I'm seeing stars and feeling your love in all my uh oh you got me now I'm fallin underneath your love spell been down this road time and again left me feeling like I was my only friend had me believe that fairy tales don't come true now I believe cause I am living one with you

You both went down to the beach and found shells seeing them in each other's shirts and pants until she found one that reminded her of the yellow sun the day you met each other carefully putting it on your shirt just above your heart caressing the skin just above your breast leading to soft kisses and running to the closest inn spending the night together confessing your love for each other and deciding to take things slow.

Took some time to find what I was looking for was right in front of me now I can see uh oh you got me now I'm seeing stars and feeling your love in all my uh oh you got me now I'm fallin underneath your love spell uh oh you got me now I'm seeing stars and feeling your love like uh oh you got me now I'm fallin underneath your love spell

You both snuck time away together every chance you got from staying the night at inns on land, sneaking in each other's hammocks and later on quarters, sneaking kisses and intimate touches on the back of the ship, and caressing kisses on each other's necks when everyone wasn't around or paying too much attention until one day when out of everyone barbossa accidentally found the two of you sharing a kiss on the port going on ship to sneak away "Now I wasn't expecting that" making you both jump wide eyed.

And I know our love our love it won't give up through time and distance baby we have each other and that's enough to carry us through galaxies baby and I know our love our love it won't give up through time and distance baby we have each other and that's enough to carry us through galaxies baby

You both begged and swore barbossa to keep it secret which surprisingly he did for the next year until you both decided after a major victory to announce it to everyone and squeezing each other's hands for a few seconds after until cheers and whistles sounded about making you both smile getting a hug from jack and ana maria, a speech from barbossa, and a bear hug and kisses on the cheek from will who was happy that the two women who were like sisters to him fell in love and had each other.

Uh oh you got me now I'm seeing stars and feeling your love in all my uh oh you got me now I'm fallin underneath your love spell uh oh you got me now I'm seeing stars and feeling your love in all my uh oh you got me now I'm fallin underneath your love spell

You both later on became Captains king and queen of the Brethren court becoming well known and after reuniting and bonding with everyone on the black pearl you had a wedding on the beaches of Tortuga having Will walk you both down the aisle together and barbossa marry the two of you and later on taking in 6 children throughout the years four of them being boys and two being girls you named Oryn, Marielle, Garren, Finnick, Will (After will of course), and Caron who all take after the both of you and who are proud that they have two amazing mother.

[green-socks]

Play Silly Games, Win Great Prizes

Pairing: Robert 'Bob' Floyd x Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw (aka floydsinshaw)

Summary: I wanted this to be like a 5+1 thing but it turned out to be 2+1+1, or something. Just four short scenes of different scenarios with floydsinshaw being super into each other. A lot of blushing, odd flirting, and horny behavior. A lot of this is from Bob's POV.

Words: 2.4k

Warnings: Mature rating; kinda leading up to smut but no actual smut, suggestive language, horny boys, etc. Oh, an a new backstory for Bob's callsign (this is a fun one if I do say so myself)

Notes: Goodness gracious. Trying new things here! Idek what this is except I had ideas for all these scenes so I thought I'd write them out y'know? And I had a lot of fun! Big shoutout to @a-reader-and-a-writer for betaing this in multiple stages with iconic comments and for enabling my silly <3

MASTERLIST

one

Dogfight football at the beach isn't Bob’s usual idea of a good time, but he could definitely see that this team-building exercise is already having a positive effect on the group’s spirits. Everyone is interacting with each other much more, and in a more relaxed manner than before. And he wasn’t going to complain about getting to admire some beautiful bodies in the process – he's not stupid. So what if he pays closer attention to Rooster’s victory dance moves than either of the balls flying around? So what if he laughs a little too loudly at Hangman putting on a show? No one will notice; everyone's too busy being loud themselves.

It's just that sports like this were never really his thing. Obviously, he keeps in shape for the sake of his job and his health, but he can take care of that by running or hiking or going to the gym. That's straightforward, easy, mechanical even. That he can do. It might not be his favorite thing in the world, but he recognizes that the benefits easily outweigh the negatives.

So, yes, he's as surprised as the rest of them when he manages to score a touchdown. Not that anyone is really keeping score anymore (he is, just for the heck of it, but there's no need to share that), but still. And yeah, he is having fun alright. He finally feels like a part of the group, and as a side effect, he's getting bolder in the game as well.

It's a good feeling. Bob is giggling, not really knowing how to act being in the spotlight like this, but it's fun anyway. Whether a testament to the team-building exercise gone right or to the not-keeping-score thing, after another successful – and if he does say so himself, pretty cool – touchdown, both teams are jumping up and down in excitement and cheering as if he just secured a major championship for everyone or something.

Suddenly he feels hands grabbing his arms, and before he even fully registers what's happening, he is being hoisted up on Rooster’s shoulders. Bob is still holding the ball up in victory, which is probably a good thing, because otherwise he would panic about where to put his hands.

Rooster's tall, and Bob is now sitting high above everyone else, but he's not worried about falling on everyone still jumping around them, chanting his name. Laughter bubbles out of him freely as the pilot jostles Bob on his strong shoulders, large hands holding onto the bare skin just below his shorts making him feel secure.

A hand lands on his shin, and Bob looks down to find Hangman of all people chanting his name along with everyone else, looking soft and happy in a way Bob has never seen him before. It's enough to make his breath hitch – the usually cocky pilot looks truly beautiful like this in the setting sun, and less like Hangman than ever. This is the man behind the mask showing his true face.

“Just making sure Rooster here doesn’t drop his precious cargo,” Hangman smiles and winks.

“As if I’d ever let Bobby fall. Are you sure you’re not just jealous, Seresin?” Rooster tosses back, but there's no true heat whatsoever behind it.

“Oh, absolutely I am. Just not sure which one of you I’m more jealous of.”

The blond man’s grin is positively devilish. Bob doesn't know what to do with himself, certain his face is now glowing red from more than just the day in the sun. Rooster jostles him again, giving Bob's thighs a warm squeeze that makes his stomach flutter pleasantly, before leaning down to let him off into Hangman’s waiting arms.

Well. Maybe playing sports isn't so bad after all, Bob thinks dizzily.

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two

After the mission, the flirting that had started (at least more noticeably) back at the beach football game only increases. Now that they no longer have an upcoming suicide mission to worry about, the moments the Daggers spend together are more chill and lighthearted, though they all also know to give each other space when needed.

Tonight, however, space isn't what neither Jake nor Bradley are giving Bob. He thought the unnecessary amounts of touching between them would get comments from the others, but then again, the whole team in general is pretty affectionate and familiar with each other these days. Maybe only Bob himself is hyper aware of it. He would never deny liking it, however, and he feels indeed pleased as punch to have the attention of both gorgeous men on him. They brush their hands on his lower back whenever they walk past him, their fingers linger when handing over the pool clue, their thighs press against his when they sit next to him… It's a near constant feeling on his body, and it's making his blood hum happily inside him. He feels extremely aware of every point of touch, yet simultaneously pleasantly drowsy, like taking a nap on a warm afternoon.

Bob honestly has no idea what he did to deserve their attention like this, but he's enjoying it all the same. He's not entirely sure what the two pilots' endgame here was either, but at least he can tell they are being genuine. It overwhelms him sometimes, but in a good way.

All of it makes his head buzz, his limbs feeling loose and warm. He doesn't even drink, but he would think he's tipsy. And he blames those two for getting him into this state, because what happened next is not how he usually operates, thank you very much.

They're playing pool (again), two on two, Bob and Phoenix against Rooster and Hangman. Finishing his turn, Bob heads to hand over the cue stick to Phoenix when Jake rounds the table to step in his space. The pilot is on his trash talk agenda again, though by now Bob knows it's just Jake messing around and not really meaning anything. But the way the shorter man stands so close to him makes Bob’s head spin, and for the life of him, he can’t explain why or how, he bends down that little bit of way and presses a kiss to Hangman’s cheek.

It's over in the blink of an eye, but they both stand frozen on the spot – Bob blushing furiously, Jake looking like the cat that got the cream. He can’t think of anything to say to explain what he just did, so he just slides past the other man, back to his corner with his water.

Phoenix laughs at how Bob finally found a way to shut Hangman up while Rooster looks at both of them with major heart eyes.

--------

three

It's still very new, this thing between them, but they have at least gotten to the point where they all agree that they want to date each other exclusively. So that's something.

Jake still hasn't entirely given up on trying to figure out what Bob's callsign stands for, and there are occasionally some new suggestions, though “Baby On Board” is still his affectionate favorite to use. Bob, for his part, is actually, for once, dying to share the story – partly for the shock value, but more importantly, he feels like the two pilots might have a different sort of appreciation for that particular fact. And honestly, he thinks they deserve to know by now.

So when Bradley quietly turns to him one night while they're all watching a movie, tentatively approaching the subject, Bob knows now is the time.

"You don't have to tell us anything, but can I ask if Bob really does stand for something or is it from your name?"

"Jake get you wondering too?" Bob asks, grinning. Bradley seems to like his grin a lot for some reason.

Jake elbows him in retaliation, but he, too, is smiling and scrunching his nose at them.

"A little bit, yeah," the brunet chuckled. "But I'm serious, it's not a problem if you don't feel like sharing either way."

"I don't mind telling you guys! Though it has been kind of fun to keep Jake guessing."

They both laugh at that. Jake sticks out his tongue, so Bob kisses him quickly before turning back to Bradley.

"It stands for “Battery Operated Boyfriend”."

As Bob expected, Bradley's face runs through a myriad of expressions, his brain probably coming up with a lot of different scenarios all at once. 

Bob decides to go for broke.

"Because I can go for hours." He winks to top it off, enjoying how the tables have turned for once with him flustering the other two.

On his right side, Jake makes a sound like he's choking. Meanwhile, Bradley's mouth is hanging open and a gorgeous red is spreading across his cheeks.

"Fuck, you serious?" Bradley breathes out.

"You'll find out someday soon," he teases them.

Bradley and Jake groan in unison on either side of him. "Bobby."

"Okay, I'm sorry. That's not quite where the name came from. I didn't sleep with anyone to get my callsign." Now Bob feels his confidence wavering slightly. While he knows it's nothing to be ashamed of, it was pretty embarrassing at the time, and he can feel himself blushing at the memory. "It comes from when one of the other guys caught me using a.. well, a vibrator on myself. I know it's kind of dumb to bring toys on base because there is a real risk of getting caught but I did it anyway, and that's how the joke of me having a battery-operated boyfriend was born."

"Fucking hell, Bobby, that's.. so hot."

Bradley's eyes have a fire in them that Bob's never seen before, while Jake seems to be beyond words, just letting out a small moan and making grabby hands at Bob.

Bob thinks it was definitely worth it to have saved up that story.

--------

four

There hasn’t been a lot of physical advancements in their relationship yet, by an agreement (though it was Bob’s suggestion) to take it slow at first, to let them all get used to this new dynamic before diving into the deep end. Mostly there has just been a lot of horny teenager-level making out, which Jake isn't complaining about in the slightest. However, those sessions give a good indication that when they do move even further, it will be incredible, and that was making him very excited.

But he's just as content cuddling on the couch (Rooster’s), as they are doing at the moment, and watching some mediocre action flick on TV. They played video games all afternoon, but Jake couldn’t focus anymore so they switched to something more lowkey. Now Jake is lying on Bob’s chest with his arm around him, and Bradley's valiantly holding both Jake and Bobby’s legs tangled together in his lap.

Jake has his ear pressed right against the WSO’s heart, listening to the rhythmic thump while drawing mindless patterns on the other man’s hip. It's very soothing.

Or it would be, if the thump of Bob’s heart wasn’t getting steadily harder, the organ beating faster even though the man himself is lying still. The hand caressing Jake’s arm also feels a little shaky.

Jake is pretty sure he knows what it means. He doesn’t think the other man notices it himself, but their WSO always gets like this when he gets, well, aroused. Rooster once pointed out how Bob seems to get a little flush even before they progress to any proper making out, and Jake is willing to bet that there's a slight blush creeping up Bob’s neck right this second, if he was to lift his head and look.

Now Jake feels himself getting worked up as well. He can't help it – of course the feeling of one of his boyfriends getting hot and bothered gets him going too. Only Jake has never been that talented at hiding it, and Bradley in particular seems to have an uncanny talent of sniffing it out.

Bradley splutters, noticing his two lovers still cuddling seemingly all innocent, but both of them visibly getting aroused at the same time. He has to do something before Jake explodes because Bradley knows that while Jake is more than willing to wait for things to progress more, the blond is also the one who practically vibrates out of his skin every time they do anything sexual.

"What's up babies, besides both of your dicks I mean?"

He cackles just a little when both of their heads whip to look at him and then each other, the pretty blushes climbing up both of their cheeks even darker than before.

"What's getting you all excited over there?" he asks, wiggling his eyebrows for emphasis.

"Bobby!" Jake responds immediately.

"What? What did I do?"

"You got excited first! It's only natural that I get turned on by that."

Bob is bewildered. "How did you know I was getting worked up?"

"Your heartbeat always speeds up when you're thinking dirty thoughts. I could hear it pounding in your chest," Jake shrugs.

"It's true," Bradley chimes in.

"Oh my god," Bob groans, covering his face in his hands. "You guys must think I'm a total perv."

"Not at all! I think it's kind of cute actually," Bradley rushes to reassure him.

"And I obviously think it's hot," Jake says, gesturing at his body as evidence of that.

"Really?" Bob peeks from behind his fingers. "You don't mind?"

"Of course not, baby."

"Why would we mind?"

"Well because I was the one who wanted to take it slow and apparently still get all horny at random times," Bob mumbles.

"Baby I assure you; you are not alone in feeling horny," Jake grins.

"And you know we don't mind waiting while doing smaller stuff. We still wanna hear if you're feeling like you want something," Bradley adds.

"I was actually, well, I was thinking about how I'm ready now and I was kind of building up to approaching the subject with you. That we could move forward. That's why I was getting turned on," Bob admits, and Bradley swears both he and Jake stop breathing for a moment.

Bradley reaches out to touch each of their hands with one of his own, grounding them for a bit. He knows this conversation will require some patience (especially on Jake's part) but the rewards will be more than worth it. Besides, he knows that even just talking about it will get them all heated, and that's half of the fun in his opinion.

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tagsies (I know not everyone reads slash so feel free to skip!): @writeforfandoms @ickleronniekinsemotionalrange @wildbornsiren @blue-aconite @mayhem24-7forever @lorecraft @callsign-phoenix @hederasgarden @lt-natrace @yespolkadotkitty @marvelousmermaid @luckyladycreator2 @alexxavicry @writercole