#or I suppose I could just put her in a uniform. which as far as I'm aware doesn't actually happen in the show

[tellmeallaboutit]

knock knock (Raphael x F!Player)

Chapter 15, In Which You Dance Twist With Mr. Goat (Pulp Fiction Style)

AO3

TAGS: self-harm, sharp objects, glass, politics

There was a time, not so long ago, when you were terrified of flying. 

The mere thought of that huge metal thing plummeting from the sky for no apparent reason (well, the human factor. It's always the human factor), a minute of sheer terror, descent, and then boom.

No survivors.

No bodies ever recovered.

You used to fear situations that so brazenly took control away from you. 

Well, you were wrong; there was something strangely comforting about letting go; about snuggling up in the plush comfort of an oversized leather seat, scrolling through messages on your phone to the roar of the twin engines. 

Raphael's hand was always on your knee, his tail wrapped tightly around your ankle, as if you could escape him on the private jet - or off it. A black diamond ring on your finger sparkled in the sunlight filtering through the oval windows. 

Across from you sat Camilla, while Jens occupied the far corner seat. Yurgir was conspicuously absent; you didn't pry into his reasons, just assumed his size exceeded the weight limit of any aircraft.

A headline in the Daily Mirror caught your eye: "Who is Anya Berger? What do we know about the mysterious girl who won the heart of a billionaire in ten days?"

What do they know, you wondered and clicked.

"Walk me through the panels again," Raul asked. "And the key people to talk to."

"Morning is boring," Korilla replied. "Mental health crisis, supply chain disruptions, sustainability regulations. You start in the afternoon, sir: your first is the AI discussions with the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy for Technology."

"I won't say a word about this soulless drivel," Raphael said, skimming through the agenda.

Camilla choked on her coffee while Jens flinched at her sudden movement, his hand swiftly resting on the gun now.

"Mr D'Avergni, Avernus' portfolio is 15% invested in AI technologies," she said as soon as she collected herself. "What do you mean 'soulless nonsense'? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what I said. I will not say a word about these abominable technologies. I have been made privy to information that they are cannibalising art and I will not stand for it". 

"Where did you hear this nonsense?" whispered Camilla. "Tumblr? Anya? Is that your doing?"

"I'm totally against AI," you interjected, without looking up from your phone, engrossed in the news article about your grunge heroin chic and manic-girl attitude.

They recommended black nail polish, drawing dark circles under your eyes and perfecting the look of total derangement to repeat your success. There were also some advanced blowjob techniques at the bottom of the article. 

"What is this panel 'Securing an Insecure World'?" asked Raphael. "I quite fancy the name."

"Sir, it has nothing to do with you. This is the macroeconomic panel on the dying middle class, youth problems, inequality, blah blah blah. Fear-mongering."

"Fear-mongering?" said Raphael. "I seem to have found my stage."

Camilla closed her eyes and put on her best smile. The flight attendant glided by in her pressed uniform and replaced your coffee; you were momentarily struck by the amount of cleavage she was showing as your eyes glanced upwards. 

To see very familiar eyes and a smile. Haarlep put a finger to her lips and gave you a little wink. You smiled back.

"Sir," Camilla said gently. "It doesn't work that way. You can't just speak whenever and about whatever you want in a global forum. It's all scripted, all pre-written."

"Astute observation," said Raphael. "Scripted conversations, scripted problems, scripted solutions, no room for improvisation. Davosneeds a breath of fresh air. Of honesty. Of a genuine hope for change".

Camilla said, "Of course, sir," and forced a smile. 

Back to the article: did they really get your ex-boyfriend to give an interview about you? Did he have anything good to say, that bastard who regularly forgot to flush the toilet?

Yes, he had plenty to say, mostly about you being not right in the head. You put him on your hit list and stroked Raphael's tail, which in turn stroked your ankle. They even got your mum on the phone, who thankfully had nothing much to say except that you were a good Catholic girl.

You saw some frantic movement out of the corner of your eye.

Camilla was waving you over to the plane's galley. You tried to get up, but were stopped by a tail wrapped around your ankle like a boa constrictor. "May I go to the toilet?" you asked, and Raphael uncoiled his tail, three times, with a slight reproach in his eyes. Jens did his best to keep a straight face, the corners of his mouth twitching.

Camilla pulled you deeper into the galley. She smelled of fresh coffee and burnout. 

"Anya, listen, I am very sorry that it has to come to this, but just between us girls..." she said, her fingers fidgeting with her diamond necklace. "Did Raul remember to take his medication today? I don't like his mood”. She shifted on her feet. "God, I miss the days when you could smoke in these things”.

"I'm not his doctor," you shrugged.

"Well, maybe it would be worth reminding him," Camilla drawled. "I'd rather not see viral videos of him committing political suicide in Davos. And I'm sure you'd agree."

You weren't so sure.

"I'm not going to poke the devil, and I suggest you don't either," you said, leaning against the galley counter.

Camilla sighed and gave you a very sympathetic smile.

"Anya, may I give you some friendly advice? Raul may seem like a half-god to you, but I've seen him curled up in a ball sobbing about how Daddy never loved him when he was high as a kite on coke. He's... as human as the rest of us. For better and worse”.

Just then, the plane shook violently, sending you both clutching the walls for support. The pilot quickly apologized over the intercom.

"Don't patronise me, Korilla," you said. "Do you think I'm just some pathetic, love-struck girl Raul likes to abuse?"

Camilla paused for a moment before suppressing a grin. "I'm going to invoke my right against self-incrimination. So tell me, my dear: who are you really?"

"Much more than meets the eye." You straightened up, standing slightly taller than her (which was not difficult). "I'm the one who gave him all this power in the first place."

"Wow," Kamilla snorted out in surprise. "Wow. Okay. Cool. Never mind."

"You need proof?" you said quietly. 

"Not really," she said.

"I wish you would get down on your knees and kiss my hand."

"What?" Kamilla burst out laughing. "Maybe you should share your medicine with Raul. Ask Dr Bambauer for a family discount. He will be at Davos, by the way, speaking on the mental health crisis".

"I wish for you to kiss my hand," you insisted. "Come on, do it, I have a point to prove."

You really need to learn how to calibrate these things. This one worked, though; she complied, sinking to her knees before you, a wild look in her eyes. Then she planted a surprisingly gentle kiss on your palm, leaving a crimson mark. 

"What the hell?" she whispered as she looked up at you. Raphael was engrossed in his paperwork, oblivious to the scene, so was Jens.

"See, Korilla," you started again after letting the moment hang awkwardly in the air for longer than necessary, "don't worry about Raphael talking nonsense. You'd be surprised how many people eat it up."

"Who the fuck is Raphael?"

"Your new boss," you said. "Well, old boss actually. Ahh... you won't really notice much of a difference; I hardly do myself sometimes," you lowered your voice to a minimum. "But don't tell them that, they'll get angry. You can get up now, this is getting a bit weird."

She tried to say something, her lips barely moving. You think it was 'how'. She was asking ‘how’.

"You see," you said. "The devil thinks I am very, very  special”.

Having said that, you came back to your seat. Raphael's tail immediately darted to your ankle and wrapped around it. You leaned back in your chair and watched Haarlep flirting with the pilot out of the corner of your eye.

It would be really stupid to crash because Haarlep wanted to have a quickie in the cockpit. The plane began its descent to Samedan St Moritz airport. The rugged Swiss Alps came into view out the window, snow-capped peaks glistening in the afternoon sun. 

***

When you book a presidential suite you no longer have to check in, you can just walk straight past the reception. The hotel was a mountain resort so exclusive that the website was just an artistic photo with no way to reserve a room. 

Raphael was eerily calm as he watched the staff unpack your belongings. His calm demeanour lasted until some poor sap nearly wrinkled his suit while trying to hang it in the en-suite cloakroom. A deafening growl sent the trembling fellow scuttling from the room.

The rest were given very generous tips.

Soon after, you found Raphael rehearsing his speech in a mirror, repeating the same phrases three times in a row, "when youth was told their souls were worthless, easily replicated by machines". Each time he spoke, there was a subtle change in tone, as if he was trying to capture some emotion - you were not quite sure what he was getting at - was he trying to imitate genuine concern? 

If so, he could work on his delivery.

He gave it another shot, the tension in his back muscles evident through his shirt.

"Excellent choice of attire, gattina," he gave you a look you approached. "Might I suggest an improvement? Not these trousers. The black pencil skirt with the white vertical stripes, the Saint Laurent one from the spring collection."

"It looks absurd on me," you looked away. "I don't have the body for it."

"You have the body for anything," he said. "Don't debate me on this. Slip into the skirt, return here and see how right I am”.

That damned skirt was a nightmare: so constricting that any wrong move felt like a tear waiting to happen; clearly designed by someone who either had never laid eyes on an actual woman or harbored a deep-seated resentment towards anyone the wrong size and proportion, which would be everyone. 

Yet somehow, you managed to wriggle yourself into it and made your way back to him.

"Now that's what I want to see," Raul smiled. "A beautiful woman and all mine."

"It's two sizes smaller than what I wear".

"Come closer, you silly creature, and grasp how breathtaking you are."

He tugged you towards the full-length mirror and swept your hair to one side so that you could take in your entire reflection.

Only it wasn’t yours.

When you played Sims and tweaked the controls to create the ideal you, you ended up with someone like this. Every trait similar to what you had, only better. A lot better. Smoother skin, better hair, smaller waist, perkier tits.

"They will see you through my eyes," Raphael said as his hands slid under your blouse and cupped your breasts. "These mortals will seethe with jealousy, envying me for having you and you for having me."

The woman in the mirror looked like someone Raphael would choose to be his consort. The skirt looked perfect, as it was tailor made just for you. 

"That’s not me," you said, mesmerized by the eerie reflection.

"Nonsense. You didn't know who you truly were until you met me," he whispered in your ear. "If it's not you I'm putting my arms around, why would you feel them?"

You felt his palms squeeze your breasts and roll your nipples between his fingers. His lips brush your neck. His growing bulge against your backside.

"Now would you be so kind?.." he asked. 

You could swear the woman in the mirror was bending over before you did, eagerly offering herself, sliding her panties down to her knees and placing her palms on either side of the mirror for leverage. His hands kneaded your buttocks, spreading you apart as his erection pressed against your entrance.

Foreplay wasn't on his agenda, you realized with a shiver. True enough, he penetrated you with a single thrust. First sharp pain, then the very familiar pleasure, liquid and pitch black and all-consuming.

"Look," he said. "Look at yourself. Look at me. Marvel at what you see."

The woman in the mirror moaned in response, pleasure etched on her face as the devil behind her ravaged. Her features twisted and blurred in ever-changing motion, skin wobbling like waves of water; she was shifting between all the women you ever dreamed of being - one moment Tav, then Christine, then Sarah Williams.

"It's not real," you moaned. 

His eyes remained fixed on the mirror the whole time he fucked you. You arched backwards into him, grinding against him with each thrust, skin slapping against skin.

"There is no reality," he whispered back. "Other than what you see in that mirror”.

His thrusts came harder now, jolting you against the cold glass. The woman in the mirror seemed to have gone insane from how well she was being fucked, her face twisted in a barely human grimace of bliss.

"Climax," he commanded with a snap of his fingers.

You saw the woman in the mirror go limp in his arms, a look of absent bliss on her face, and then remember that the woman was you. A jagged sound ripped from you. Your body responded to the command like a dog thrown a biscuit; your cunt tightened around his cock once.

Twice. 

The woman in the mirror morphed again; now it’s someone you’d seen a thousand times, the weird pale girl nobody ever gave a second look. 

You. 

Thrice.

The mirror you were propped against shattered - spectacularly so, its razor-sharp fragments raining down like confetti.

"Hang on," you managed to gurgle out in sheer terror as you tumbled, losing your balance. "Raphael, hold on..."

He didn't. Instead, he let gravity take over and you fell face-first into the broken mirror below, his weight following right after. Your scream of pleasure morphed into a wail of agony as countless tiny shards opened up on your skin; mutilating, cutting, obliterating. 

oh god it hurts 

Raphael groaned as he drove you deeper and deeper into the jagged fragments, your writhing and screaming doing nothing to deter him. The shards under your skin thrust in and out with each thrust, piercing right through you, through your face.

oh god it hurts; pulsated the single thought. The pain was nothing like you had felt before; it was the clearest sensation your clouded mind had ever processed.

A growing pool of blood spread like spilled wine on the white marble tiles beneath you. You closed your eyes tightly, but that didn't make the blood disappear. You blinked them open again... then closed them... 

Blood was still there. Raphael thrust once, so hard there wasn’t a single shard left that didn’t hurt you. 

Twice.

Three times, and he came inside you, spitting curses in Italian between ragged breaths. 

The pain suddenly vanished as if snapped away by his fingers; but its ghostly memory kept your tears flowing.

"I swear to God, kitten" Raul murmured as he rolled off you, "the way you're screaming would make anyone think I'm murdering you."

You opened your eyes and stared at the perfectly white tiles.

No blood.

No shards. No cuts. No pain.

Nothing. You looked up in the mirror: the Gorgeous Version of You looked back. You looked down on yourself. 

Exactly how you always wanted to be. 

You laughed in blissful abandon. Then, you rolled onto your back, catching sight of Raul's gobsmacked expression which made you laugh even harder.

read the rest on ao3

[spocks-kaathyra]

I want to make seven's borg prosthetics so bad but I'm really not enthused abt that godforsaken catsuit

[sunrisesfromthewest]

First Encounter

|Summary: Your first encounter with Armando; based off of that one scene from bad boys ride or die. | Warnings: Getting shot at/slight suggestive language/Curse words/Slight Movie Spoilers | Trope: One sided interest or Enemies to Lovers| Notes: Hopefully you guys enjoy it's my first-time writing a x reader. | (Y/N/N=Your Nickname)

Here's all the parts I have so far: 1 2 3 4 5 6

______________________________________________________________

After seeing the news about your dad, Uncle Mike, and some guy, you decided to leave work early. Confused on why there all the sudden wanted fugitives,you quickly drive over to Dorns place knowing that he’ll have answers.

Parking your car, you grab your purse and make your way towards his lake house. Since you hang out with him and Kelly 24/7 outside of work, you just walk in without knocking.    Which was a mistake on your end because not even a second later you’re being shot at, and you could hear a few people yell in shock.  Dropping to the floor you curse and yell "It's me stop fucking shooting it’s me Y/N!”  Looking up you see Kelly pointing the gun at the place you were just standing at with a shock expression.  “Girl what the hell you got going on” you said, scared to stand up.  Lowering her gun she said “OMG, Y/N, I’m so so—” Before she could finish you hear “Oh lord, you shooting at my baby!", recognizing the voice you look around to spot your father Marcus, running towards you with a worried look.

As he’s checking over you, you hear him sigh with relief after seeing you were fine. " Dad? what the fuck is going on!", standing up you dust off your nurse uniform, with a confused expression. 

Looking around the room you noticed shocked expressions from Dorn and Kelly who had put her gun down. Spotting Uncle Mike and the man that was with him on the news your eyes squint even more, Tryna put two to two together.    “Y/N/N, aren’t you supposed to be at work, "Marcus says confused on why his daughter was there.  Still shaking up from being shot at you say, “I was at work but when I was making my rounds with my patients, I seen you guys on the news ......but shit! I should be asking the questions! why are you, Uncle Mike and this dude, wanted fugitives …. matter of fact," turning towards the man, "Who are you?”.    Seeing the man smirk he says," Someone you can get well acquainted with.”  Just as you’re about to say something smart, your dad cuts in dramatically "Aye hell nah man! No hitting on my daughter, Mike get your son!” 

Shocked you run your eyes over the Latino man which you can now see have some of Mike's features, “Uncle Mike since when you have a son, and why the hell is he dressed up like a redneck.”  Running your eyes frantically over their forms you back up while pointing your hands at them and say, “matter of fact why are you all dress up like that.”  Feeling your dad pull you aside to calm you down, he explains everything that happened these past few days.    After getting the run down on what was going on, you rub at your eyes with a stressed sigh." So that’s Armando," you said shaking your head "I would’ve pulled my gun out as well if I’ve seen him, dad didn’t he almost kill you and Uncle Mike!", you said feeling frustrated about the situation.  “Y/n,I know this is awkward, but he has evidence to prove that Captain Conrad is innocent.”  Sighing again “Okay, fine but if he tries some shit just know Imma make him taste the rainbow.”  Hearing laughter you look back to see the Latino leaning against the kitchen counter looking at you with a smirk on his face.  Seeing your father look at you with a don’t do it expression made you huff and ignore Armando’s laughter.    Before you could move to grab your purse off the floor your dad stops you again and whispered, "How long Kelly and Dorn been messing around, "letting out a short laugh you say, “For a minute now”  Seeing your father smirk, and send a look to Mike, you knew they were up to no good but chose to ignore it.

Walking to the door to grab your purse and its spilled contents you feel eyes on you, gazing up you see Armando watching you with an unreadable expression. Rolling your eyes you pick up the rest of your stuff, but as you reach for your lip gloss, a hand grabs it.    Looking up your face to face with the Latino himself, annoyed you extend your hand out, while raising an eyebrow.  Watching his amused expression, you sigh and roll your eyes. 

“Boy if you don’t give me my stuff,Imma punch you in the throat." Hearing him chuckle made you more agitated, but you kept your cool. As he holds out the gloss to you with a smirk you huff and reach out to snatch it, only for him to pull it back in a teasing manner.

Looking at him as if he’s grown two heads, you’re about to cuss him out when he says”Demasiado bonita para una boca como esa”.  Furrowing your eyebrows you say “What?”    Armando’s smirk widens as he says, “I said to pretty for a mouth like that.”  Scoffing you snatch your lip gloss out his hands, putting it in your purse as you stand up and say, “First of all, my mouth is only like this because you almost killed my dad not too long ago, and secondly I can say whatever the fuck I want cause last I checked imma grown women.”  Watching his eyes glance down at your body, you hear a low whistle, "You sure are, but if you ever wanna fix that mouth of yours, "he pauses allowing his pretty brown eyes to trail back up to yours,”aquí estaré mami” (I’ll be here mommy) 

Shocked slightly at his boldness, you say “Boy if you don’t get out of m---,” but before you could finish, he was called over by Mike. At first Armando ignores him and continues to admire you until your dad says, “Boy get your ass over here," which made you break eye contact with him and look away.  

Glancing back up you couldn't help but admire his physique as well but as he reaches the others by the computer set up. He glances back to see you staring which resulted in him sending you a wink. Rolling your eyes you turn away with a smirk," You your daddy son for sure," you say to yourself with a smile.

_____________________________________________________________

Notes: Let me know if you guys want a part 2 :) and pls go see the movie it's so good

[pixiesfairygrove]

♡ ⑅˚₊ going soft on me, hargreeves ? PART ONE.

a five hargreeves multi-fic . . 🌻🕰️ — intro.

warnings : minor cursing .ᐟ mentions of blood.

author’s note : MOSTLY BASED THIS OFF RAPUNZEL READER because tangled is my favorite movie and she’s literally me 🙈 (atp this is a self-insert) AHH but also almost like harley quinn-ish? BUT WHATEVERR happy reading cuties <3

five wiped the blood off his face with his navy blue jacket’s sleeve. his siblings all feeling and looking defeated against the sparrows.

“i’ve never had my ass handed to me like that before.” luther spoke faintly, five squinted under the sun in attempts to relax his body off from that spur of the moment fight. “it’s like,” luther spoke again. “here you go.” he motioned his hands at a confused allison. “it’s your ass.”

despite the pain, five couldn’t get his mind off one of the sparrows. the younger one, with the upbeat personality. he was too busy fighting jayme, but he was incredibly intrigued by her. he could watch her fight diego and allison for a bit, with her own powers. — which was light manipulation.

during the fight, five watched her play with her hands and the light that poured in the hargreeves’ mansion as a distraction for her siblings.

viktor sat by five, “someone’s crushing.”

“yeah, me.” diego replied, stretching his back.

allison rolled her eyes, “i don’t think that’s what viktor meant.” she moved her eyes towards five, who stared at all of them like they were crazy. “a real delight that number eight was, wasn’t she?” klaus commented with a light-hearted laugh. “let’s just find a place to stay, yeah?” five rolled his eyes.

— 𐙚₊˚⊹ ⭐️

five needed a break from his siblings. the hotel klaus had found for them wasn’t half bad, but the coffee they served was complete, and in his words : ‘dogshit.’ which was the only downside of it all really. a very big downside.

five walked into griddy’s donuts in attempts to get a decent cup of coffee. he sat down and waited for her order to be taken when, “umbrella asshole?” one of the waiter’s asked him. it was number eight, just in a diner uniform, and holding a pitcher of coffee.

she looked at him confused. “what are you doing here?” five furrowed his brows, “i should be asking you that.” he retorted. she gave out a big smile at that. “okay ‘ya grump, i work here, actually!” she gave a charming wink as she poured him a cup of coffee.

“i take it you’re a black coffee kinda guy?” her voice overlaping the sound of the coffee pouring in. he took the cup and sipped, “am i suppose to be flattered by that observation?” he asked upon putting the cup down. “i’m just very curious is all.” he fought the urge to mirror her infectious smile.

“also, it’s not just number eight, it’s (name). or — (nickname) if you want.” if it was possible, she smiled brighter. how can anyone be so cheery? five thought to himself. also, why isn’t she kicking my ass right now? “anything to eat for you?” she pulled her pretty and sticker-covered notepad out.

he shook his head, “not hungry. far too much things on my mind.” he tapped his foot on the ground. (name) watched him, his anxious stance and his constant worried eyes. “wait here, yeah?” she spoke before running off to the back of the diner. five watched her rush away, only to come out a few moments later with a plate of waffles, eggs, and a few slices of strawberries.

she placed the plate before him, the maple syrup on top with a smiley face. “what’s this?” he asked with a dead-panned expression planted. (name) shrugged as she sat across him, “my treat, silly.” she beamed another smile at him.

five was hesitant, but took the fork from beside the plate and started digging in. his eyes grew wide at the taste, it was delicious. it felt like being home again. “it’s mom’s recipe. nobody really calls her mom besides me, they make fun of me for it.” she giggled lightly.

five looked at her, “it’s really good.” after five finished he put the fork on the plate and put it away. “thank you! also, i’m very sorry for this five.” she cackled a little more, a confused five realized his mistake and stood up, the girl began fighting him.

she attempted to punch him on the side of his face, but he dodged it with his forearm. he returned the attacked with a kick to her face, blood oozing out of her might-be broken nose. she laughed, impressed, wiping the blood off with her fingers. they began fighting more, to which people inside had run off and evacuated.

(name)’s boss continued to yell at her to stop, but (name) knew damn well she wasn’t going to stop. she hit five in the stomach with her knee, five hunching over, and (name) continued with a back-kick on the side of his face. five coughed before pushing her into the table.

“you fight real good, for a seventeen year old.” she spat the blood out of her mouth on the floor. “and you fight really weak for a girl who can manipulate light.” five time-jumped on the table she’d collided her back with, and tried to kick her once again on the face, but to his surprise only met a blinding light.

and once five was distracted trying to find his vision again, (name) pulled his feet out to get him on his back. five landed with a thud! the pain rising from the bottom of his ass to his back. “lunch is served!” her laugh echoed across the diner. five time-jumped again, under the counter.

(name) looked for him, her platforms clanking on the ground. “where are you five? we’re not done here yet, grump.” she sang, another laugh escaping her lips. she spat another puddle of blood out of her mouth. five panted heavily, trying to catch his breath.

this girl was crazy. how could she be laughing at a time like this? and how was it that she was killer fighter? “come on five, you going soft on me hargreeves?” she walked the place around a little bit more. is that why diego and allison looked that bad after the fight back at the mansion? because of her?

“there you are handsome.”

[lunaraindrop]

We Are Not the Kissing Space Twins (part 2)

Fic by lunaraindrop

Well, you asked for it! Let's find out about Steve's secret twin!

Robin's nerves were frazzled like the feather on her band uniform.

Tonight was supposed to be a fun night! Vickie had asked her last week if she wanted to come over to her house and have a movie marathon...and a sleepover. Of course she jumped at the chance! (Steve had said, excitedly and with way too many winks that Vickie was putting the moves on her.)

Robin had not known if it was a "friend movie marathon" or a "i-like-you-makeout movie marathon", but she had prepared for both.

But then Vickie called her earlier that afternoon to postpone. Apparently, her entire family got a stomach bug, and their house was a cesspool for germs.

Bummed, Robin tried to think of something else to do.

Hanging with Steve was out. His parents decided to grace him with their *lovely* presence after four months away on "business." They insisted on having a "family dinner." Steve always gets ultra stressed when he has to do the staunchy dinners in The Harrington Dining Room with the real silver, cloth napkins, and the Fine China that cost probably as much as his car. Telling him that her "maybe date" was off was just going to disappoint him too.

Eddie wasn't going to be any fun, either. All Eddie would do would be pine over Steve, try to sneak in a smoke, and eat whipped cream out of a can.

Nancy was spending the day with Jonathan. The kids made sure they all had things to do because Steve couldn't take them anywhere.

Then she had what she thought was a great idea. She could get her learner's permit! She had studied the written test bookelett front to back, as well as gone over all the driving rules and tricks with Steve and Eddie.

She wasn't working that day, and she was completely free. Perfect timing! All she had to do was get her birth certificate.

Which...proved to be harder than she thought.

Robin paced her bedroom, probably wearing a path in the carpet.

She never caught on that her parents were reluctant to give her her birth certificate. When she would suggest getting her permit or license, they would talk about how they couldn't afford to have her driving. A car and insurance cost a lot of money. Then they would guilt trip her into not driving at all with fears of her getting into an accident. She never knew her name, but that was how she was told her bio mom died.

She would always let it go when they talked about the "angel that gave them their precious baby girl."

But she knew now that they were hiding something from her!

When she pressed until they gave in, she saw what on her birth certificate. She felt so betrayed! How could they lie to her like that?

She couldn't take it anymore! Robin picked up the phone.

"Hey, Nancy? I hate to ask, but could you and Jonathan come pick me up? I really need a friend right now."

---

In the Byers-Hopper living room, Nancy blinked up at Robin. "So, you are actually a year *older* than you thought you were?"

Robin threw her hand in the air. "Yes! And they didn't tell me! Evidently, it wasn't just that I took longer than the rest of the babies to walk! Oh no, I was in the NICU for *months*! I was so far behind in my milestones that my parents decided to just tell me I was a year younger and enroll me in school a year later than everyone else!"

Jonathan dodged a flailing arm and handed Robin a cup of tea. "Here, sit down and drink this. It's my mom's chamomile. I think you need it."

Taking a breath, Robin nodded her thanks and took a sip. Then made a face. "This tastes like laundry detergent and bourbon."

Jonathan shrugged with a small smirk. "I said it's my mom's."

Nancy went into investigation mode. "Okay, so your parents adopted you three days after you were born. Closed adoption. Your biological mother died, and no information about your biological fatherm. Instead of 1968, you were adopted in 1967."

Carefully putting the mug down on a magazine on the table, Robin ran her fingers through her hair. "Me being adopted is old news, Nancy. I've known I was my parents 'miracle baby' since I was able to walk...which I don't know when that is now! Was it *actually* six months after most kids, or *a year and six months* after most kids?!?"

Nancy waved her hand to cut Robin off. "Robin! I understand. I'm just trying to understand how nobody knew this information."

Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "About Robin being adopted?"

Nancy sighed. "No, about how Robin could go through the whole school system and sign government NDA's without getting flagged that her birthday was wrong. I'm wondering if her adoption records say something else."

She got up to grab a notepad and started scribbling. "The information given to the Buckley's, if they can believed- sorry Robin- is that the adoption was a closed adoption. Having records sealed makes sense, but not a closed adoption. There was no father, according to Robin's parents. Just her biological mother. Who died in a car accident. So...who made sure it was a closed adoption? Who isn't supposed to be contacted? Does that have anything to do with the year change?"

Jonathan got up and pulled out his wallet. "Robin, you've never had a physical ID, right?" He showed off his own driver's license with his awful bowl cut hair picture.

"No. I haven't even had a permit yet. At nineteen! I'm so far behind!"

Jonathan nodded and looked to Nancy to continue. When she nodded back, he handed Robin his license. "If you've never had an ID, the only time you would see your birthday written anywhere would either be at school or by your parents." He turned to Nancy. "If her school records say she was born in 1967, then they knew she was a year older, but didn’t say anything... If they filled out her forms saying 1968, then they lied to the Roane County Board of Education, and they didn't check her birth certificate."

Nancy pointed a pencil at Robin. "You might have accidentally uncovered a hidden adoption scheme in Hawkins."

Robin flexed her fingers. "That's nice, you guys. Really nice. I may be a part of some big adoption conspiracy. But the fact remains, I'm a year older than I ever thought I was, and my parents lied to me about it."

Nancy and Jonathan both flinched.

Right. Comfort Robin now, investigate later.

Nancy walked over and stilitingly pat Robin’s shoulder. She wracked her brain for something to cheer the woman up.

"Well, you and Steve can actually pretend to be twins, now! Your birthdays are now only three days apart!

Part 1 here:

[beyondthesefourwalls]

The Over/Under

Summary: Your friends insisted that the best way to get over someone was by getting under someone else. But you had been over your ex for a long time before you ever signed the papers, and you had no intention on hooking up with anyone. Then an attractive man with a mustache that really shouldn't look as good as it does catches your eye, and you suddenly forgot why you were hesitant in the first place.

Pairing: Bradley Bradshaw x Reader (no use of y/n)

Word Count: 6.2K

Warnings: Language, smut, talks of divorce

Notes: Written as a fun little surprise for my best gal @roosterforme for her birthday today, because what better gift is there than porn shared amongst friends, am I right?

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“What about him?” 

“No way. I can practically feel that guy’s ego from here.” 

“Him?” 

“He looks like he’s barely old enough to be here.” 

“Okay, what about him?” 

“Hmmmm. Oooh. He’s cute. Hey, I think we found your guy!” 

The words were followed by an excited jab to your side, and you hissed out an “ow” as you swatted the hand that had done so. Your best friend wasn’t phased in the slightest as she grinned at you, her eyes already a little glazed from the tequila shot you had taken upon getting to the bar - the very patriotic, very uniform filled bar, that was not your normal stomping grounds by any means.  

Not for the first time since arriving a little less than thirty minutes ago, you huffed out a breath of disbelief. “Isn’t tonight supposed to be about celebrating being single again? Why are you trying to scope out guys for me?” 

“Because what better way to get over someone than by getting under someone else?” 

You couldn’t help but snort into your drink as you took a long sip. Truthfully, you had been over your ex-husband for a long time now. The divorce was nothing more than a logistical means to an end, which the bastard had dragged out for far longer than it needed to be. You had felt single for damn near years at this point, but as of earlier this week, you were legally so, as well. Finally. 

“And what if I want to be on top?” you dared to ask, raising a challenging eyebrow. “What then?” 

Your friends all burst into laughter, talking over one another as they weighed the merits of your question, unsurprisingly veering off into debates about the best positions for maximum pleasure. You rolled your eyes fondly, but tuned them out as you let your eyes scan the crowd. It was apparently their mission tonight to get you laid, which you honestly should have caught on to as soon as they had thrown a brand new lingerie set at you earlier that night. It was strappy and lacy in all the right ways and you hadn’t hesitated to put it on under your tiny black dress because it had made you feel good. Sexy, even. You deserved to feel that way just for you, so you had thought nothing of it. Now, though, their insistence made sense. 

Pure curiosity had you looking in the direction of the man they had been trying to point out. He had that classic All-American look to him, all blonde hair and dimples, and you could see his shiny white teeth from across the bar as he laughed with his friends. He was cute, you supposed, and everything that your type used to be. But now he reminded you a little too much of your newly-made ex-husband, and you felt nothing as you looked at him. You let out an internal sigh as your eyes shifted to the left. 

You paused, your head cocking to the side as you took in the man sitting beside him. Now he…oh, now he was something. He was very something. He was handsome in a way that was different from your usual type. He had dark, tousled hair that curled on his head, and a mustache that you’d normally find hideous but that only served to enhance his very attractive look. His features were sharp, with a strong jawline and eyes that you couldn’t quite make out the color of from this far away. He was dressed casually in jeans and a ridiculous looking Hawaiian shirt over a plain tee. Just like the facial hair, it was a combo that you were sure would look ridiculous on anyone else - like the pretty boy sitting beside him - but that he was somehow pulling off. Something about him seemed to exude confidence without being cocky, and it was intriguing.  

You took another sip of your drink, feeling your heartbeat a little faster with strange anticipation. In principle, you had been single for a long time now. You weren’t planning anything tonight, but you also hadn’t felt that familiar tingle in your tummy since before you got married. 

Your thoughts were interrupted as your friend jabbed you in the side again. "Cute, right?” she asked eagerly. 

You shook your head, your gaze still fixed on the handsome stranger. "No, not him," you said, your voice low. "The one next to him.” 

Your friends followed your gaze. "Oh, damn," one of them breathed out, her eyes widening with interest. "He's hot." 

You didn’t pay attention to whatever your friends were talking about as you stared, swirling the remaining liquid around in your glass. He was broad, and even seated, you could tell he was tall. He was thick in all the best ways, and you wanted to know what he looked like up close. Almost like he could feel you watching him, he cut his eyes in your direction. They connected with yours, and instead of shying away, a flash of boldness had you raising your glass to your mouth to take a small sip. You swiped your tongue over the moisture left coating your bottom lip, eyes never leaving his. A slow grin spread on his face and a thick eyebrow raised before he turned back to his friends. You smiled to yourself. It was a rare moment of feeling powerful and in control, and you relished it.

He was looking back at you now, and you felt a flutter in your stomach at the intensity of his gaze. You shifted in your seat, feeling a sudden urge to be closer. It was an unfamiliar feeling, and you didn’t quite know what to do with it.  It had been so long since you had tried to pick up a guy, and you weren't sure you remembered how

A moment passed and he looked away again. Feeling emboldened, you downed the rest of your drink and pushed out of your seat. “I’m going to get another,” you announced before you could talk yourself out of it. It was a bad cover and you knew it, and by the way your friends cheered and started egging you on, they did too. 

You took a deep breath as you tried to quell the flutter in your stomach. You made it a point to not look at him as you approached the bar. You leaned against the counter, ordering a tequila shot and splurging for the top shelf when the kind, pretty bartender asked for your order. You weren't sure if the drink would help settle your nerves or make them worse, but you needed something to distract you from the intense gaze you swore was burning into your back. 

She slid the shot across to you with a grin, nodding when you asked her to put it on your tab before quickly moving on to other waiting customers. That tingling sensation of being watched came back stronger, and you had to remind yourself to breathe when a warm presence leant against the bar at your side, facing you. You turned your head, and oh, wow. He had a smile on his lips that made your knees weak, and from up close, you could see faint scars that had faded with time. He had eyes the color of dark honey that sucked you in, and even that ridiculous mustache looked soft. Your whole body tingled at the proximity. 

“Hi,” you said, and you were surprised at how breathy you sounded. His smile widened as he looked you up and down.

“Hi.” His voice was deep and husky and you fought the urge to groan at how delicious it sounded. "Can I buy you a drink?" he asked.

You grinned, feeling a little giddy. "I just ordered one," you said, holding up the full shot glass. You felt embarrassment heat your face when a little bit of the clear liquid sloshed onto your fingertips, but you forced yourself not to break eye contact. 

He chuckled, cheeks tinting red, and leant in a little closer. "Then let me join you for one.” 

You pretended to think it over, humming in fake consideration. When you finally nodded, that charming smile of his turned just a touch toward a smirk. He called the bartender by name when she passed, asking for a shot of whatever you were having. The woman, Penny, huffed out a laugh that sounded amused but not judgemental as she efficiently poured it and slid it over. When she walked away, he raised it to yours. 

“Cheers,” he murmured, voice low. You shivered in delight. 

“Cheers.” You downed your shot, and he followed suit. The liquor burned its way down your throat, but you didn’t care. All you cared about was the way he was looking at you.

“What’s your name?” he asked. He sat himself down in the barstool you had been standing beside, and you couldn’t help but glance down at his legs, spread in a way that you would be standing between them if you shuffled just the slightest bit to the right. His denim clad thighs were thick and looked so inviting. When you met his eyes again, they sparkled like he knew what you had been thinking. 

“What’s yours?” you asked instead. You were trying to get some of that control back that you had felt on your walk over here. You inhaled a subtle deep breath, catching another whiff of his cologne. 

He chuckled lightly, ducking his eyes and looking at you through thick lashes that you envied. Your knees threatened to give out. “Bradley,” he introduced. He extended a hand. You took it, feeling the roughness of his palm and the strength of his grip. You couldn’t help but imagine those hands on your body, exploring every inch of you. You told him your name, and hummed in appreciation, repeating it. The syllables sounded like velvet coming from his mouth. “What brings you here tonight?” 

“Oh,” you breathed. You drew your bottom lip between your teeth as you contemplated how to respond. You were proud of your decisions - of finally being free. But you weren’t sure how that would come across to a stranger you could definitely see yourself having a good time with. “Just…celebrating,” you settled on. 

“Celebrating huh? Is it your birthday?” 

“Maybe,” you shrugged, hoping it came across as playful and coy. By the laugh he let out, you thought you had succeeded. 

“Okay, a woman of mystery I see.” 

You smiled, lifting a shoulder again, not bothering to confirm or deny. 

“Alright, mystery woman. Can I buy you a drink this time?” 

You glanced over your shoulder, catching sight of all of your friends. They weren’t even trying to mask how they were staring at you, one of them even shooting you a thumbs up that made you roll your eyes. Bradley was still staring at you when you turned your gaze back to his, and you got lost in those dark honey eyes. It was sobering how quickly and intensely you were responding to him. You couldn’t remember the last time a man had that effect on you. That aspect of your marriage had been dried up long before the ink on the paper was. When the two of you finally separated almost a year ago, you had spent the time focusing on relearning who you were on your own, standing on your own two feet. You were cautious by nature, and it had been so long since you felt desire toward someone - even longer since you felt desired in return. 

But when you shifted, you felt the straps and the lace comfortable against your skin under your dress, and you realized that maybe giving yourself the opportunity to show it off that night wouldn’t be such a bad idea. Maybe your friends had been onto something after all. 

“I’d like that,” you finally said, and he was already smiling as he opened his mouth to respond, but you held up a finger to stop him. “But I have one condition.” 

“Name it,” he said immediately. He was already waving down Penny behind the bar, and his lack of hesitation was so sexy. 

“We move out of sight of my friends. I’d rather not feel them watching us the whole time.” 

The laugh Bradley let out this time was loud and free, and you couldn’t help the giggle that escaped in return. His smile turned into a devilish grin and he leaned closer like he was going to share a secret. “Deal,” he said, “and also incredibly relatable. Don’t look now, but I’m pretty sure my friends are doing the exact same thing.” 

Now that he said it, it did feel like there were multiple sets of eyes on you coming from opposing directions, and you giggled even harder. Once your drinks arrived, he stood up from his stool and offered you his hand. You had been right about him being tall, and you had to tamper down the sudden urge you felt to climb him like a tree. Instead, you took his hand and murmured for him to lead the way. You followed him closely as he led you through the crowded bar, feeling his warmth radiating off his body. The spicy scent of his cologne was intoxicating, and you found yourself wanting to breathe him in even more. 

The cool night air was refreshing once you walked through the back doors and further down into the sand. Bradley kept a tight grip on your hand as you stumbled in your heels, but luckily it wasn't too far before he stopped next to a few sunken beach chairs. 

You could still hear the music and the chatter from inside the bar, but it was quieter. There were string lights along the railing and torches in the sand that provided the slightest bit of light to where you could still easily see around you. You were far enough away that you could have privacy, but close enough to where you could easily scream and catch someone’s attention. You doubted it would get to that, but it was good to know your self preservation instincts were still working amongst all the things this man was making you feel.

It was nice out here, you decided, and before he could ask if it was okay, you were letting go of his hand and sidestepping him to sink down onto one of the oversized chairs. You patted the spot next to you as you looked up at him, and Bradley didn’t make you wait before he was squeezing onto the seat beside you. He was so close that his thigh pressed a delightful line against yours. It was all you could do not to melt into him. 

You took a sip of your drink, the cold liquid providing some relief against the heat building in you. Bradley took a drink of his own, his eyes never leaving yours, and you couldn’t help yourself when you glanced down at his lips for a second; you wondered what it would be like to kiss them. 

“Tell me something about yourself,” Bradley said, breaking the silence. 

You thought for a moment, trying to think of something interesting to say. It was almost like you suddenly forgot every intriguing thing about yourself. You glanced down at the drink in your hand, swirling the liquid in the glass. “I’ve always wanted to learn how to fly,” you decided on.  

Bradley sat up a little bit straighter, and pressed just a little bit closer. “Oh yeah?” he asked, and he sounded genuinely interested, almost excited. “Planes?” 

“Yeah,” you nodded, and then couldn’t help the snort you let out. “Well my preference would be Superman style, but something tells me that won’t happen. So a plane will do.” 

He smirked a little, taking another sip. He licked some of the liquid off of his mustache, and you wanted to know how the beer tasted off of it, too. “You’d look good in the spandex tights, though. No doubt about that.” 

The line should have been gross and offensive, but coming from him, it felt like a compliment, and you couldn’t help but laugh as those butterflies erupted in your stomach again. “What about you?” you asked, and you didn’t know if it was your increasing level of comfortability with this man or the earlier tequila shot hitting your bloodstream, but you knocked your shoulder into his as you spoke. “Tell me something about yourself, Bradley.” 

His smirk fell into a soft smile, and either mischief or the reflection of the moon was making his eyes sparkle. “You won’t believe me if I tell you.” 

“Try me.” 

He leaned so close that your breath caught, and for a moment you thought he was going to stop the conversation all together and kiss you. You were ready for it, even. But instead, he leant just a little bit to the side and whispered to you like he was sharing a secret, his lips brushing your ear. “I’m an aviator,” he told you, and his proximity made it so that it took a moment for the meaning to register to you. 

“Oh my God,” you gasped, eyes wide, and he was already chuckling as he pulled away. “You fly!” 

“I do,” he laughed, the sound deep and infectious, before tacking on in further explanation that he flew for the Navy. 

“Wow,” you breathed, after he finished regalling you with more details about his aircraft and how long he had been flying, and the different planes he had gotten in the cockpit of over the years. He talked about it with a passion that you knew he wasn’t bullshitting or trying to impress you - he genuinely loved what he did. You toyed with the words before you spoke them, taking a deep breath and laying your palm on his thigh. You tried to keep your voice light and playful, despite your body humming. “Maybe you can teach me some time.” 

“I’d be happy to,” he told you, “if you think you can handle it.” 

It was a challenge, a proposition clear as day, and you knew it was your out if you wanted him to back down. But that’s not what you wanted. Not even a little bit. You swallowed thickly at how his gaze intensified. It felt like he was looking right through you like no one else ever has, and you liked it. 

“I think you’ll find that I can handle a lot of things,” you murmured, and even you were surprised at how raspy your voice came out - sexy in a way you hadn’t felt in a long time. “I’m more than what I may seem.” 

“So I’m discovering.” There was a moment of silence between you, but it wasn't an awkward one. Rather, it was charged with anticipation and desire. You could feel the pull between you, and you tracked the bulge of his adams apple as he swallowed. He cleared his throat and shook his head, and it was refreshing knowing you were having an effect on him, too. He held his half full glass up to yours, clinking them together once you did the same. “Here’s to discovering more.” 

It got later and later as you sat out in the sand talking and getting to know this beautiful man sitting beside you. And the more you learned, the more you liked. He had a sense of humor that matched yours and a voice that sent shivers down your spine, and you hung onto every story with rapt attention that he returned whenever you spoke. Bradley was easy to talk to, and you found yourself getting lost in the conversation. The warmth of his body against yours was addicting, and you found yourself leaning into him even more. 

“Can I make a confession?” you asked, after a particularly enrapturing tale of racing his best friend in an F-18 and almost getting caught doing so. 

“I want to know all your secrets,” he said in return, and you almost moaned at how smooth the line was. Instead, you playfully rolled your eyes before you chewed on your bottom lip, trying to figure out how exactly to say it. He waited you out patiently, the hand from the arm he had draped across the back of the seat a little while ago tracing your shoulder so lightly you almost didn’t feel it. Your empty glasses were in the sand in front of you, but neither of you felt drunk on the limited alcohol you had consumed. 

“I told you I was out celebrating tonight,” you started, and Bradley made a noise of recognition that let you know he remembered. 

“Is it your birthday afterall?” he teased. You laughed softly at the way he put you so at ease. 

“No, not my birthday. My friends actually insisted on taking me out tonight to celebrate some news I got earlier this week.” 

“Oh yeah?” 

“Mmm,” you hummed, before taking a deep breath. “My divorce was finalized earlier this week.” 

If he was surprised or bothered by your words, it didn’t show. In fact, he didn’t flinch at all, just sat as relaxed as he had been all night while his fingertips continued to cause goosebumps to erupt all over your skin from their contact with your shoulder. 

“How do you feel about that?” he asked, and you couldn’t help but marvel at his nonchalance. You weren’t sure what you were expecting, but you don’t think it was this. You sighed happily in response to his question, and was delighted when he laughed a little. “That good huh?”

“That great,” you corrected. You shrugged, and his hand steadied on your skin, a nice weight on your shoulder. A soft smile played on your lips. You knew you didn’t have to tell him - truly, it was probably better if you didn’t. But something made you want to be honest with him. You tried not to read too much into that. “It had been a long time since he made me feel the way a man should make his wife feel, you know? We were over way before I ever served him with the papers, which was almost a year ago now. So it was a long time coming.” 

“Enough time to get over him?” Bradley asked. Your breath caught because you swore there was something like hope in his voice. You desperately wished you were right. Regardless, you didn’t hesitate in nodding.

“I’ve been over him for ages,” you confirmed. “Just took awhile to make it official.” 

He made another noise of understanding, and leaned in closer. He lifted a hand and your heart raced wildly in your chest at the way he cupped your cheek, his thumb tracing your bottom lip in a way that made you gasp quietly. The way he was looking at you made it feel like you were the only two people in the world. 

“He was a fool for letting you go,” he said, so quietly you wondered if he meant to say it out loud. 

Bradley leaned in closer, his lips hovering near your ear. You felt the heat emanating from him, and your body responded with a shiver. "You deserve to be wanted," he whispered, his breath hot against your skin. You turned your head to look at him, and for a moment, you were lost in his dark eyes. You felt a sudden urge to kiss him, to taste his lips that looked so soft and inviting. You leaned in, closing the gap between you. 

The kiss was electric, sending shivers down your spine. His lips were soft and full, and his tongue was warm and intoxicating as it slid into your mouth. You moaned quietly, feeling a rush of desire pulse through your body. You wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him closer, deepening the kiss. He responded with a low growl, his hands gripping your hips tightly. You went willingly when he pulled you into his lap.

You broke the kiss for a moment, gasping for air as his tongue slid along your chin, down your neck, leaving a burning trail of heat. He bit at your collarbone playfully, smiling up at you. It was wicked and full of promise. 

He used his grip on your hips to pull you down onto him, groaning at the friction. His own hips arched up to meet yours, and your head fell back as you both let out a moan. His teeth grazed along the soft skin of your neck, and you couldn’t help but claw at his shoulders and the back of his neck as you felt the rush of heat already pooling between your legs. He was hard, you could tell, and you wanted him so badly. 

You had no idea what was happening or what was going to happen next, but it didn’t matter. All you wanted right now was to feel his body against yours. You heard his breath hitch as you let your hands roam his chest, hard and warm against your palms, the muscles firm and toned. You let your fingernails drag down his abs, eliciting a groan from him, and you grinned in satisfaction. You wanted to see more of that reaction, see more of him. 

You moved to scoot back, intending to unbutton his jeans, but he grabbed your wrist before you could. 

“Let me take you somewhere,” he murmured, and you let out a breathy laugh even as you nodded. 

“Bathroom inside? Your car?” You leaned in for another kiss, but Bradley pulled back. He cupped your face in his big hands. The pad of his thumb rubbed a smooth line on your cheek.  

“You deserve more than a quickie in a bar bathroom or a parking lot, Sweetheart. Can I take you home?”  

“Yeah,” you breathed. You were blown away at how he continued to make you feel, how he was treating you like you were worth something. You wanted him so much, and you thought it was more than just physical, even as you were aching. 

Your friends were still inside, clearly having had more to drink while they waited for you, and flirting with a few men in uniform of their own. You made quick work of letting them know you were leaving, and you didn't stick around for their catcalling as you followed Bradley into the parking lot, your hand held tight in his. You were trembling as you sank into his front seat, and you know it’s not just from the chill in the air. 

He kissed you again before he put the classic Bronco into gear, your address plugged into his GPS. His hand was heavy on your thigh during the drive, and part of you was glad he didn’t do more than let it rest there, a reminder of his presence. You weren’t sure you could handle any more without losing control.

He pulled into your driveway and killed the engine, and for a long moment, the two of you just sat there, breathing heavily as you looked at one another. Finally, after a long moment, he raised that gentle hand of his and tucked some of your hair behind your ear. 

“Beautiful,” he whispered, and his voice sounded reverent. 

“Bradley.” You let out a shaky breath, swallowing down all of your nerves. “Come inside.” 

It was a miracle that you managed to open the door without dropping your keys as Bradley kissed down the side of your neck, and you pulled him inside eagerly. You didn’t bother giving him a tour as you guided him up the stairs to your room. There would be time for that later. 

You bypassed the ceiling light to turn on one of the bedside table lamps instead, casting a soft glow throughout the spacious bedroom. Bradley was right there when you turned, the two of you moving at the same time. His hands stroked down your sides as you pressed yourself against him, his mouth hot and hungry against yours. You let out a moan as your tongue tangled with his again. You threaded your fingers through his hair, just as soft as it looked, and tugged. He hissed out a low, sexy sound of approval. 

You pushed the Hawaiian shirt off his shoulders and then tugged at the white shirt underneath it. He took the hint, detaching from you to pull it off over his head, baring his chest. You stepped back for a moment and let your eyes wander over him. He was incredible, toned and muscular, and the light dusting of hair on his chest made you bite your lip. You wanted to trace the lines of his muscles with your tongue, feel him against you. Your eyes moved down to see his erection straining against his jeans, and you licked your lips. You were so ready for him, and he was ready for you. You could tell. When your eyes trailed back up to meet his, the look he was giving you was hungry. 

Before you could overthink it, you were tugging at the side zipper holding your black dress together and lowering it. You pushed it off of your shoulders and let it fall to the ground. Bradley blinked once, his gaze inevitably dropping. His eyes widened noticeably as a deep groan tore from his throat. 

“Jesus Christ, baby.” The wonder in his voice was evident as he took in the lingerie that your friends had thrown at you earlier in the night, and you made a mental note to thank them tomorrow. 

He seemed to be struggling for breath as he swallowed and stepped forward, sliding his hands up your sides to cup your chest. His thumbs brushed across your nipples, and you moaned at the sensation, arching into him. He leaned in and kissed you again before he began to trail hot, open-mouthed kisses down your neck, over your collarbone, down to one breast. You dug your nails into his scalp, whimpering as you felt his teeth tug at your nipple through the lacy fabric. His tongue teased it, flicking over the sensitive skin. And then, with no warning at all, he was lifting you up and laying you down on the bed. You raised up on your elbows as he made quick work of taking off his belt and unbuttoning his jeans. He pushed them and his briefs down all in one go until they pooled at his feet. Your eyes widened at the site. His cock was hard and huge, and you grew wetter just looking at him. 

You held out your hand without a word. He crawled onto the mattress, looming over your body as he braced his hands on either side of you. He kissed you again, his mouth hot and hungry against yours. Your hand wrapped around the back of his neck, pulling him closer. He kissed you for a long time, so long you thought you were going to be drunk off of it. When he did pull away, it was only to trail his lips down your neck, making you writhe as his mustache brushed against your sensitive skin. His mouth moved to your collarbone again, then down to one breast, and then the other. You keened at the sensation. Then his lips were on your stomach, and he shimmied himself down the bed until he was between your thighs. Slowly, he tugged your panties down your legs. He spread you wide, his eyes never leaving your center. He leant forward and inhaled deeply, groaning at the scent - your scent. He pressed a featherlight kiss to the inside of your thigh where it was settled on his shoulder before looking up at you. 

“I’m going to devour you,” he stated. Before you had any time to react, his mouth was on you. 

He was ravenous, lapping at you as if you were the best thing he’d ever tasted. You felt it all the way through your body as he moaned against you, your body writhing against his mouth. You were so hot, so ready for this man to take you. You let out a loud moan as he licked your clit, then took it into his mouth and sucked. It was almost embarrassing how quickly he brought you to the edge as his mouth worked you over expertly. 

You don’t remember the last time a man had his mouth on you, let alone made you come from it. When you came, it was hard and loud, your hands buried in his hair, his name a mantra on your lips. He crawled back up the length of your body and kissed you, letting you taste yourself on his tongue. His thick cock twitched against your sensitive pussy, and the feeling of him settling between your legs was enough to have you pulling away from his kiss, breathing deeply. 

His eyes were dark with lust as he looked down at your body, and you felt your face heating up at his silent perusal. 

“I’m clean,” you whispered urgently, “if you want…” 

He answered you with a groan of your name, his forehead pressed to yours, his cock twitching. “I am too. You sure?”  You nodded, and without a word, you reached for him. You watched his face as you stroked him slowly. His eyes fluttered closed, and he leaned into your touch. He let out a throaty moan when you guided him to your entrance. 

“Please,” you whispered. His eyes opened as he slid into you, filling you up entirely. He stilled for a moment, letting you adjust to the feeling. He was so thick and hard inside of you; you felt so impossibly full. 

“You feel incredible,” he told you, still not moving, but you could feel how much he wanted to.  

“Bradley,” you begged, and he withdrew slowly until just the head of his cock was still inside of you, pressing against your clit. He slid back in again, filling you up until you couldn’t think of anything but the feeling of him deep inside of you. You could feel it all the way to the top of your head, all the way down to your toes, and you moaned as he pulled out and thrust back in again. 

His pace was tortuously slow at first, in a way that could only be deliberate, driving you crazy. You could feel every inch of him leave and enter you, over and over again. The feeling of him moving inside of you was almost more than you could stand, but still, you wanted more. You were ready to beg him to go harder, faster, but you didn’t need to as he finally, finally started to pick up the pace. You wrapped your legs around his hips as he found a steady, powerful rhythm. You cried out with every thrust, and he groaned out your name, his arms shaking with the strain of holding himself up above you. Soon, he was fucking you hard. Every thrust drove him deeper inside of you, hitting that spot that made it almost impossible to breathe. You could feel yourself getting close. 

“Come on, baby,” he panted. “Come for me.” 

You were drowning in him, and when he pulled you in for another kiss, there was so much passion you thought you might be swept away by it all. You’re not sure what to do with yourself, but you know you don’t want this moment to end. Your walls tightened around him as you let go, and you could feel him shuddering as he came with you. 

He stayed there, kissing you softly for a long time before he gently pulled out, rolling onto his back beside you. He wrapped an arm around your shoulders and pulled you with him. You pressed a kiss to his chest before you rested your cheek on his sweaty skin, listening to his heartbeat as it began to slow. He kissed your head lightly, and for a while, the two of you just laid there, basking in the afterglow. 

It was Bradley who finally broke the silence, and your whole body trembled at his words. 

“Rest for a little bit, sweetheart. I’m not done with you tonight.”

Your pussy clenched. You could still feel his cum oozing out of you slowly from round one, and if you were honest with yourself, you had been wet since you first laid eyes on him. You picked your head up to look at him. Your voice was breathy with anticipation when you asked, “Is that so?”

“Yes. And then, I’m gonna convince you to let me stay the night. And in the morning, after at least one orgasm, I’m gonna cook you breakfast.”

Your breath caught and a lump formed in your throat. He said it so confidently, like it was an indisputable fact. You were surprised at how much you longed for it to be just that. 

This was not at all how you had anticipated your night going. 

“And after that?” You dared yourself to ask. 

He traced your cheek with a sated smile on his handsome face, his mustache twitching and his dark honey eyes sparkling. “I told you, you deserve to be wanted. And I want you.”

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

Main Masterlist

Notes: Happy Birthday Em! Thanks for being born. Hope you enjoyed this! Now go do fuckboy things and celebrate 🎉💚

Thanks to @mak-32 for the banner and for all of her help with this!

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[finniestoncrane]

Pornstar!Cooper Howard x Fem!Reader, multi-part au fic cooper howard is a former actor, novice pornstar, and current wasteland escort. reader mistakes him for a bounty hunter and ends up getting far more entwined in his lifestyle than they intended in a bid to get what they need from the first 'kind' person they've met in a long time🤎

☢️ Chapter 2: Misunderstanding, word count: 4.7k reader is just about the simplest, sweetest thing that's ever gone on a journey to find a bounty hunter who can get revenge for her. unfortunately, she doesn't find the bounty hunter she was looking for. fortunately, she finds cooper howard instead, which i think we can all agree is a blessing Chapter 1 request info • prompt list • send me a request • kofi • masterlist minors DNI!! 🔞 cw: unprotected sex but cooper can't get you pregnant and i doubt any diseases can survive in his blood stream, lil bit of angst, one night stand with feelings, fairytale style connections here like pussy so good it has a man questioning the existence of soul mates

Your feet were no longer willing to participate, and you found that much of your energy was going towards convincing your lower half to keep going, even at the painfully slow pace you were struggling to keep. Trudging along what was left of the highway, you wondered how much of the difficulty was physical, and how much of it was the mental block. Because for all the effort it had taken you to get this far, with the end goal in sight you were beginning to reconsider.

What were you even going to say when you found the man you were looking for? 

“Hi, I’m looking to hire a bounty hunter, and I’m told you’re the best.”

Far too formal. Almost pleading. He’d know you were someone he could take for a ride immediately.

“Hello. Are you a bounty hunter? The famous one?”

That sounded like you were about to ask for his autograph before you asked if he could take on your job.

“What’s up, good sir. Are you by any chance willing… to… do…”

“Fuck.”

You’d had this entire journey to figure out what you were going to say, and now you were so close to reaching the settlement marked on your map and you were, if anything, less prepare than before.You couldn’t even blame it on distractions, because aside from a few standard dangers, it had been smooth sailing. A small mercy you were incredibly grateful for during the journey. And yet, instead of putting that time to good use, you had daydreamed your way along broken highways, beating the occasional radroach to death with your tire iron, and willfully ignoring what you had set out to do.

It just seemed so dangerous. So seedy. 

But unfortunately necessary.

Four times in the past three months, your quiet settlement had been attacked by raiders. Crops were destroyed and stolen, four brahmin were killed, and almost all of your prized possessions had been taken. It was only by sheer luck that they’d missed your stash of caps under the floorboards, and you’d vowed to use that to get your revenge. It was only this deep, burning desire for justice that had kept you going the past few days. Walking and walking and walking, interspersed only with fitful, uncomfortable sleep. You’d barely eaten, barely drank anything, and you were running low on supplies. But the signs for the next settlement were there on the walls, ushering you in, promising you food, rest and a solution to your problems. 

That was if you could convince the solution to do what you needed. 

And that itself hinged on your ability to recognise the bounty hunter.

“Oh, you’ll know him when you see him.”

That’s what the mayor of your settlement had told you. And what kind of advice was that? 

It’s not like there was a uniform they all wore. And as far as attitude went, what were you supposed to look out for? Handy with a gun and a cruel, cut throat demeanour? That was everyone in the Wasteland.

As you entered the large town, a settlement thriving somehow, you decided the bar was the best place to start your search, and the lure of having a drink, surrounded by voices and music, was far too enticing. There was nothing like that back home. Travelling traders and the makeshift common house was as close as it came to any kind of socialising or excitement. And while you were here on business, and rather serious business at that, you felt like you deserved a reward, a little bit of something to look forward to.

The bar gave everything that you hoped. The minute you walked through the door, you were quickly distracted by a fight that had just broken out. It was stopped by someone you assumed was working security who smashed the heads of the two men involved against the table, and then carried them through to a back room, one over each shoulder. A few people looked up from their drinks or away from their conversations to take you in, none of them settling for too long. This was a trading town, strangers came in and out all the time, you weren’t special here. You blended in. It felt nice, actually, not to draw too much attention. 

Sidling up to the bar, you asked for a water, deciding that quenching your thirst was a better option than beer, and settled into your crooked, wobbling stool. You couldn’t help but smile as you sipped at your cup and looked around the place. As dark as the reason you were here was, it felt like it had given you purpose, meaning. You were on a noble quest. The excitement was dulled, however, as you looked to your left and noticed the man beside you. Only then did the seriousness of your journey settle back in, heavy on your shoulders. 

The stranger next to you had shielded most of his face with a worn cowboy hat, one that was frayed and aged, but his skin was still visible, telling of his kind. A ghoul. The scars that marred his cheeks, sunken eye sockets, and no nose to make up his side profile. He was sipping at a dark liquid in a chipped glass, holding it with gloved hands. His body was covered mostly by a tattered duster jacket, but below it there was a glimpse of blue and gold, hidden under a thick, leather waistcoat. 

He certainly looked the part. The thought made you feel guilty, as though you had judged him based on his looks alone, but that was all you had to go on. Either this was the man you were looking for, or he was bound to know where to find that person. So you took the risk and tapped on his shoulder. 

Immediately, you understood that you had made a mistake, as his dark, brown eyes focused in on you, his lips curling into a sneer. 

“I will be polite, since you look like fresh meat, but do not touch me.”

“I-I’m so sorry, I just-”

He put up a hand, silencing you. 

“I only speak by appointment, darlin’.”

As he turned back to staring into the space in front of him, you decided you’d already come far enough not to push, just a little. Besides, the attitude, the way he spoke, the suggestion that he took on appointments. You were so certain that he was the man you were here to speak to.

“Well… you don’t look too busy right now…”

“You got ten seconds before I take this glass and make an awful mess of you.”

“I want to hire you! Please, just… Can I buy you a drink, Mr…?”

He looked down into his glass, almost empty except for one large gulp, which he swallowed with a sigh before he pushed the glass forward.

“Name’s Cooper.”

“Cooper. So…?”

“Whisky.”

“Whisky. Right. Thank you!” 

Cooper watched as you attempted to make your voice heard over the noise of the patrons in the bar, intrigued by you, far more than he would have liked to admit. Usually, clients were all the same. In town for the night, passing through, a regular. It didn’t matter, they were all there for a reason, and they wanted to get straight to the point of it. He preferred that. No beating around the bush, at least not until they had paid him. 

“Here you go! He said that was the best they had… it was expensive, so I hope he’s right.”

Eyeing the liquid, Cooper swirled it and grimaced, and when he raised his glass to drink, you copied him. The swig was lodged in your throat, a burning, painful taste that lingered at the back of your tongue and had you coughing and spluttering. From beside you, you could hear Cooper’s cruel chuckling, finally smiling, albeit at your expense.

“What’s so funny? What? Do you actually like the taste of this?”

“Oh, darlin’, don’t get yourself all worked up. I just find it amusing that someone like you would want to hire someone like me, that’s all.”

“And why is that?”

Cooper sighed, setting the glass down on the bar and turning in his stool to look you in the eyes. His gaze was intense, his eyes soulful, deep, focused.

“I just don’t think you’re lookin’ for what it is I can offer you.”

“Really? Well, what is it that you can offer me then, and I’ll tell you whether or not I can handle it.”

With a wry smile, Cooper nodded towards the bartender.

“Why don’t you go rent a room and I can tell you all the things I can offer you.”

That settled it for you. He was definitely the guy you were looking for, or at least, the kind of guy you needed. Secretive, trying to act threatening, scarier than he might be, to let you know how dangerous he was. He would be perfect. So you smiled back, hopping off your stool to go and speak to the bartender who gave you a key and a room number. By the time you had turned back around, Cooper was already making his way to the corridor, and you rushed to catch up to him. 

“Room number… five.”

“That’s a nice one, in the centre of the hallway, so it’s kept warm.”

“Uh…huh…”

He seemed to know it well, the whole space, as he confidently took the key from you, opened the door, and ushered you inside. That certainty with which he held himself, the confidence that flowed out of him, it was so oddly enticing. And as he settled himself down in a chair in the corner of the room and lit up a cigarette, you realised that you found him quite attractive. Bravery, danger, those soulful eyes that held what you could only imagine were decades upon decades of secrets, of history. Plus, despite his cold demeanour, he was oddly charismatic. You assumed that’s how he got by in this town, or any settlement. Usually, ghouls weren’t welcome, but Cooper seemed like the kind of man who could charm his way into anywhere. 

“So, what is it that you think I can do for you, sweetheart?”

You’d been staring at him blankly for a minute or so, watching as he commanded the space, relaxing himself into it. If he didn’t have years of being a fetishised novelty to back him up, he could have sworn that you seemed genuinely attracted to him. It had been so long since someone had looked at him like that, a blush on their cheeks, taking in his personality as well as his scarred and interesting body. 

Truthfully, he was looking forward to this himself. He’d have been lying to himself if he denied that you were his type. A little naive, sweet and cheerful, perfectly corruptible. But it was more than that. Your eyes seemed gentle, understanding. A trait that was hard to find these days. A look of the past about you, likely your upbringing. Those smaller settlements up in the hills were generational, clutching to what their ancestors had known before, living on kindness and the American spirit. THe nostalgia settled in his gut as he took you in. 

“Ok, so! Raiders.”

“... Raiders?”

He raised his brow, questioning you silently. It had been a long time since someone had asked for any roleplay in their encounter with him, and he could hear the jingling of caps as he wondered how much he could charge you for that.

“Yeah, raiders. They’ve attacked my settlement four times already.”

“And… they took you hostage? Kept you as a prisoner?”

“N-no… why…? No. They keep destroying our crops.”

“Oh, so you’re hungry.”

“I mean… yeah, but most of all I just need-”

“Need a little relief from all the stress you’ve been under?”

“I guess so, but not before I’ve solved the problem. What I really need is a bounty hunter.”

Cooper raised his hands, silencing you, a confused look on his face.

“I’m gonna stop you there, missy. This is verging on an acting job, and I don’t do those any more. Now what do you mean a bounty hunter?”

“Sorry… I don’t… what is there not to understand? I figured that’s what you did… isn’t it? Hunt bounties? Someone told me I could find a guy here that was good with a gun and-”

“Oh, you gotta be fuckin’ shittin’ me!”

He let out an exasperated laugh as he stood up from the chair and walked to you by the door.

“You think I’m a fuckin’ bounty hunter?”

“I thought… but now I’m sensing that you’re not in fact a bounty hunter.”

“Yeah, you got that right at least, lil lady.”

“So what are you then?”

“I’m an escort.”

You didn’t want to be presumptuous, and you couldn’t quite believe what he was saying, so you sought out some clarification, much to his dismay.

“So you… you go with me to get the raiders like a chaperone?”

Cooper stood in front of you in disbelief, narrowing his eyes at your perceived stupidity. 

��No, I ain’t escorting you anywhere except to this bed. Or the floor. Or against the wall.”

“Like sex?”

“Yeah. Like sex.”

You had so many questions, and not one of them felt appropriate. He just didn’t seem like the type of person who was well-suited to that particular line of work. Of course he was handsome, and there was that alluring, cruel nature that you found so beguiling, but his exterior was so rough and cold that you couldn’t imagine a lot of people getting past that.And with that thought, you wondered if he considered you to be that kind of person, someone who would shrug him off based on his demeanour, or worse, his looks. 

“Why were you so surprised about me wanting to hire you then?”

“Well, darlin’, you just don’t strike me as the wild type.”

“And what does that mean?”

“Means I usually only offer my talents to the people who want something a little weirder than what’s on offer elsewhere. Kinky folks, someone looking to get a bit freaky.”

“Huh…”

He didn’t know you well enough to make that judgement, and it smarted a little. And you were learning more about yourself too, because you were interested in him. Even before he’d revealed to you his line of work you’d been finding yourself stuck in a trance by Cooper. Of course you’d already reasoned that he would never be interested in you, but now that you know his affections could be bought…

“Is that all you brought?”

Speaking of money, Cooper had begun to rifle through the stash of caps that you had laid down on the dresser beside your backpack. 

“Uh… yeah. I thought that would be enough.”

“This would barely cover my fees, and you were gonna try and hire a bounty hunter for that? That is just about the stupidest god damn thing I’ve ever heard.”

You stepped to him purposefully, pulling the caps from him and putting them back into your bag. Even with your little quickfire crush, you found yourself irritated by his constant, snippy remarks. 

“Listen, I had no other choice. My settlement is struggling, this is all we had left after the raiders. I was hoping that someone would take a little bit of pity.”

“Sounds like the plot of some corny old cowboy movie.”

“Makes sense now, me thinking you were the bounty hunter, hm?”

Gesturing at his outfit with your hand, you let your eyes take him in from the floor up, and when your gaze settled on his face, you noticed him stepping closer, leaning into you. 

“I ain’t just some cowboy, missy. I am the cowboy.”

The way his voice lowered for emphasis, growling in his throat as he spat the words out at you with every intention, made your body flush with heat. A near immediate clenching formed in your gut, a tight coiling as you felt your saliva collecting against your cheeks. If you didn’t ask, you’d regret it forever. So you swallowed your nerves and spoke.

“So, can you do anything for me then?”

“I can do plenty, sweetheart. I can give you an earth-shattering orgasm and something to think about on your travels back to your little settlement. I cannot kill someone for you, but I can make you forget your troubles for a little while.”

“A-and… I have enough for that?”

Cooper grinned, more of a smug sneer than anything that resembled genuine happiness. 

“Are you asking to hire me for these other talents, then?”

“I guess so. Can I?”

“Hey, you got the money, then you’ve got me.”

You reached for your caps once again, handing them all over to him and watching as he put them into the pocket of his coat. All of it gone, in a moment of weakness over a man you’d just met. Before you could resent the decision too much, though, Cooper began shrugging off the long, duster jacket, your caps jingling as he did so. With it off, you could get a better look at his tarnished outfit underneath. He looked even more like a cowboy now. He hadn’t been lying before. Everything about him reminded you of those old holotapes you’d seen, the tarnished posters on the walls of buildings, or in the thankfully spared comic books you had been able to read. 

Noticing that you were just standing there, staring at him, Cooper broke the silence. 

“You look nervous, and I am a busy man. Shall I get things started?”

You weren’t even aware that you had started nodding until he was in front of you, fingers pulling at the material of your shirt and untucking it from your pants. He really wasn’t shy about it, no hesitation at all as he teased it up and over your head, already working on his own.As you stood there, awkward, exposed, he tossed his shirt to the side and began working on his belt, unbuckling it as you watched him. His body was lean, but not slim. The scarring on his face followed over his entire body, covering him completely. Each little line and ridge in his skin looked tempting, and you wanted nothing more than to run your fingers along him, to feel the texture against you. 

Cooper was quick to fulfil that desire, wrapping his arms around you as he worked at your pants. The embrace felt warm, and you couldn’t help but let your own hands travel around to his back, stroking up and down his spine as he pulled your pants down, letting them fall to your knees. As you stepped out of them, kicking them to the side, Cooper did the same, stopping briefly to take you in fully as you admired him in return. 

His cock was average in length, thicker than most, but what intrigued you most, once again, was the way it might feel against you. Ridged, tickling, with a stretch. You could feel yourself drooling at the thought, only pulled back to reality by Cooper’s voice.

“A quick disclaimer: you’re not going to get pregnant, and my blood kills diseases. I’m clean, so anything wrong with you, you can’t blame me.”

It was an oddly comforting statement, and solved a problem you hadn’t thought of until then. You nodded, standing in an awkward silence until Cooper spoke again.

“So, where do you want it?”

“I, uh… on the bed, I guess?”

“Well, that answers that question, but I meant my cock.”

“Oh! Maybe… uh… I…”

Cooper interrupted you, putting you out of your misery as you fumbled around for the right words and the bravery to ask for what you wanted. 

“Listen, just… lay on your back and spread your legs so I can get to your cunt. Nothing too adventurous for you, I think.”

You did as you were told, thankful for the instructions and his easy way of speaking them, even surprising yourself at how enjoyable you found the vulgar way he spoke to you. Everything about him was a little bit vulgar, though. But all the same, exciting and attractive, only fueling your arousal as you watched him spit on his hand, a long strand of drool connecting from his lips to his palm, before he stroked it along his cock. 

“You good?”

“Skill wise, or-”

“Are you ready?”

“Yes. Yes…”

With a roll of his eyes, not quite the look you had hoped for admittedly, Cooper lined the head of his cock up with your slit, pushing the tip past your folds and into your cunt with a soft groan. You were tight around him, stretched by his girth, and the way your fingers clawed at the mattress gave him a feeling of accomplishment already. 

Already, this felt different to him. You kept your eyes focused on him, when they weren’t closing against the pleasurable pain of him thrusting his cock into you. And not just to take in his body, instead, you were looking into his eyes. It felt like he was being seen for the first time in a long time. 

At one point, a soft smile crossed your lips, almost shy, and it pushed a grin to his own lips. It reminded him of someone from so long ago. Someone who looked up at him, body exposed to him, admiration and giddy glee in their chest. From that day, the last one. He couldn’t remember her name, but he remembered how she made him feel. She was sweet, and she saw him for who he was, not what he’d become. And given what he’d become now, he could be certain that it was the last time someone had seen Cooper, until you. 

Cooper grunted as he pushed himself deeper into you, up to the hilt, his hips pressing into you, hands on either side of your head against the bed. Everything about you was enticing. The soft giggles you let out, deep, breathy sighs as he worked at you, half-lidded eyes that sparkled with joy as they took him in. Usually, he was good for a solid half hour of pleasure, well worth the money he charged, but he could feel himself coming undone already. 

“Cooper… this is… you’re so good.”

Usually, he wasn’t one for speaking during sex, unless he was paid extra. But he indulged himself in your praise, wetting his lips and pushing past the grunts of exertion to ask for more. 

“Yeah? Tell me then, darlin’... tell me how good it feels.”

Your words spilled out with surprising ease, given how shy you had seemed. Kindness was clearly natural to you, and Cooper was incredibly grateful for it. It was beginning to feel like less of a job, a task, a need to get you fucked and out of the door and more of a genuinely pleasant experience for him. The more he considered how good it felt, to be touched, to be held, felt, appreciated for more than just fulfilling a kinky niche, the faster his rutting got. He wanted this to last, wanted the feeling of your cunt wrapped around his cock, your body warm under him, your eyes trained on his, to last for as long as possible, but it wasn’t easy to hold himself back. And it seemed less likely that you would be able to hold on either, as you had begun whimpering, fingernails scratching at the sheets, your hand finding his and clinging to it as you began to jerk your hips into him.

With a sharp hiss that opened into a shriek, you felt yourself reaching your climax, clenching around him as you quivered, your body electrified for those thirty seconds of extreme pleasure, your body overwhelmed with the sparking sensation that had you tingling all over.

When your breath was steady once again, you reached a hand up to Cooper’s cheek, holding it there and stroking his cheekbone with your thumb, enough energy left to utter one word.

“Wow.”

The way you uttered that one word was enough to push Cooper to his own orgasm. There was more kindness and genuine feeling in it than anything he’d heard in the past two hundred years. And as he felt himself being emptied inside of you, he couldn’t help but hit an incredible low, realising that it was over already, before he had begun to properly appreciate it. So he sank down into the mattress, rolling over and settling in next to you.

Laying there, your body cooling in the wet patch under it, you could barely speak, but you pushed past your heavy breaths to get at least one thing out.

“Thank you.”

Cooper kept himself as still as possible, letting his body come to a regulated pace, trying not to react to the words he was sure he had just heard you say.

“Thank you.”

No one had thanked him, for anything, for a long time. And least of all for his efforts in sex. The only reason he really made it, so to speak, was that he was a niche commodity in the world of sex. There to be used, to get off on or with, and then to leave again. And if he thought too hard about it, no one had ever thanked him before either. Not Barb. Not his co-stars. Not the directors who he performed for. No one. Was he actually good at it? Talented? Had he now fucked so much that he was an acceptable lay? Or were you just an outlier? Connected to him in a way that made it good? It seemed far more likely, given that he himself had found it far more pleasurable than anyone else in the last two hundred years. But that thought was a difficult one to process, so he rolled over in the bed in a bid to avoid those feelings, focusing so hard on the bare wall in front of him that he fell asleep remarkably swiftly.

Noticing that his breathing had slowed, a soft snore occasionally rumbling over his lips, you stood up from the bed and moved quietly and carefully to the sink in the corner, filled with old, stale water that felt cool against your skin. You didn’t want to risk waking Cooper, mostly because he looked like he needed the rest, but partly because you wondered what you would say, if anything, after what had just happened. So you took a seat to try and ground yourself.

From the chair in the corner of the room you watched him for a few more moments, perching there as you considered everything that had happened that day so far. A journey wasted, in some ways. But now you had an experience worth remembering, truly an adventure. It was almost difficult to imagine it as a one-off though. A singular event, never to happen again. And as you watched Cooper’s body moving slowly, inhaling and exhaling soundly in his sleep, you realised the thought was actually quite painful. And silly. You’d only just met him. He did this with so many people, and you weren’t special. It would be foolish to let yourself think that. How ridiculously typical would it be for some naïve country girl to find herself attached to her first one night stand, with a paid professional no less. So, rather than face those difficult thoughts any longer, you collected your things up, stopping only to reach into Cooper’s jacket and take enough caps back to pay for another room. At the bar, you were given another key, and you headed back up to try and get as much sleep as you could before making the decision about the next steps in the morning. 

[lunexrin]

KISS KISS FALL IN LOVE !

"Why the hell would you do that?!" "Did you think I wanted to?! Your germs... Ew.”

Blurb: A few glimpses of certain episodes if you and Tsukishima Kei were in a shoujo anime!

Genre/Tropes: academic rivals, slice of life, shoujo, romance, slow burn (?).

Reader: fem. (you will be addressed as 'Seiu' which is your supposed last name because i hate putting 'y/n' in my writings. it feels like a turn-off, for me.)

WC: 4.7k.

A/N: oh my god it has been so long?? this idea came from back in SEPTEMBER, on his birthday. and yes it took that long to finish *insert crying emoji*. this is my longest work so far (7 jan 24). but i don’t really like it? i think it’s tedious. i apologize for any grammar mistakes, and would love any feedbacks or critics *insert crying emoji again*.

“Aw, look at you,” He cooed, and you're actually contemplating on smashing your head straight into the glass window of your class rather than hearing his taunts to degrade your scores on this stupid, science quiz.

His pale, slender fingers came into your harsh gaze, watching him tap the wood of your desk in an unknown yet familiar rhythm, gazing down at you. “Why the sour face? You got a ninety-nine, your scores are higher than most in this class— ah!” He snapped his fingers like something suddenly clicked in his mind that he definitely hadn’t thought of before and that he definitely wasn’t using it to brag about it. “But I don’t think you’re the highest, though..”

Darn him for getting the highest. Darn him for getting a hundred.

You could just see him grinning like the fucking Cheshire cat even though your eyes are still glued on your scores.

Ninety-nine. And a little ‘good job’ note the science teacher wrote on the side, with a little smiley face next to it.

Now, why the hell did that smiley face seem like it's mocking you?

“Hey,” he crouched down, resting his forearms on the edge of your desk, and looked into your eyes, his smirk growing bigger. You looked back at him, and your eyes narrowed. “Thought you were crying for a sec.”

You felt offended and immediately went defensive. “I was not!” You exclaimed, accidentally slamming your arms on the desk louder than intended, resulting in dozens of heads turning, and a disapproving look of your teacher from the front of the class.

“Good. You were too quiet, made me uncomfortable.” 

You opened your mouth to continue the argument, but before you could say anything, the teacher spoke. “Seiu! Tsukishima!” You both turned towards the teacher, and she gauged her eyes at you both. You knew what she meant, and so you slumped back in your chair defeatedly, while the blonde returned to his seat— that was unfortunately next to you— triumphantly.

“Remember the deal.” He whispered from his seat, scoffing while he took out his notebook and pens. 

You sighed and clenched your jaw. “Fine. I’ll get you the darn strawberry shortcake after school.”

“I was afraid that you’d run off,” He was leaning against the wall, close to the gates of your school. “You can be a little cranky about saving a few pennies, don’t you?” He took off his headphones, letting out a small chuckle.

Yes, you can be cranky about money, but a promise is a promise.

There's this stupid bet, or dare I say a tradition where after every quiz, debate, and exam— the one who tops gets to ask the other to buy whatever they wish.

“The usual?” You asked, with the most deadpan expression you could’ve pulled. Tsukishima burst out laughing at that, pointing his finger at your face and mocking every little detail he could.

“It’s either you shut that darn mouth of yours or the strawberry shortcake—”

“Okay, okay! The— pfft— the strawberry shortcake, sure sure.” 

You dragged him out of the school gates by the end of his uniform, and he laughed again.

So annoying.

He sees that you are leading him (dragging him) around the familiar streets that lead to the café that you both always went to, ever since freshman year.

He sighed. “The usual it is.”

A few moments passed by, and you both fell into a comfortable silence, which was almost too good to be true. You often just stared at the long shadows on the ground, following you and Tsukishima’s every little movement. Once in a while, crows would caw as they fly high up in the sky, making you look up to the orange-purple skies, the orange rays illuminating your eyes.

At times you overlooked nature, and sometimes you just lost yourself in it.

And at times you overlooked the way your heart beats faster when he looked at you like this— under the sunset where no other soul was near.

“What?” You asked, looking at him in the corner of your eye. Your heart beat faster when you saw him literally glowing under the sun, looking at you with a smile that seemed a whole lot more genuine than you’d like it to be.

He scoffed, staring up at the sky, and then at you. You noticed the two tiny twinkles of light in his golden brown eyes— wait, since when was it there and why are you noticing it just now?

“Nothing, pipsqueak.” He says, staring up ahead with a cheeky grin.

The familiar ding of the bell echoed through the empty, dim-lighted bakery, the nostalgic aroma of freshly baked bread and brewed coffee hits your nostrils, feeling at home.

A small smile curved on your lips, and a sigh of contentment escaped your lips. "Home sweet home." You said, eyes twinkling in fondness.

Making your way towards the counter, you paid for everything that you would be indulging, including his strawberry shortcake that looked ridiculously good. Sitting in the very corner of the small shop, you got yourself lost in the atmosphere as the rain fell outside. 

You rested your head atop the wooden table, eyes watching out the race of rain droplets to see which one won, just like when you were a kid— when life was nothing but sunshine and rainbows, unlike now, where everything felt so nonchalant to you, for some reason.

Shamelessly, you kept your mouth stuffed with the cream bread you'd always eat, ever since you discovered this precious of a place. Glancing at the male who's apparently just as caught up with the rain as you are, stuffing his mouth with some strawberry, you begin talking (with your mouth full, still.)

"Are you ever going to try something else?" Your eyes shot to the cake, then back to him. He scrunched up his nose, an expression of disgust as he saw your stuffed mouth. You rolled your eyes, not caring. "It's not like you ever tried anything else— and stop eating like that. It's not like the bread would run off—"

"It's not like the bread would run off." You mimicked him, and he gritted his teeth. "Annoying little shit." He whispered, sipping at the warm coffee to try to keep his cool.

"I didn't know you had a habit of talking to yourself." You smirked, glancing at the tall, clear jug filled with water right in between you both on the table, doing a splendid job at reflecting himself on it. His eyes shot open, glaring at you and the poor jug.

"You weren't this talkative earlier," he said, setting his coffee on the table. "Finally getting over your marks?" He asked, his smirk returning which made your eyes roll.

"Bastard."

“Oi, Seiu.” He almost grumbled out your name, your ears catching the sounds of flipping papers, even through the headphones sitting on your head.

“What?” You replied groggily, taking off your headphones. You’re just about to fall asleep but he ruined it!

You were slumped next to him on the train, temple resting against the cold, metal railing on your side. Maybe it’s because of the scorching weather this July that you felt so incredibly exhausted— all your willpower was drained out at school earlier, and coming to cram school to violate your energy and brain further certainly doesn’t help your current state in any way.

You feel as if your soul is going to be sucked out, yet he’s still reviewing the papers? Doesn’t he feel tired or something?

“English essay papers. The one the teacher graded earlier.” His palm was lazily exposed in front of you, expecting the marked sheets to arrive in it upon his demand. Tsukishima doesn’t know what ‘asking’ is.

“You can still study?” You mumbled, eyes narrowing as you rummaged through your bag. Wrinkles formed on your forehead when your eyes turned into thin slits trying to search for what you wanted, the blur decorating your eyes not subsiding as quickly as you wanted it to.

“You’re going to get old faster than anyone else with that frown of yours.” His voice was lower than usual, but the playful spark remained. His banter was replied to only by the click of your tongue. You’re too tired to joke around.

When you finally found it, you shoved the crumpled sheets into his hand and slumped your head back onto the railing. “Don’t you know what rest is?” You said, sighing as you got into a more comfortable position, forgetting about the device hanging on your neck.

“I need to work harder to beat you.” His eyes narrowed as he read the messy scribbling of your writing, but he can’t deny how he adored your talent to form a masterpiece with a foreign land’s words, every. single. time.

“You’ve already beaten me a lot of times, didn’t you?” At times like this when your consciousness stays for the sake of a conversation, you’re more truthful, or maybe even less hostile. You didn’t have the energy to have an ongoing banter with him no more.

Even though your vision was black, you could feel his eyes glued to you. You were expecting some witty comebacks to launch from his mouth, but he was silent, for a while. It’s deafening.

It almost makes you uneasy.

“I’m not as smart as you, Seiu.” He finally blurted out, but it was so quiet.

Your eyelids fluttered open just slightly as if you couldn’t believe your ears.

He beat you every single time, so what nonsense is spitting out from his mouth? Did the weather get to him too? Until he’s feeling ‘under the weather’? (With all puns intended.)

Ironically as that thought finished, the rain fell. Hard. 

You moved the back of your head towards the glass window instead, the coldness of the rain droplets spreading through the glass sent a wave of relief onto your body.

You eyed him from the corner of your eye. That bad posture, the metal frame that sits atop the bridge of his nose that looked like it was about to fall any second from now, the crumpled sheets that were lucky enough to feel the caress of his slender fingers—

You’re doing it again. You’re too observant at times like this, it’s more than necessary.

“You’re insane.” You snorted, closing your eyes again.

“You’re a fucking genius without trying, Seiu.” It’s his time to sigh, almost frustrated. “You don’t even try.”

It’s true. You’re lazy. You hardly even try and yet you score all of your exams.

“If ever someday you decided to pick up a book and scribble more notes..” He drifted off, and you’re kind of eager for him to continue.

“I’m done for.” He mumbled.

What a compliment, you thought. Maybe you would’ve grinned cheekily if you had the energy, but you don’t.

“Wow.” That’s all you could utter.

You could hear him huff as if he was regretting what he said.

“Just don’t get all romantic and don’t sleep on my shoulder.” He mumbled, the sound of turning pages starting again.

“I don’t want your cooties either.”

“Good night, Seiu.”

You both snorted out loud.

It was P.E., and another class had joined yours’ to play.

It was a warming-up session, and everyone needed to jog a few laps before playing.

You weren’t exactly the sporty type that had a lot of stamina, and you never liked running. The summer was taking a toll on you again, and you were slower than usual— than everyone. You were at the very back when the other girls were a few meters away. You’re not too slow, but not that fast enough.

Behind you were the boys, from your class and the other. You didn’t pay much to them and kept jogging.

You did notice a couple of times that Tsukishima was staring at you, and even when you caught his gaze, his eyes were still on you. It was nothing new, just that same old glare he always gives you.

You heard laughter erupting from behind, footsteps becoming louder as a group of guys caught up beside you. One of them pushed the other and he ended up bumping into you hard. You fell, scraping your knee and palms in the process.

All you heard next was laughter. Mocking ones, from both the guys and— whom you thought was— your friends.

It turns out the one who bumped into you was someone you had a few problems with in the past. He was your… not enough to be a former lover, far from a friend but yet, he’s no stranger. He held a grudge against you, it seems.

The guy laughed along, as well.

It was only for a few seconds the scene unfolded, but it felt like an eternity of humiliation.

Did Tsukishima join them?

You slowly got yourself up, the burn in your knee only increasing with each inch you elevated from the ground. 

Halfway through, someone grabbed your upper arm and shoulder tight, slowly helping you up. Those pale, slender arms..

Tsukishima.

Exaggerated gasps were heard, and whispers were accentuated. Honestly, you would’ve acted the same way, if you were them. 

Tsukishima… helped. He didn’t make fun of you.

You heard him click his tongue, and you raised your head just enough to see the scowl on his face, and the way he glared at the guys from earlier.

“Can’t you fucking see she was next to you?” He cursed, and everyone fell silent. Everyone was always a little wary of him, even scared. His height was intimidating, but seeing him in such a way was a lot scarier.

Even you haven’t seen him this angry.

The teacher jogged over, a tense expression on his face.

“Tsukishima-kun, enough. You can go on and I’ll put her aside—“

“Don’t bother, sensei.” He quickly cut the teacher off, eyes glued to the fuckers that were too irrelevant to be in the same place as he is.

“I don’t feel like playing football with people who are clearly blind.” He snickered, almost mocking them.

He brought you under a tree, and you freed your wrist from his grasp and slumped against the tree. Your head was down low as if the skin of your legs had some ancient scripture that you were so persistent on staring at. A large shadow emerged, and turns out it was him standing in front of you with his hands on his hips, eyes ahead staring at the other students.

Don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry.

“Don’t worry.” He tried to reassure, but he sounded a little too bitter— he’s not used to it. “I won’t let them see how ugly you are when you cry.”

You cried anyway.

“Know how to treat a wound?” He asked as if he wouldn’t already do it himself as he rummaged through the cabinets.

Your silence in speaking and a few sniffles are enough to tell.

He sighed, reaching for a box filled with stuff that’ll help heal your wound— only on the outside, though. It’ll only help what’s on the surface, only helping your scraped skin, but the humiliation inside? Who knows how long the tear of your heart will last? Who knows who is going to tape it up for you, saying everything will be okay?

A small part of your heart’s tear was stitched up already at the sight of him getting down on one knee in front of you, getting the band-aids, antiseptic, tweezers, and cotton wools out.

“What’s the point in hiring nurses if they’re just never going to show up to work?” He rambled on like an old grandma, complaining how he needed to do everything himself. 

But really, even if the nurses were here and you were being tended to, he’ll never really leave you. He’s treating you like you needed all the help in the world as if you were in a coma or something.

The rustling of the bed sheets when you squirmed, the annoyingly strong scent of the antiseptic throughout the whole room, and Tsukishima’s rambles as he treated your wound made you… strangely emotional.

Your shoulders shook rather violently, and your gaze blurred with the salty liquid once again.

His eyes widened upon taking in your appearance, drawing the cotton wool soaked with medicine away from your wound as quickly as time allowed it.

“Woah, woah, woah, hey! Does it hurt that bad?!” He almost yelled, and did he not panic like the world was going to end.

“Okay, look— okay I’ll stop! I told you to prepare yourself beforehand—”

“Arigato, Tsukishima-kun.”

You wailed like your life had crumbled— looking back, it was kind of funny with the snot and everything, he’ll definitely tease you for that later— and you sobbed your heart away. You didn’t even cry like this when a relative died but you cried when someone insisted on treating your wound? Wow.

And Tsukishima? His face could be taken as pure gold. He was dumbfounded, with wide eyes while staring at you crying like so. In literal words, it’s best to say he malfunctioned. You were crying way harder than before, you’re crying harder now than when you fell!

You keep sucking back in the snot that threatens to goo down their way, wiping your tears rather harshly, but it kept coming down anyway. It was embarrassing, but you couldn’t stop crying.

You heard him sigh. 

“You’re disgusting, Seiu.” He said, though not much disgust was evident in his voice. 

You felt a soft cloth arrive on your face, the fabric particularly covering your nose. You stopped your wail and looked at him, blinking rapidly as you were confused about what he was trying to do.

“Blow it out.” He said defeatedly, sighing as he looked away.

Sprettttt!

He crunched his nose upon hearing the noise, his glasses lifted slightly in the process before settling down to its original position.

“Again.”

Sprreettttttttt!

“I kind of feel bad for Seiu.”

You stopped dead in your tracks, and so did Tsukishima. 

It was that group of guys again, and the one who spoke was the one that, well… the one that bumped into you.

“You still like her?” One of his friends said, and the others fell silent.

You both were standing on the top of the stairs like a fool, like deers caught in the headlights. But the question is, why did Tsukishima stop too?!

“I don’t!” He quickly denied but the others burst out into laughter and a series of teasing ‘oooh's.

Your class was just right there. Why did they have to walk through the hallway where your class was located, when there were a dozen others? You don’t want to come across them! Your cheeks were puffy, your eyes were red. You didn’t want them to know you cried, especially not when they were the reason. (Well, partly of the reason).

“Seiu’s quite sensitive. What if she’s like.. I don’t know!” He grumbled.

“Aw, you worried that she cried? You still like her!” Another laughter erupted.

“That’s her class, isn’t it? Where is she?”

They were peeking through the windows, but of course, you’re not there, you’re hiding in the corner of the hallway like a fool.

“She’s not there.” One said, confused.

“Oi… Tsukishima’s not there either.” Some of them gasped, and some of them went silent.

“I think.. Seiu and Tsukishima—” 

Tsukishima grabbed your hand, his gaze hard. He wasn’t looking at you though, but just staring into the clear windows in front of you both, as if he was waiting to get caught or.. as if he was ready to do something.

“Don’t say things like that!” The guy defensively said, his voice raising an octave. He still has feelings for you, it seems.

“But don’t you think it makes sense? They’re always together,”

They’re getting closer. Their footsteps are getting louder, and your body just tensed. Tsukishima squeezed your hand harder, and you looked at him through your sore, reddish eyes. 

You wanted to get out of here, but you can’t just run to somewhere else in the building. You need to get into class, and it’s almost time. You’ll get a cleaning punishment if you’re late, and you don’t want to involve Tsukishima in any of it already. He’s done more than enough.

“—For the last time, they are not!” They were just around the corner, and their shoes came into your sight.

“I just.. I just want to apologize to Seiu and—”

Everything shut down.

Your ears were ringing, succumbing to a forced silence, your whole body refusing to react to anything else.

Your back against the wall.

His hand on your waist.

Your glasses clashing onto each other’s.

His lips on top of yours.

Tsukishima… was kissing you.

Shielding you, almost.

A loud, erratic pair of footsteps ran to the opposite side, kicking you both out to reality once again.

Then followed by a few others.

The ringing slowly subsided, and your irises moved.

Oh, they’re gone.

Your irises drifted to the ones in front of you, the pair being the most nastiest, gorgeous golden brown eyes you have ever seen.

His eyes have twinkles in them.

Don’t know if it has always been there or if you only noticed it now, but it’s pretty.

Ethereal.

The loud ring of the school bell rang, and you both flinched and covered your ears— you’re literally below one.

It snapped you back to the current situation. For real, this time.

Wide eyes, you looked at him, gasping.

A little too late to act shocked now, but oh well.

“Why did you do that?!” You yelled into his face, mouth agape. He seems just as shocked as you were, cheeks painted with crimson tints.

“Did you think I wanted to?!” He looked away, eyes frantic.

“Your germs…” He covered his lips with his hand, wiping it down gently with his palm. “Ew.” He stared at his palm blankly.

Is that a cover-up… or was he actually disgusted?

You bolted into class.

And so did he. (Well, after a few seconds of standing there like a pole).

You couldn't help but glance at him throughout the entire day, barely even focusing on what's been taught ahead of you. You kept fidgeting with whatever you could, with your fingers, sliding your feet from one place to the other and whatnot.

No matter how much you tried, your gaze would return to him.

You saw how he'd stare at you from the corners of his eyes, albeit you pretended not to notice. You noticed how he glided his fingertips over his lips, over and over. You noticed how he zoned out, just like you did.

He barely ever loses focus.

Was he thinking of the kiss, just like how you did?

You had hoped that was the case so you wouldn't be the only one who looked like a dumbstruck, confused fool. And you just prayed that he wouldn't pretend as if nothing had happened because it wasn't. It was one hell of a situation to just throw it over your heads as if it wasn't anything— you both seriously need to talk.

Without noticing, the vibrant azure skies turned orange, and the familiar tone of ringing echoed through the school's speakers, noting that it was time to return home.

You got up as slow as you could, eyeing Tsukishima who was frozen in his seat. You packed your things and shoved them into your bag, the chair screeching quietly across the floor as you stood up.

"Tsukki." Your voice knocked him back from his series of pondering, flinching upon hearing you speak. He looked at you, almost nervous.

"Yeah?"

"Time to go home." You mumbled, stating the obvious. Might as well mention that the grass is green.

He packed his bag in no rush. It was as if he was trying to slow down his moves, though his intentions remained unclear. He looked guilty almost, his lips pressed into a thin line.

"We need to talk about earlier." You blurted out, and he froze. His bent figure slowly straightened, and a long shadow of his figure emerged and decorated the walls— how did you even manage to catch that? Well, maybe because you were looking at everything but his eyes.

"I thought you didn't want to talk about it." He mumbled, finally facing you. He stared down at you before looking away, scratching at the back of his head.

You took a few steps backward, sitting against the still of an opened window. The wind gushes through your air, making you shiver slightly. The heat was no joke, and the intensity of the situation only escalated it.

"How could I not?" Your voice turned quiet as you stared at the ground. "I can't just go on and pretend nothing happened." You began fiddling with your fingers.

"Why did you do it?" You whispered almost shakily.

"I don't know." He whispered back.

"Do you... like me?" 

Not once did it ever cross your mind to have feelings for him, but now you knew. Now you know why at certain times you tend to be so observant of every little thing that he does. Like how beautiful his eyes look under the sunlight, how gently he turns the pages of your paper sheets as if he was afraid to leave a single crumple, how he manages to insult you every time but never goes too far to actually hurt your feelings—

Now you knew.

The pounding of your heart was because of him. The very presence of him around you calms you down like after a storm and yet manages to roar it wildly and harder than ever.

You, Seiu, have fallen for him. 

Your question was left hanging with no audible answer that left his mouth. Silence.

Something bottled up inside you and it was going to explode.

"I can't believe you." You snarled and gripped the metal still of the window. "Is kissing a random girl in the name of helping just so normal to you? Is that how you help? Without even considering how she feels— how I feel?"

"Seiu—"

"For you, it might not be anything important," You sniffled, tears rolling down. You lost count of how many times you cried. "But it is important, for me—"

Your breath hitched when his lips landed on yours again. 

Damn, at least let me finish. You thought.

His fingers crept onto your cheeks, cradling them ever so gently. His thumb wiped away the tears wetting your skin. He tilted his head to get a better angle and his kiss got softer by each second. 

"Can't you at least kiss me back?" He mumbled against your lips, eyes still closed as if he was afraid to see your reaction.

You finally closed your eyes, moving your lips again his own by following an unknown flow. The second he got a response from you, his other hand pulled you in closer by your waist, pressing your bodies together. The sudden touch combined with the wind that attacked your back made you shiver. His hand moved and pressed onto your back, rubbing up and down to soothe you.

You let out a shaky breath through your nose, and the wave of relief and pleasure spread throughout your body into every vein and muscle. Your hands found their way linked at the back of his head in which you daringly pulled him closer.

You couldn't get enough. Kiss after kiss, breath after breath, you caught his lips again once you both sucked in a breath to continue. His glasses kept clashing with yours with every movement, and he attempted to take it off.

"It's okay, leave them on." You mumbled and took his hand away. You love his square glasses. You'd never want him to take it off.

He only smirked against your lips, the adorable sharp fang of his showing. "You didn't even let me finish earlier, and now you just can't stop, can't you?" He sighed and pressed his lips to yours again.

"And yeah, I like you, Seiu."

© 2024 lunexrin, do not copy, translate or repost my works on any other website without proper credits.

[catreginae]

This Ring is a Shield

As far as the others knew, Warriors' ring was just something he wore to make sure other people didn't flirt with him to much. What they don't know is that Warriors technically married and that the platonic nature of his marriage actually works great for both him and his wife. It should have been easy to explain the nature of his marriage but in truth, he's just tired. He's tired of the comments, tired of the advice he didn't asked for, and tired of the pity. AKA the "Warriors and his wife are both aroace but Warriors takes his sweet time telling the chain" fic. I wrote a one-shot! A long one but it's a one shot and I finished it just in time for the aro and ace prompts for the @queering-the-chain event. You can also find this fic on AO3!

When Warriors saw the collection of buildings ahead of them signifying civilization, he pulled his ring out of one of his many pouches and slipped it onto his ring finger. The ring was slightly too big when he didn’t have his gloves on but seeing as he only really wore it in uniform, he didn’t have any reason to complain about it. Getting it sized down a notch wouldn’t be difficult but the thought only ever crossed his mind when he happened to be somewhere he couldn’t get it done.

“Why do you only put the ring on when we’re around other people?” Wind asked as he sped up to keep up with Warriors.

“Because he wants people to think he’s married,” Legend answered with a shrug. “It lets people know that they don’t have a chance with him. It helps when you’re in an era that isn’t your own and you don’t want to complicate whatever this is even further. The timeline is fragile enough without becoming your own great-grandfather or something stupid like that.”

Warriors hummed, wondering if it was wise to correct Legend. The veteran was definitely correct about one thing – he didn’t want people to be interested in him. However, he was technically married. He didn’t blame the others for thinking he was single, seeing as he called Time’s wedding ring a shackle and he didn’t treat his own ring as a symbol of love and devotion. Warriors didn’t think that the others would give him a hard time if he told him that he was married and why but in his experience, trying to explain his feelings on romance and intimacy was an exercise in frustration.

“You’re on the right track,” he said after a moment of hesitation. He didn’t have to explain it all now. Warriors could just give them something to think about and leave it at that.

“Right track?” Legend huffed. “Where am I wrong?”

Warriors chuckled and ruffled Legend’s hair, dislodging his hat from where he usually kept it on his head. Legend responded with a growl as he swatted the captain’s hands away and readjusted his hat.

Thankfully, they went the rest of the day without anybody asking about the ring on his finger.

-

“Thanks for coming, Link,” Zelda greeted as Link dropped the salute and she motioned for him to sit in the chair across from hers. “I have a big favour to ask of you and you’re going to hate it.”

Link didn’t say anything, electing to let Zelda continue speaking.

“I’ve been negotiating with the Arlet family for more support in the court,” she started. Link nodded along. From what he knew of the court, a lot of the nobles were giving her some trouble regarding how she was getting and allocating funds for the ongoing reconstruction effort, which was further behind than Zelda wanted. Getting the support of any of the noble families for this issue, and any future concerns, would be a massive relief for her. The less people she had to argue with, the better. “They are willing to support me and fund some of the reconstruction themselves... in exchange for your hand in marriage with one of their daughters.”

He gulped. Oh, she was definitely right when she said he was going to hate it. Zelda knew he wasn’t interested in marriage but he supposed that when he pledged allegiance to Zelda and Hyrule, that was out of his hands. She said it would be a favour but Link knew there wasn’t actually a choice in the matter. After all, she didn’t actually ask him.

“Do I at least get to meet her?”

“That can be arranged. Link... look, I know you don’t want to be married but...”

“It’s politics. I know.”

-

“Gah! Where is it?” No matter how many times Warriors looked through all of his bags and pouches, he couldn’t find his ring. It wouldn’t be missed or hard to replace thanks to the fact that he married into nobility but he didn’t want to have to admit to his in-laws that ever lost it in the first place. His wife wouldn’t care because she wasn’t all attached to the rings whatsoever and she only wore hers when she had to leave the villa. He couldn’t afford to be an embarrassment to Athena though.

Maybe it was on the ground? He swore he had it before they set up camp, so it couldn’t have gone too far away.

“What are you looking for?” Four asked. Warriors was so engrossed in his search that he jumped slightly when he heard Four.

“My ring. I can’t find it in any of my bags.”

Without question, Four got down on his hands and knees and started patting the ground for it. As far as the rest of them knew, it was a cheap ring he used to prevent people from flirting with him too much, but it was kind of Four to help him find it regardless of what he might have thought it was.

“Oh, here it is!” Four announced as he held up the ring. “Huh, this is good quality gold and I think I see engraving... Are you sure that this is just-”

“Thanks for finding it!” Warriors said as he plucked the ring out of Four’s fingers and put it back in his satchel where it usually stayed when he wasn’t wearing it on his finger. He really ought to find a better place for it. Maybe he should use it for its intended purpose more often and just wear it on his finger, even if he didn’t care for the symbolism behind it.

“Maybe you should have a small pocket for it in your satchel. Maybe with some sort of button. It would suck if you lost it in another era.”

“That’s not a bad idea...” It wouldn’t be hard to make a pocket inside of this satchel. He just needed some more material for it. Why didn’t he think of that before?

-

Link sat in one of Zelda’s meeting rooms with his heart drumming in the pit of stomach. He was sitting at a small, rounded table with a pot of tea and some biscuits in the middle. He already poured himself a cup and ate one of the biscuits in an effort to calm his nerves a bit. It didn’t help. He found himself wishing he was outside fighting something big – at least he was confident in his swordsmanship.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and Link shifted so that his back was straight. A guard in full uniform opened the door and walked in, followed by a tall yet slim woman with chestnut coloured hair pinned into a bun. Her dress was plain, yet well-made from what Link could see, and the green and brown colour scheme matched her green eyes. When she approached the table, Link realized she would be taller than he was if he stood up. She took the seat opposite of his.

“I take it you’re Captain Link?”

“Yes. Just Link is fine.”

“You can call me Vivienne,” she said as she held her hand out. “Nice to meet you.”

Link took it. “Likewise...” he said as the guard walked out. Once the door was closed, Link let her hand go. “Before we start talking, I just wanted to say that I’m not actually... interested in couple things. I don’t really like romance and I never had the desire for intimacy and no offense, but I don’t think that will change any time soon. If I had a choice, I would probably never get married or hook up with anybody.”

He was the man who stared death in the face several times in his life so far but telling a stranger who was going to be his wife how he actually felt about being married was one of the most nerve-wracking things he had ever done. He was less nervous when the fate of Hyrule was resting on his shoulders.

“I just didn’t want you to get your hopes up...” he added slowly when she didn’t respond at first.

“Link, it’s... it’s fine. In fact... I was trying to figure out how I would say the same thing to you. I’m glad you said it first,” she said with an awkward chuckle but she also had an easy smile that actually made Link relax a little.

“So... we want the same thing. Am I hearing that right?”

“Yes. It seems as though we make a good match, though not for the typical reasons noble families arrange marriages for their children. We can make this work, I’m sure. After all, I doubt either one of us would get this opportunity to marry like minded people again.” She relaxed her shoulders as reached for one of the biscuits. That was when it finally sunk in for Link – he had nothing to fear. Zelda wouldn’t know it but her favour was actually a blessing.

“No kidding. Just to think I was so scared,” he said with a deep sigh, putting a hand on his chest. “If nothing else, I know how to put on a show.”

-

Spending time at the ranch was sometimes a bit of an odd affair for Warriors. It wasn’t that he hated doing hard work that often involved him getting dirty somehow, as much as the others like to make assumptions about his current life that happened to be close to the city. He didn’t mind any of the work Time gave them just to keep them busy and tire them out because collectively, they needed to burn some energy. None of them were really good at just sitting still.

He just felt awkward around Malon and Time sometimes. It wasn’t anything they did together or even separately – he loved them both. He was happy for both of them because they truly seemed to fit well together. Time deserved to be happy after everything he went through.

The problem was that he couldn’t get his brain to shut up. Sometimes, it was hard to watch Time and Malon enjoy their marriage without all the ‘life advice’ and the persistent questioning about his nonexistent dating life racing through his head and weighing him down. He could imagine all of those people pointing at Time and Malon, setting them up as the prime example of everything he was supposedly missing out on.

Aren’t you lonely without a partner? You just have to find the right person, then you’ll fall in love. You’ll settle down later in life, you’re just busy right now. Won’t you regret it if you don’t have any kids?

Those weren’t even the worst. The worst was the pity, the way they looked like they were sorry for him.

Like he was broken.

“Warriors?”

“Hm?” It took him a second to realize that somebody was trying to talk to him. It also took him a second to realize that his wrist was sore from holding his head up as he lounged against the horse fence. How long did he zone out for? His brain, his current worst enemy, helpfully reminded him that getting distracted like that in the battlefield would have gotten him or somebody else killed. Thanks, brain, he really needed that.

“Wow, you really are distracted,” Legend mumbled. “What’s going on? You look upset.”

Legend was good at teasing and poking fun but he was also good at knowing when it wasn’t welcomed. He must have zoned out for longer than he thought if Legend was frowning at him like that.

“It’s nothing.”

“Nothing? You’re all tense. I know the ranch will never be completely safe but you can relax a little bit.”

“I... yeah.” Legend was right, though not for the reason he might have thought. He shouldn’t let a bunch of people he could barely remember ruin his time at the ranch. How often do people get to travel through time and visit their now giant little brother’s home? Time and Malon did absolutely nothing but be welcoming and kind to him. It wasn’t them who tried to give him advice he never asked for. “I think I’ll just head inside.”

He heard Legend huff as pushed himself off the fence and walked inside the house.

-

Link woke up with the sun as he always did but it still took him a moment to remember just where he was waking up. He wasn’t used to the soft bed sheets, he wasn’t used to sleeping with more pillows than anybody actually needed to sleep, and he wasn’t used to being vaguely aware of another body in the same bed he was in. Luckily, his bed and sheets were so large that he had yet to really feel Vivienne moving around, but that didn’t stop him from being aware that she was there.

This morning though, she wasn’t there and if his head didn’t pound so much, he would have gotten up to go look for her. He always woke up before she did.

No, he should get up anyway. He had to go to the training grounds. The army had a lot of new recruits and he was one of the captains responsible for training the recruits who started to show some promise with a sword or at least seemed interested in learning how to use one. He sat up and a wave of dizziness struck him, forcing him to settle his head into his hands with his elbows digging into his thighs. His head was still pounding. His stomach felt like it was going to betray him.

Suddenly, the door opened. Link didn’t lift his head up to see who it was but only Vivienne would be around at the moment. The only other person who spent a lot of time in the villa, a women they hired named Clarissa who helped them maintain the villa, didn’t come in until much later in the morning. Usually, Link only saw her when he returned home and she was just getting ready to leave.

“Go back to sleep, Link,” Vivienne said as she guided him back down to the mattress. “I’ve already pulled a couple of strings to make sure that anybody who was expecting you knows you’re not available for the foreseeable future. You have quite the fever there.”

Oh, yeah, that would explain things.

However, it was also putting it mildly.

He was barely able to keep anything down except for some plain toast and water and even then, sometimes the toast was too much. His head never stopped aching or spinning so he had a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep. Vivienne was concerned enough to call for a doctor, who was constantly trying new medicine or new dosages. Sometimes he could keep the medicine down, sometimes he couldn’t. The doctor came daily to check for any signs for change for better or for worse. He supposed that was a perk to being married into a noble family – they had the extra rupees to pay for a doctor’s full attention.

No matter how bad it got though, Vivienne and Proxi, who dropped into their home at some point and declared that she was staying until he felt better, were always around for him. Proxi helped with encouraging words or translating his mumbled speech to Vivienne or the doctor. Vivienne was always there to help him feel more comfortable, like washing his face and back, changing the sheets, or holding his hair back when something upset his stomach too much. Sometimes, she even rubbed small circles into his back until he drifted off to sleep for as long as his body would allow.

All in all, it took nearly three weeks before Link was well enough to return to the barracks. They weren’t married for that long and once he was well, Link found himself a little embarrassed that one of her first impressions of him was him being violently ill.

Vivienne simply smiled when he said as much. “Link, we might be stuck together but I consider you to be a friend nonetheless and when one of my friends is suffering, I try my best to make it better. I’m glad you’re alright now and I’m glad I didn’t catch whatever that was.”

“You should be. It was awful.”

-

“I didn’t know you liked cats,” Twilight said with a grin as squatted down to scratch one of them behind the ears while Warriors was busy petting one down the length of its back. It was a creamy-white colour with long, fluffy fur that seemed pretty well taken care of if it was truly a stray. All the cats he saw had soft and shiny coats, seemed to be of a healthy weight, and he didn’t see any signs of illness. Maybe somebody did take care of them all. There were a few people in his own Castletown who took it upon themselves to make sure the strays were doing well.

He felt like he ought to be doing more, since they were in a large city and not every era had a big city to explore. Twilight’s Castletown felt much like his own, busy and bursting with life, including the very many cats he found in one of the residential side streets. However, he was busy petting cats and he didn’t think the cats weren’t going to let him go anytime soon even if he did want to leave. The cats were the perfect distraction for his very busy mind and they seemed to sense that he needed a distraction because they surrounded him in an instant. He was petting one or two at a time but the rest were doing their own thing, simply content to bless him with their presence. How could he possibly leave them to go do errands?

“Oh, I love them! I have one of my own, actually.”

Warriors always did enjoy cats but his parents never allowed one in their home, since it was attached to their store and well, his parents didn’t want fur all over the clothes they were trying to sell. He didn’t like it but his parents had a point. It wasn’t until he moved in with Vivienne that a pet was feasible – they had the room and she spent most of her time indoors, so Penelope was never alone for too long.

“Really? You have a pet? Aren’t you busy being a big shot in the army?” Twilight asked with the grin that always accompanied his playful jabs to Warriors’ career choice.

“Well, I don’t live alone. I have a roommate who takes care of her when I’m not around. That’s why we picked her out together from a neighbour’s litter. She looks kind of like this one,” Warriors said, gesturing to the cat he was petting, “but she’s all white and her name is Penelope.”

“Penelope!” Twilight was practically squealing. “Fucking adorable.”

Thankfully, Twilight didn’t ask about his roommate. He didn’t feel like explaining that his roommate was actually his wife and Penelope was regarded as their child and she was even introduced to his in-laws as such. Link inquired about putting Penelope in their will to inherit their estate should they both die suddenly and tragically young but her parents only begrudgingly called Penelope ‘the furry grandchild’, so they wouldn’t find it as funny as they did. Unless they adopted a Hylian child or brought more cats into the house, Penelope was the only ‘grandchild’ her parents were getting from them. Maybe they won’t care – Vivienne wasn’t their only child to get grandchildren from and she wasn’t inheriting the main estate anyway.

“I hope you know that if we’re ever in your neck of the woods, we’re going to see her. You’re not allowed to hide a cat from me.”

Warriors found himself laughing. “Twilight, I know better than to get between you and an animal.”

-

Link was grateful that his in-laws didn’t try to parade them around or throw extravagant parties on their behalf that often. Their wedding was mostly just friends and family from both sides and it took place in the Arlet estate garden, so it was out of the view of the public. Vivienne said something about how they were glad she got married at all, so maybe they were afraid to rock the boat too much. Maybe that’s why they didn’t argue when Penelope was introduced as their child.

For their first anniversary, her parents decided once again to forgo something fancy and just gifted the two a bunch of wine that they definitely drank too much of that night because he couldn’t really remember what they did besides drink a lot. He did remember waking up on the bedroom floor with Penelope sleeping on his back. Her parents didn’t leave Penelope out of the celebration either, giving her a bed that she went on to use a lot.

But Link knew that one day, his in-laws would drag him to some sort of function where they would show him off. He was the hero and a noble now.

He couldn’t say he was surprised when his father-in-law showed up at his door unannounced, thankfully when he was actually home, and told him and Vivienne that he was hosting a party and he expected the two of them to be there. Luckily, he already had clothes for the occasion that Vivienne said were nice enough – a gift from his tailoring family when he got married – and he went to fancy dinner parties before as a bodyguard, so at least he wasn’t going in blind.

“Vivienne and Link!” They spent maybe all of five seconds at her father’s before he found them near the entrance. Link wouldn’t have been surprised if he was waiting for them. His father-in-law gestured towards the rest of his estate with a grin on his face. “Link, let me show you around. This is your first time inside the main estate, yes?”

Link looked back at Vivienne. She simply shook her head. They were stuck following his father-in-law around his estate. Link couldn’t tell if it was because he was proud of his estate and actually liked showing it off to people or if it was some clever way to show off Link himself to the guests that were already there. He was certainly recognized as the hero even though his scarf was missing. At least he was used to getting looks from strangers all the time.

But it was made tolerable with Vivienne being close by, offering some sort of comment about what trouble she got into as a kid when her father introduced them to a new wing of the estate. Apparently, she was quite the fan of climbing when she was a child and he could see it in her father’s face that he wasn’t sure if he should have been amused or exasperated by the memories. When her father let them go to hang out and eat in the dining room, the two of them stuck together in a lonely corner of the room, watching and making quiet comments about the other guests. Vivienne knew most of them and had some juicy details to share.

If Link had to summarize the party, he would call it two friends suffering together. He had a decent time but it wasn’t because of anything that was offered at the party – it was spending time with a friend and engaging in gossip.

It made him think of all the people he could have been stuck with, all the people who would want more than he was comfortable with offering or just couldn’t offer at all. He couldn’t reciprocate romantic feelings as he didn’t feel them and the thought of being intimate made him deeply uncomfortable.

But being friends and sharing a space with Vivienne was easy. They were two friends who had to pretend to be more sometimes, but the important part was that they both knew that it was a game.

-

Warriors frequented taverns and pubs, not just to have a drink or two with those he was close to but because drunk people were a fountain of information. It was less helpful in his own era since people knew who he was and were more guarded around him, but in other eras where people had no idea who he was? They saw no reason to filter their words and they told him all sorts of things. Sometimes it was useful but sometimes he just got sucked into whatever gossip there was and he didn’t learn anything that would help them.

Today, he was at a pub with Sky and Twilight. He didn’t drink with them often, just once or twice in Time’s era when Time dragged them to Castletown. Time was his usual drinking buddy but he seemed pretty tired so he declined his invitation. It was times like those where he truly lived up to his ‘old man’ nickname.

Alcohol didn’t change Twilight that much. His accent was definitely coming out more and he was a bit louder but otherwise, Twilight was acting mostly the same. Sky was quieter after a couple of drinks, like he was contemplating matters of existence. The chosen hero wasn’t the chattiest to begin with but after a few drinks, he didn’t start conversations anymore. He needed to be roped into it.

They were only a few drinks in when a woman slid into the seat beside him with a wide grin on her face. Great, he knew exactly where this was going. Before she could say anything, Warriors held up his hand with his ring on it. “Before you say anything, just know that I’m already taken.”

“Oh, are they here right now?” she asked, her eyes scanning the crowd before her gaze settled on him again. “What they don’t know won’t hurt them.”

“I’m not a cheater,” Warriors snapped back. “I’m happy with my wife.”

“Is she happy with you? You’ve got the look of a military man. When’s the last time you’ve gone home to see her? Are you sure she’s been as loyal to you as you are to her?”

Warriors wasn’t sure what her goal was. He never had anyone who wanted to sleep with him insult him and his wife in the span of a minute. Was she mad that he rejected her?

“You don’t know anything. If you’re trying to get me into bed with you, you’re failing miserably,” he said as he stood up. Sky and Twilight caught him and he spotted Twilight fishing out his wallet as Warriors found the shortest route to the exit. He didn’t look back as he headed to the one familiar spot in town and stepped into the room he was sharing with Four and Hyrule. He must have looked a mess because the two took one look at him and stayed away from him for the rest of the night. Just as well, he didn’t feel like talking.

He knew he couldn’t avoid it though. He wasn’t surprised that Sky found him in the morning as Warriors chugged down some water, hoping that the minor ache in his head would disappear if he had more water. At least, Warriors hoped that the minor headache came from alcohol and not because that woman at the bar made him so angry that he had a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep.

Though, if he was honest with himself, it wasn’t just the encounter at the bar. His mind raced constantly, dredging up experiences and memories that he wanted to bury and never look at again. Ever since he was asked about his ring, he couldn’t stop thinking about all of the unhelpful and unwarranted advice he got when he was single or all the pity he got when people thought he was stuck in a sad, loveless marriage. Warriors just couldn’t stop thinking about it even when he wanted to or needed to focus on something else.

He hoped they weren’t travelling. He was pretty sure he wasn’t fit for it.

“Why did you storm out of the bar last night? Was it the woman?”

“Of course it was the woman!”

Sky smiled awkwardly and rubbed at the back of his neck. Shit, he shouldn’t have answered his question like that. He wasn’t mad at Sky.

“What did she say that set you off? Twilight and I didn’t really hear it.”

“She wanted me to cheat on my wife and when I rejected her, she start insinuating that my wife was cheating on me and before you ask, I actually do have a wife.”

“Oh, that’s what you meant when you said Legend was on the right track,” he mumbled as he titled his head slightly. “You are actually married, huh?”

“It’s a political marriage. Athena needed extra support from a noble and she got it when I married the noble’s daughter. Through marriage with the hero, that family is now closer than ever to the royal family and in return, Athena has more weight to throw against other nobles.”

“So you didn’t marry for love?” Sky asked with a slight pout on his lips that often came with confusion. Warriors could feel his frustration bubble under his skin but he took a deep breath. It wasn’t Sky’s fault that Warriors had this conversation before with a bunch of other people who didn’t understand that not everybody wants to date or be in a marriage or be intimate.

“I’m actually happy this way. I don’t care if it’s a ‘loveless’ marriage. We both knew what we were getting into before the documents were drawn up and before we were actually married. I made it clear to her the first time we met that I wasn’t interested in sex or romance. It turns out she feels the same way. We’re just roommates who occasionally have to pretend that we are more than just roommates. We share a home, we share a bed that’s so big we barely know there’s somebody else in it, and we share custody of a cat named Penelope. I’m not interested in anything more than that.”

Sky hummed for a moment, then smiled. “Well, if that’s what you want, then that arrangement sounds perfect for both of you. As long as you’re both happy, nobody should get a say about what the two of you do or don’t do together.”

For a moment, Warriors was taken aback. In his experience, it generally took a lot more convincing before somebody backed off and switched topics. He didn’t know why it was so hard to convince people that was actually happy.

“Why didn’t you say this before, though? Everybody would have understood.”

“Because it’s tiring... before I got married, everyone and their grandma would tell me that I just had to meet the right person, then I would want to date and get married and have kids. If I met the right person, I would be ‘normal’. Now that they know this marriage is political more than anything else... they fucking pity me. They think the fact that I didn’t marry for love is something to pity. Some people even tell me I’ll learn to fall in love with my wife. They just can’t fathom that somebody just... doesn’t care about any of that. It’s so tiring. I’m tired of trying to explain it and people looking at me like I’m broken or something. No matter how many times I tell them I’m happy, they just don’t believe me.”

Sky frowned. “Has... this been on your mind for a while? We all noticed that you seemed distracted lately.”

He only nodded. The thoughts probably would have started bothering him at some point, even if nobody asked about his ring. They seem to come and go, more often when he was in town and people tried to talk to him. However, the current cyclical nature of his thoughts was because he was asked about his ring and he had to think about how to answer.

“Do you ever plan on telling the others that you’re married?”

“If we end up nearby, yes.” He did tell Twilight he could meet Penelope and even if he didn’t, the villa would be a nice break for them and their wallets. They were always maintaining guest rooms that didn’t get used so it would be nice if the villa was full of people for once. It was far too large for a family of three and their hired help. “For now, I just need to collect my thoughts.”

Though... it helped that Sky took it so well. Maybe he wouldn’t have to explain it to them more than once. They would probably believe him if he said he was actually happy with his arrangement.

“Okay. Just let me know if you need any help.”

“I will. Thanks, Sky.”

-

Warriors thought there would be more time between his conversation with Sky and the conversation he knew he needed to have with the others before they set up in the villa for a few days. It was only a couple of weeks after he talked to Sky that a portal took them to a battle and it was when he was wiping the black blood off his blade that he realized that he recognized the castle in the distance. His villa was only about a half an hour from the castle.

“To the castle?” Twilight asked.

“Actually, there’s a place we should go first. Athena can wait until tomorrow.”

“Oh, so this is your era,” Legend said with a nod. “What’s this stop you plan on taking?”

“My place. It’s big enough to fit all of us comfortably.”

Wind raised an eyebrow. “How big is your place?”

“It’s...” Was this how he was going to start explaining who Vivienne was? By explaining why he can comfortably host them all? His gaze met with Sky’s, who gave him an encouraging nod. “It’s a villa. I moved in when I got married.”

There was a moment of awkward silence before Legend glared him. “Is that what you meant when you said I was on the right track? You could have just said so! It was bugging me ever since you said it.”

Warriors rolled his eyes. “I didn’t feel like explaining it back then. Even now, it’s a little difficult...” He took a deep breath. “I got married because Athena asked me to. I didn’t pick my wife but it’s pretty convenient for both of us because we are both just happy being friends. If I had to get married to somebody else, I wouldn’t be able to return any romantic feelings and being intimate would be out of the question. We have to put on a show sometimes but that’s a small price to pay to able to say I’m married and not have to do anything I’m uncomfortable with.”

He had no doubt that there were questions but the others simply nodded, except for Sky who offered two thumbs up instead. Maybe they were just saving questions for later but he wasn’t going to complain about the break. They probably cared more about having a roof over their heads than about his odd but convenient marriage.

Wind hummed for a moment before putting a hand on his chin. “So your wife won’t mind if we stay at your place then?”

“I doubt she would care. In fact, she might even be happy that we’re using the guest rooms as guest rooms for once.”

“What are they being used for now?” Time asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Decoration.”

“Wait, this means we get to meet Penelope!”

“Who?”

“His cat!” Twilight answered with a wide grin. “C’mon, butts in gear! We have a cat to meet!”

There were some grumbles but the group started moving, following Warriors as he led them to the villa. It was nearly sunset by the time they got there so he wasted no time in opening the front gate and letting everybody in. He stopped them as soon as they got into the front doors and he couldn’t immediately see her nearby. He didn’t think she would get upset about the villa being used as an inn for a few days, he wanted to give her a little bit of warning.

He found Penelope first in one of their many hallways so he scooped her up and kept looking for Vivienne until he found her in her plant room, which was the room in the villa with the most windows. She was bent over one of the pots trimming the plant inside of it. He cleared his throat to let Vivienne know he was coming in so she didn’t startle and drop the trimmers.

“Oh, you’re home.” She straightened her back and turned around to face him.

“For a bit. If there’s another lead, I’ll have to go again. I have company though!”

“Oh, those heroes you mentioned in the single letter I got?” she asked with a smirk. Warriors winced internally – they were still friends and he should really let her know more often that he was still alive and her father didn’t have to find a new husband for her. “I’m not upset, by the way. I can only imagine that time travel complicates things, to say the least.”

“Yeah. I got busy. I didn’t realize I only sent one letter,” he mumbled as he ran a hand through Penelope’s fur. “But they’re in the lobby if you want to meet them. I told them they could stay here for a few days since we have the room.”

“It would be a shame not to use it. It might be the only time we’ll fill all four guest rooms at the same time. Let’s go show them their rooms, then. My parents didn’t raise me to be a bad host.”

Warriors’ heart pounded in his chest was they walked back to the lobby. He couldn’t understand why he was so nervous. The others would be nice to Vivienne and they knew she was his wife, so there wasn’t anything to hide. Vivienne was generally pretty nice and she got along with the people he was close with before. It should go well but his nerves were still getting the best of him.

Finally, he saw the other heroes, who were all studying Vivienne.

“Wow, she’s tall!” Wind gasped. Vivienne was a bit taller than Time, as it turned out and she wasn’t even wearing shoes. Her entire family was tall – taller than he was – so he wasn’t exactly surprised that she beat them all.

“We’re just kind of short,” Time chimed in, shaking his head.

“This is Vivienne,” Warriors started, gesturing with his free arm, “and this our daughter, Penelope. Vivenne, you already know their names but they’ll introduce themselves with their nicknames sooner or later.”

“Can I hold Penelope?” Twilight asked, arms outstretched.

“Just keep her belly down, she hates being on her back,” he warned as she gently passed her over.

It was a good thing that Penelope enjoyed a lot of attention. Once she was settled in Twilight’s arms, it wasn’t just Twilight who was petting her – half the group was reaching around and crowding Twilight to get a chance to pet her. Warriors could hear her purring over the excited cooing coming from the boys.

“I hope she doesn’t expect that much attention from now on,” Vivienne mumbled before she turned to the others. “I know Penelope is amazing but I should show you to your rooms. Penelope doesn’t leave the house, she’ll be around for more petting later. She may even pick one your rooms to spend the night in later.”

“We’ll be back,” Twilight said quietly as he pet her on the head one more time and set her down on the floor. Warriors watched as everybody followed her, looking around the villa as they did so. Penelope purred and rubbed her head on his leg so he picked her up once again.

“That went well,” he mumbled as he looked down at her giant green eyes. “Especially for you.”

She meowed.

“Yeah, you are spoiled. You deserve it, though.”

Instead of following everybody to the guest rooms, he headed towards the master bedroom to change into something more comfortable. He set Penelope down on their bed – neither he nor Vivienne cared if Penelope got her fur all over it – and slowly stripped off all of his equipment and gear, dropping everything on the floor by his side of the bed to deal with later.

One loose shirt and clean pair of trousers later, he left the master bedroom to find that everybody was gathered at the kitchen table that he and Vivienne usually used for their own dinners. The only person not at the table was Wild, who was poking around in the oven to warm it up. There was a more official dining room in the villa but they only used that one when Vivienne had family over and it had one of those long dining tables that made Warriors wonder if anybody actually wanted to eat together. The table in the kitchen was a little small for the size of the group but they were all used to butting into each other’s space all the time.

Warriors decided to stay on the periphery of the conversations, joining only when their conversations were directed at him. He wanted his brothers and his wife to get along, so he wasn’t going to intrude when it seemed like they were actually bonding. Vivienne was relaxed, talking to the group in the same way she spoke to him or the few times he saw she had a couple of the neighbours over for some tea. It was also the same way she spoke to Clarissa, as the two of them became friends pretty quickly. She spoke more formally with some of her family members than she did with the other heroes.

As for the heroes, they were behaving as he expected – they were asking Vivienne for embarrassing stories about him. Oh, well. If that was the price of peace, he would let it slide. It wasn’t like she had a lot on him in particular.

Once they all had dinner and tea, the group of heroes all headed to their rooms, except for Sky. He helped himself to the last of the tea in pot and started to headed to his assigned room but he made sure that he passed Warriors.

“You did a good job today,” he said quietly, adding a small but sincere smile before leaving.

Once he was gone, Vivienne tapped him on the shoulder. “He’s right, you did a good job. I know it’s not easy to tell people we’re married,” she started before gesturing toward their own bedroom, “but we should go to get some rest too if we’re hosting this many people.”

“They can be a handful,” Warriors mumbled. “I’m sure Penelope is waiting for us anyway. Let’s go.”

[anonymoushouseplantfan]

Steph the Alter Nerd is reading Omid’s new book.

Following the live read:

I joined late so Steph was already reading. She was starting the Sophie section. Seriously, why pick on Sophie who just puts her head down and focuses on work? That’s strikes me as unnecessarily vile.

Omid apparently thinks Charles hasn’t modernized the monarchy. Dude is an environmental icon and we now have a blended family in BP. That may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but you can’t deny that it’s modern.

Apparently Omid writes pages and pages about Charles’ “leaky pen” incident. It’s just a pen, Omid. Omid thinks this means Charles may not be up to the job, lololol. I’m dying. Mind you, Omid worships Harry who stripped in Vegas, wore a Nazi uniform, and called his fellow soldiers names. But yes, the leaky pen is far more significant than all that, somehow.

Really boring part about government stuff. Charles negotiates and reaches compromises with the government and that’s apparently bad? Also, Charles didn’t know what to expect after he became King??? Lolololol.

Charles lost sympathy for the Harkles after the documentary. Well, duh. We all did, Omid. That documentary was a huge own goal.

He blames the Royal Family for the documentary’s melodrama? Seriously? Who was crying on Oprah? Who was crying in a rented Vancouver mansion with her head wrapped in a towel? Who dropped hot, salty tears on her Hermes blanket? That’s the person responsible for the melodrama.

Anne supposedly kicked them out of Frogmore. I suspect this is fanfiction, but I love it. I want it to be true. This is my headcanon now.

And I do thin fanfiction is the right term for this book. The BRF is super popular right now so the book thesis itself (that the BRF is in trouble) is pretty fantastical.

This book seems very, very boring. Omid seems to be desperately trying to argue that Charles’ first year went badly, but that’s just not reality. Omid used to be better at spinning than this.

Make the Royals Great Again? Uh, that was done in 2011. Everything we are seeing now was planted way back then, down to Kate’s leafy crown. There’s a general lack of both self-awareness and historical awareness in this book. Omid writes like someone who first became a “royal reporter” in 2016…which is exactly what he is. Too bad, because I do think there’s an interesting analysis that could be made regarding 2023 and it’s place in royal pr. That’s above Omid’s pay grade though.

Lol, Omid discusses UK politics and it’s every bit as much of a disaster as one would expect. Stick to gossip, Omid.

Ok, Steph’s hydrating, so let’s step back for a minute and recall what this book was supposed to be. This was to be “Finding Freedom 2.0,” a chronicle of the Harkle post-Megxit success story. The publishers clearly didn’t like that and they made Omid write a book about the family as a whole. That’s because there was no Harkle success story and the publisher didn’t think another Harkle book would sell. Unfortunately, Omid is a Harkle specialist. He can’t write a book about the family (let alone successfully argue for its imminent demise). He simply doesn’t know enough.

Back to Steph. We’re now in Harry’s military service? Er, why? We jumped from 2023 to 2016 and now to the Afghanistan War?

I agree with Steph that Omid’s trying to associate the royals with MAGA and I can’t even articulate how stupid that is. Completely different countries, completely different cultures, completely different iconography. Just doesn’t work.

Now we’re at the Coronation Concert? The royals are in trouble because Elton wasn’t at the concert! Lolololol. The Harkle bubble is out of this world. Basically, if their inner circle wasn’t centered (Oprah, Elton, Omid, etc…), it’s because of a MAGA conspiracy that will bring the royals down.

Something, something throne. Charles looked awkward again. Constitutional crisis!

I feel like I’m grading student briefs. There’s a way to argue this and there is evidence you can cite for this argument, but this isn’t it. You shouldn’t write pages and pages about a leaky pen and then minimize the bags of charity money as “perception.” You should start with the bags of charity money then use the leaky pen to bolster the “perception” argument.

Another disagreement with the government. Aargh! That should be lumped together with the other arguments with the government. Or it shouldn’t be mentioned at all. You’re arguing that Charles is and old-fashioned idiot who is not a good king, so why make him look like someone who is aware of current social issues and engaged with his government?

Racism. Finally! No wait, it’s boring.

Charles had an affair with Camilla. Lol, that’s not exactly news, love. The time jumping is driving me nuts.

Took a break to let the dog out and now we’re in Andrew’s interview. Of course we are.

Will exiled Andrew. I hope this is true. Wait, that’s the famous “power struggle”? Andrew??? I don’t think that’s a power struggle. That’s just Charles passing the buck.

Oh, lord. More Andrew. That’s it. I’m going to bed. I’ll tune back tomorrow.

[tgmsunmontue]

Online & Anonymous 6/16

Hangster. Explicit. Years before they meet in person Bradley and Jake strike up a friends-with-benefits relationship online. And then something more like an actual relationship.

Odd year = Bradley's POV and Even year = Jake's POV

>>Bradley chatting (bold and italics)

>>Jake chatting (italics)

2005/2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

2011 – Bradley

              What he hadn’t anticipated, from taking Natasha through what he’d like her to do if anything ever happens to him, that she suddenly thinks he has something serious going on with Jas. He supposes telling her she needs to let someone know if something ever happens to him does make it sound serious, even if they’re… not? It’s definitely a line that they’ve crossed though, which seems weird, considering he doesn’t know what Jas looks like or what his name is, but it doesn’t make what he feels about him any less.

              The idea of not being able to talk to him, of not hearing from him ever again, causes a clench in his gut and he knows he’s got emotions all tangled up in it and that when he realizes he loves him. Five years of talking with him online, having cybersex regularly, and it’s legitimately the longest sexual relationship he’s ever had. It’s the only relationship he’s ever had, weird as it might be and he suddenly wants to talk to him about it. Desperately.

>>I just realized that I love you.

>>Is that weird?

              He doesn’t get a response for a few days and he tries not to overthink it. He knows Jas isn’t on leave, they’ve gone this long without chatting before, it doesn’t mean anything bad, he’s just deployed somewhere and he isn’t just ignoring him. He can tell the messages haven’t even been seen, but it doesn’t stop him sending a follow up message.

>>Sorry if I’ve made it weird.

              He has to keep repeating it to himself, Jas is just busy. A reply finally comes nine days later, not the longest that’s gone between them by far, but it’s definitely up there in the last couple of years since they switched to using phones.

>>Dude. What part of me telling you before about the idea of you dying freaks me out.

>>I love you too.

>>But yeah, it is weird.

>>I don’t care if you don’t though.

>>I don’t care. At all.

>>Just sort of realized that even with all the hooking up, you’re the guy I keep coming back to.

>>Yeah?

>>Should I feel honored?

>>Maybe? Just don’t have any other relationships.

>>Not sure if you’d want to call what we do a relationship.

>>Not like it’s exclusive or anything.

>>So what? We’re young and we aren’t physically together. I don’t care.

>>I’ll call it a relationship if I want to.

>>The way you talk about being with other guys turns me on.

>>Same.

>>So are we going to share a photo of our face now or something?

>>We’re both still under DADT.

>>Yeah. Sucks.

>>But to be honest I kind of like the mystery.

>>Still? It’s been five years.

>> The novelty hasn’t worn off?

>>I don’t think anything about you could wear off.

>>Sweet talker.

>>When I want to be.

              Bradley grins, because the playful back and forth is something he enjoys with Jas. He really does want to put a face to the name, to the body he’s come to appreciate so much, even if it’s only through the tiny screen of his phone.

>>One thing though. You find a guy you think you might want to give it a real shot with don’t let what we have hold you back.

>>I’d rather give us a shot first, before some random guy that just happens along.

>>I thought we were going to meet up soon?

>>Yeah, I guess we better start trying to figure that out huh?

>>I guess we better.

              They work through their schedules, periods of deployment and there is only an eleven day period in November when they’re both on leave, and they currently don’t have plans for that leave to be in the same place, but it’s far enough away that Bradley’s already considering flights.

>>I’ll come to you. I’ll be the guy in uniform at the bar.

>>Along with everyone else if we pick a military bar. Which we won’t be doing.

>>How about we pick somewhere half-way? It’s not like we have family to visit.

>>Yeah, okay. So just throwing a dart at the map or what?

>>How about we consider just one of us travelling, keep the costs down?

>>You just said about meeting half way!

>>I’m just throwing ideas out at this stage.

>>I’m okay with either by the way.

>>November is only eight months away.

>>Holy shit.

>>God I’m excited to meet you.

>>Yeah, me too.

…           …           …

              Of course, now that they’ve picked a date time seems to slow down to a snail’s pace. He and Natasha are lucky enough to currently be stationed in a squadron together, along with a handful of others he knows well enough to share a drink and a game of cards with. Working with them is easy. Easiest of the lot is Bambi, one of the other few female aviators who he and Natasha met in flight school. Like everyone she’d assumed he and Natasha were a couple; although she knows better now. She was one of the first of them to get her call sign, night landings not agreeing with her and her rough landing making a loud enough bang to rattle the jaws of the crew on deck. Bambam was already taken, so of course he’d suggested Bambi. He likes to think she’s forgiven him.

               A short period of shore leave finds them sitting in a little restaurant, hours ticking down until they’ll have to back on the carrier and he just sits back and enjoys his coffee. Then the waiter comes over to see if there is anything else they might need and the look he gives Bradley is quite blatant in that he’d be interested and he can’t help but be flattered, the guy is very good looking.

              “Jesus, do you flirt with every guy who looks at you sideways?” Bambi asks, her eyes following the waiter.

              “Only the ones not in uniform,” Bradley murmurs quietly, eyes narrowing to remind her to keep it quiet; because he can’t be too careful, can’t assume there aren’t eyes and ears willing to report him. Bambi rolls her eyes and he hates that she doesn’t take it seriously.

              “Really? For some reason I doubt that, you’re kind of… promiscuous.”

              Bradley shrugs, because he doesn’t think he is, not compared to some of the guys. When he’s deployed he doesn’t usually fuck around, far too paranoid about being caught. His career is more important to him then getting laid. Even when he has taken the occasional risk it’s only been because the risk was very very low, given all the signs telling him the other person was risking just as much, if not more.

              “I like sex. And it’s not like I can settle down with anyone. Can you imagine? DADT and me trying to bring my boyfriend into base housing? I’d be out on my ass before you could blink. Ink wouldn’t even have time to dry on my dishonorable discharge papers.”

              “Wait, you have a boyfriend? Since when?”

              He freezes, running his mind back over the words he just said.

              “I, uh, I guess? I have someone.”

              “He’s totally your boyfriend. You two talk almost every day,” Natasha says, and her voice is barely above a whisper, but she also looks bored with the whole conversation.

              “Yeah, we do.”

              “And they’re okay with you, just, sleeping with other people?”

              “I… yeah. I mean. I haven’t since we talked about it. But, yeah. I tell them all about it. Plus we haven’t actually met yet.”

              “Oh my god, you have an online boyfriend? How do you know he’s not an eighty-year-old man. Or a woman?”

              “Because he sends me pictures pretty regularly. And he has a gorgeous body that doesn’t resemble that of an eighty-year-old man, or a woman.”

              Both Natasha and Bambi suddenly seem interested and Bradley rolls his eyes.

              “You’re both perverts.”

              “You’re the one receiving them.”

              Bradley guesses they have a point there, but also finds he really doesn’t care.

…           …           …

              Of course there are rumors that he’s sleeping with both Natasha and Bambi, which they both think is hilarious, although he wishes they could maybe be less amused. They do both imply that they have slept with him, but are now nothing more than friends, which helps calm his uneasiness, until he hears one of the guys in the locker room make a comment about them using Bradley as their cover for their own relationship. He’s going to say something –

              “You’re just jealous they don’t invite you to join them!” Machado calls out and Bradley’s head shoots around. He’s not had much to do Machado, he’s one of the younger guys. but he’s smiling that calm unbothered smile and he nods at Bradley and he nods back, wonders what the hell he thinks he’s actually doing with Natasha and Bambi. He gets his answer soon enough, Machado sidling up to him later that day in the mess hall.

              “So, you say you’re only friends. They say the same. But if I ask her out would it be… a problem?”

              “She really is just a friend. My best friend though. Which is maybe worse than being an ex of mine, because I love her like a sister and she’s pretty much the only family I have so… tread lightly but good luck. You’ll probably need it.”

              “Okay. Thanks. I think.”

              Bradley gives him a wink and slap on the arm, wonders if he should immediately go and find Bambi and Natasha to be able to gossip about someone else’s love life than his for once.

…           …           …

              The envelope is waiting for him when he hits land, and he groans. He received enough of these now to know they’re new orders. He’s meant to have three weeks of leave right now, before his next deployment, but this could change things. He runs a finger under the flap, cursing under his breath when he gets a paper cut and he sucks on his finger as he reads it through, stomach sinking as he reads.

              “Fuck. FUCK!”

              “What’s wrong? They’re just new orders right?”

              “I was going to meet Jas in November. And now I’m going to be in fucking Afghanistan,” Bradley swears, papers crumpling in his hand, scrubbing at his face with his other hand.

              “Oh. Shit. Of course. I’m sorry…”

              For the first time he wishes he could just call him and talk to him, tell him how sorry he is. One thing he is glad for, is that Jas will at least understand what it is to get new orders, will be used to the whims of the fucking military to just move people to wherever they’re needed. Plans for something in six months’ time are of course ones that would usually be easily rearranged, except when someone else’s plans also need to be taken into account.

>>I just got new orders.

>>I leave for a seven-month deployment next month.

>>June through January.

>>I am…

>>I’m so sorry.

>>Fuck.

>>AFG.

              It’s a flurry of short messages, he’s not able to construct something longer, more coherent and heartfelt. It’s also the closest he’s come to telling Jas exactly where he will be, but unless he is deployed to the same area

>>Well shit.

>>That sucks.

>>Be safe.

>>Always.

2012 - Jake

[malarkgirlypop]

MEDIC! Part 33 (Donald Malarkey x Fem!OC)

Whoops I was supposed to post this ages ago, also all my promises of fixing the situation may have been a small lie. But I'm sure you will all forgive me!

Based on the HBO show and the actors who portray the characters, not hate to anyone involved.

Tag list: @imusicaddict, @b00ks1ut , @mstiemountainhop, @awaterfalls anyone else please let me know.

The CO’s had kept quiet about my outburst, which I was thankful for. But they now also avoided me, like Don. There was nobody else to blame but myself. I sighed, massaging my temples with my fingers, the stress of the war was supposed to be over, but here I was making it harder than it needed to be. 

I hardly saw the rest of the troops often, they were so busy with training and when they were finally done, all they wanted to do was sleep. I was back to my loner self. 

My strolls had turned into hike’s, I walked as far and as long as I possibly could until the sun started to dip behind the mountains. 

I strolled through one of the small villages, it was one of the more busy places. It was always hustling with life, with markets, shops and bars that lined the street. 

“Emily?” A feminine voice called to me. I glanced over my shoulder to find one of the field nurses that I always spoke to when I went to the aid stations. 

“Ruth!” I beamed at the pretty lady as she approached me. When she was close enough she pulled me in tight for a hug. We hadn’t seen each other in a while due to no one really needing to go to the aid stations. 

“How have you been?” I asked as we pulled away from each other. 

“So good, this is like a mini holiday! They don’t have much for us to do, so most days the girls and I just sightsee, before they decide they want to ship us all home again.” Her smile was infectious, I found myself grinning back at her. It didn’t help that this was the most human interaction I had gotten in a while.

“Oh well you deserve it. You ladies worked so hard.” I said as I squeezed her hand. 

“What about you? Do they still have you working hard?” She asked. 

“No, there is nothing much for me to do. The men are all busy training for if they are needed in the Pacific.” 

“Gosh those poor men. I hope they don’t have to go, I heard it was diabolical over there.” Ruth shook her head, a worried look crossed her features. It didn’t last long as she turned back to me and gleamed. 

“You know what, the girls and I are going out for drinks tonight!” Ruth’s eyes lit up as she told me. 

“That’s so fun!”

“You should come along. All the nurses would love to see you, and it’s just us, so we can have a girl’s night.” Ruth took hold of my hands and squealed with excitement. 

“Me?” I asked. 

“Yes of course. We all went out yesterday and came back with gorgeous dresses. So we are ditching the uniforms and going all out. Please say you’ll make it!” Her face watched me eagerly. 

“I can come. I think I have a dress somewhere, but I don’t have any makeup.” I thought back to the dress that Renee had given me, which felt like years ago. I hoped that it was still in one piece, I hadn’t looked at it since she had given it to me. 

“Why don’t we buy some?” The brunette pointed over at one of the shops that lined the streets. I hadn’t gone into any of them since I didn’t have any money.

“I would love to. But I didn’t bring any cash with me.” I grimaced at her. “Plus I don’t have much. I send it all home.” I lied. 

“That’s no bother, it’s on me.” She didn’t let me utter another word dragging me along behind her. 

We spent an hour in the shop as she swatched at least every product. Ruth said she wanted me to have something to bring home. 

“Lipstick, mascara and eyeliner!” She begged. 

“I can’t let you buy all of that for me, it's too much.” I tried to get her to put back the items but she moved them out of reach from me. 

“No, it’s the necessity for a night out. I picked out the prettiest red shade that will match your complexion so well!” Ruth popped off the cap of the lipstick, twisting it out of the tube. 

“Come on Emily, you’ll look so pretty, you might even catch a good looking man or two.” Ruth winked at me. I hid my laughter behind my hand. 

“Fine!! But you’ll have to let me buy you a drink.” I would have to steal some cash from Lieb or someone, I would give them all of the smokes I had stashed away. 

“Deal!” Ruth nodded in enthusiasm as she trotted off to the counter to pay. 

I said my goodbyes, thanking Ruth again for all of the goodies she had brought me. She had told me she would send a car around 5 o’clock to come pick me up from the base. 

We parted ways with a hug and ‘see you later’. 

************************************************ 

I touched up the lipstick that Ruth had kindly brought for me. She was right, it did suit my complexion. I had never been one for bright colours, I felt like it drew too much attention, I normally avoided it. But with the soft blue dress Renee gave me, it made me look that much more put together. 

I had showered and shaved, even going as far as styling my hair. Not that I could do much with it, my curls had gotten so long that they nearly touched my butt. 

I had taken the sides that framed my face and pinned them up, sporting a half-up half-down look. I left small curls around my features that sat on cheekbones, giving me a softer appearance. I applied a generous amount of mascara and tight-lined my water line, making my lash line appear thicker. I didn’t need to wear blush. My pale skin always had rosy cheeks and a sunkissed nose. 

Standing back, I took in my appearance in the mirror. A girl stood in front of me, one I hadn't seen in a long time. She looked young and pretty, surely that wasn’t me. 

I brushed the non-existent lint from the front of the dress nervously fidgeting. What would people say when they say me, I wonder if they think I’m trying too hard? 

Renee’s dress was beautiful. The material was satin so it shined in the light. The sleeves came above my elbows and were slightly ruched down the seams, same for the neckline. The material was pleated at the tops of my shoulders that continue down to under my breasts, which accentuated the curves of them. The fabric parted in the middle, letting my cleavage slightly show. The waist hugged mine, giving me an hourglass shape, the skirt then cascaded down to just above my shin.

I looked so elegant.          

My watch read ten to, so I got a move on. Stashing the cash I had nicked from Lieb in my bra, before taking one last glance in the mirror before heading out the door. 

I made it to the street where the car would be coming to collect me. I was early, so I stood on the side of the road letting my mind wander. I was away with the fairies, I didn’t notice the men had all finished their training for the day and were making their way back home. 

“Guten Tag, baby doll.” I heard from behind me. I turned around to find a smirking Lieb, I gasped in shock taking a step back. His face dropped, mirroring my horror. 

“YOU’RE A GIRL!” Lieb yelled, pointing at me. I looked at the man incredulously.  

“What?! Lieb, what the fuck.” I tried to get him to keep quiet, bringing my finger to my lips. Lieb continued to gape at me. 

“I’ve always been a girl, what are you on about!” I growled at him, trying to keep my voice low. I didn’t want all the unnecessary attention. 

“No, you’re not a girl all the time.” Joe tried to counter. 

“I am always a girl. What do you think when I put on my uniform I magically grow a cock and balls?” I quipped at the speechless man who was still staring at me in disbelief. 

“Ew, I thought you were someone else Em.” Lieb said astounded. I scoffed at him. He pretended to give a disturbed shiver. I think he was more weirded out that he had flirted with me. 

“Just tell me I look nice, you dick.” I shook my head at him. 

As luck would have it the rest of the Easy men strolled right past us. Lieb and I spotted them at the same time, I waved my hands in front of me trying to stop what I knew was about to come next. 

“LUZ COME LOOK AT THIS!” Lieb cupped his hands around his mouth, echoing his voice across the distance. The group walking with Luz turned their attention onto Lieb, who enthusiastically waved them over. 

Luz came bounding towards us, as the rest of the men slowly made their way behind him. George glanced at me, giving a polite smile and turning to Lieb. His head snapped around to look at me again, doing a double take. 

He gawked at me for a second before sobering. A charming smile plastered itself onto his face as he closed the distance between us. 

“Oh my who is this pretty dame?” Luz bowed like an idiot. George took my hand and kissed the back of it, grinning up at me like the Cheshire cat. I pretended to swat him away. The rest of the men had finally made their way over to us.  

“Darlin’ don’t you look beautiful.” Bull beamed at me. 

“Thank you Bull. See Lieb, that is how you pay a woman a compliment.” I smiled at Bull as he winked at me. Lieb rolled his eyes, sending me his signature smirk. 

Babe scared the living daylights out of me as he sprinted towards me, not looking like he was about to put the brakes on at any point. I squealed as he grabbed my waist, hoisting me up above his head and spinning us in a circle. 

“Look at you Em.” He placed me back on the ground keeping his hands on my waist, I grinned at him.

“Someone taking you out?” Lip asked from behind as Babe stepped back. The men grew quiet, their brains firing all at once. Before I could answer there was an uproar of sound from the guys. 

“Who’s the man? Is he picking you up? Is it Malarkey?” Lieb asked sternly, the other men doing the same. 

“Where are you going, why do you look so nice?” Babe's voice was overlapped by the other voices. 

“Malarkey never mentioned he was going out tonight?” Lip mumbled. I looked around at the men as they rambled on. 

“HEY!” I pulled their focus back onto me.

“Firstly it’s none of your goddamn business, but if you must know, no I am not going on a date. I am going out for a drink with the field nurses to a local pub. I don't know the name, and their car is coming to pick me up in about 4 minutes, so you all need to scram.” I took a breath after I answered all of their questions. 

“And no Malarkey is not going to be heartbroken, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I looked towards Lip who smiled at me. No one had caught on that we were fighting, since they all thought I was going out with Don tonight.   

I watched Luz turn in a circle looking for said man. But he was nowhere to be seen. 

“Don’t you think he should see you before you go?” Lieb asked, tilting his head as he did so. 

I didn’t get time to answer as a car horn honked from behind me. Ruth waved at me from the passenger seat, smiling brightly at me. 

“Em, get in.” 

I waved back at her, nodding my head. I turned to the men standing in front of me. “I’ll see you all later. Don’t wait up!” 

The men said goodbye as I headed towards the car, climbing into the back seat where a few of the other nurses sat. I turned and gave one last wave to the group on the side of the road as the car pulled away from the curb.

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

Chapter 34

[something-something-here]

ZARTEMIS/NIGHTEMIS HEADCANNONS PLEASE DUDE- DEADASS LOVE UR BLOG IM GONNA EAT YOUR FLOORBOARDS

Omg hi I love your blog too, iminyourwalls—

I've been dying to share my thoughts with someone:

• I think I already put this in a hashtag somewhere, but when Artemis said "yes my brave one, they're beautiful tonight" she was looking at Zoë not the actual stars

• Also the 'timestamps' series + 'uniform upgrade' and 'cypress' fanfics are exactly how I envisioned not only Artemis/Zoë but also their relationship in general with the hunters and their respective roles

• They definitely love to play with the Goddess-Liutenant dynamic

• I also feel like they wouldn't put a label in their relationship, like they know they love eachother and that's enough (ofc they talked boundaries like exclusively and all), their love is free, wild and unrestrained

• And they wouldn't really try to keep it a secret but wouldn't actively tell everyone about it, but they don't need to, everyone knows

• I'm torn between the idea that a) Artemis (and the hunters) saved Zoë while she was running from the monsters Atlas had sent after her and b) young Artemis exploring the mortal world and meeting Zoë by chance and creating the hunters together

• I do firmly believe that Zoë was Artemis' first lieutenant, whether because she was her first huntress or she created that position a while after and Zoë was chosen for it

• If I recall correctly one of the things Thalia didn't like about Zoë is the way she -literally- worshipped Artemis and I think that was a bit of jealousy actually—

• Also there had definitely been hunters crushing on Zoë and her having no idea. Artemis thinks is funny but also has suddenly more -openly- affection strikes, just to remind everyone

• As far as I know Artemis was born after the titan war and Zoë being atlas' daughter was born before, making her older than Artemis and she likes reminding everyone about it every once in a while

• I feel like Zoë would have had a competitive relationship with Callisto

• Zoë is always worrying about the hunters and while Artemis loves her for that, she takes her on hunting trips together (just the two of them) and plays around with her, she loves seeing her free like this

• I actually don't think there was a confession per se but they were sharing an intimate moment together (non sexual) and they just kissed, they don't know who started it, but they didn't care

• No matter how much centuries pass, Artemis knows that there will never be anyone like Zoë, and no matter what happens, even when she's fading and the millennia are blurred together she can never forget her

• When the whole Roman thing happened and she was confused, desoriented and in unbelievable pain, her Roman and greek forms trying to take control she called for Zoë, she always helped her when the civil wars happened, when the roman empire rose, Zoë was there for her, to calm her, ground her and take care of her, loving and devoting herself to both Artemis and Diana

• Zoë sometimes sings the song of the Hespérides only for Artemis and no one else

• Zoë is supposed to have her own tent, but she always stays at Artemis'

• When there alone in their tent, Artemis sometimes turns into a wolf and starts to randomly (and gently) chew on Zoë, who at this point barely even notices

• Artemis took Zoë to hunt with her and her mother Leto once (she approves of her, Zoë is very nervous tho and overly formal with her)

• After Orion was stung by the scorpion, he went mad and tried to attack Artemis, but she defeated him with Zoë, which is why it was Zoë who was always sent to hunt him every time he returned

• Artemis brings Zoë to Olympus as her representative in meetings and companion to parties

• When she died Artemis was trying her best not to lose it in front of her, so she didn't have to worry, so she would go in peace

• Artemis is always staring at the twilight, as if she could see her, as if she could reach her. It's the time of the day she feels the loss all over again, only worsened by the stars of course, the stars

• Zoë went for reincarnation and reached the isle of the blessed and Artemis asked she be turned to a minor goddess for her achievements (kinda like Hercules)

• She does and comes back to Artemis' side, but this time it's forever (delusional)

This got a bit too long but I think that's all, if I think of anything else I'll make another post

[notreallyanywhere]

What Tartarus smells like to the Seven + Reyna and Nico

I have not read Sun and the Stars yet. However, this is only partially based on what we've been told anyway. These are, of course, headcannons. Do with them what you please.

Nico: It smells like the day he found out Bianca was dead. Because he smells Percy's scent mixed in it, it's comforting. Which in and of itself is terrifying. He's in love, in the barest sense of the word, with what the body of Tartarus deemed his worst nightmare.

After HoO it smells almost the same but it also smells like the taste of pomegranate seeds and when you've been sitting in a car for too long that all you're really inhaling is your own recycled air. It's stuffy-er and hard to breathe. And yet it still feels like a blanket that's suffocating him. Like when he was six and Bianca and his mother wrapped him up in a heavy blanket and cuddled with him until he fell asleep after a nightmare.

Reyna: It smells like the day Percy and Annabeth released Black Beard and his pirates on Circe's island. It also smells like must and the forgotten attic in her home from before. It smells like grass and blood and sea water. It smells like her best and worst memories with her sister. It smells like betrayal and whispers of freedom that she can't quite reach. It also smells a little too much like the way the one person that Nico killed's ghost smelled with stone and cold mixed together.

Jason: It smells like a park. Wet woodchips and an old picnic blanket. It smells like the day he was taken away from his his sister. It also smells like the bath soaps of Camp Jupiter and like the metal of Reyna's dogs. Because even after everything, he's still afraid of going home; to call any place home lest he be pulled away from it again. Because twice is a coincidence, but three times is a pattern with only himself as the common factor.

Piper: It smells like her room back in the mansion she used to live with her dad in. Like spray paint and gasoline and the oils her dad always put in his hair and never kept the promise to show her how to use. It smells like ice, snow, and the coldest winter's day she could think of. Like she's twelve again and stealing her first car because her dad missed her birthday for the first time since she was born and she hadn't seen him in three months. It smells like Leo's death and Jason's last breath. It smells like losing everything she's come to care about.

Leo: It smells like motor oil and fire. So not only does it remind him of his mother's death, but also his own. He's one of the few who don't know that Tartarus is supposed to smell like your worst fears. Sometimes, when he's panicking and tired and far too deep into Tartarus, another layer of scent covers the rest. Like dust and mold and dirt and old leather. It smells like being forgotten.

Hazel: It smells like the first time she died. Like wet dirt and gemstones smashing together. It smells like an empty stable and Sammy's hair. It smells like cupcakes and "Happy Birthday"s and long lost love. It smells like her past but more bitter and distant. Because to her, going back to then, no matter how tempting it sounds, is too terrifying for her to even imagine. She doesn't want to know too much about what's going to happen, and she doesn't want to be exploited until she dies anymore. To her, going back to the past is far more horrifying because then, for the rest of her life, she'll be surrounded by living ghosts.

Frank: It smells like embers of a burned out fire. Like the material of his mother's army uniform. Like Lystrogonian breath and potatoes and a burning house, like burning memories. It smells like ibuprofen and headaches and dirt. It stings his nose like he just smelled something spicy. Because, at the end of the day, Frank is afraid of very few things. But what he is afraid of is tied deep in his roots, burning alongside him since he was born. No matter what animal he shape-shifts into, they're all afraid of fire. Because that's one of the few fears that isn't only human.

Annabeth: Tartarus smells like blood and gold and crumbling rock. Like the screams of her campers and the cries and pleas for death. It smells like spiders and tastes like cobwebs. Because sometimes, when a smell is so strong, it's like you can taste it. It smells like, just barely, her stepmother's perfume and like the detergent her dad used when he cleaned her sheets. It smells like Luke and cyclopses and the golden shower of monsters she once dreamed of. It smells like Thalia's scream of indignanance and defiance as she died. It smells like lava.

Percy: Aside from what we know, to Percy, it smells like gunpowder and blood. Like beer and smoke. Like every person he couldn't save. Like every moment he watched the light fade from someone's eyes just so he could continue living, continue being useful. To Percy, it has more of a physical experience. To him, it feels like water going up his nose and burning his throat and sinuses, but it never really goes away.

Along the lines of what we know, in comes a question. Why did the monsters never smell him? Simple, really.

Monsters tend to avoid other monsters. Or, what smells like them, at least.

Because Rick told us that Percy's Tartarus smells like Smelly Gabe, we can assume that The Pit, to Percy, smells the closest than any other demigods' idea of it.

So, not only does it smell like every time he blamed himself for another's death, but it smells like his old room. Like old beer cans and BO. Like nasty porn magazines and new decks of cards. Tartarus reeks to Percy of every moment he was alone with Smelly Gabe. Reeks like every moment he's ever doubted himself and something terrible happened.

[elfqueen006]

Mr. Haberdae (Ch.1)

Joseph Haberdae x Fem Reader

This is a bit of a "modern" Bluebeard retelling, or rather inspired by it and many other erotic thrillers~

Please enjoy <33

----

The door chimed open upon your entering. And following your first step was Caryl shoving your uniform into your face.

“Where the hell have you been!?” she yelled, startling a few of the patrons, which, now that you noticed, there were a lot today. Definitely more than your usual quota of customers. It was a full house!

Without thinking you answered, “I slept in.”

Caryl looked at you like you had an unusually large zit on your forehead. Her big brown eyes bulged out of her skull as her smudged red lips pulled into a tight line. She put her hands on her hips and you were extremely cautious of her sharp red nails digging uncomfortably into her pants. You were certain she was holding them back from your throat.

You opened your mouth to say that you’d get to work, but in the next second, she threw her arms above her head. “Oh, you slept in!” She hooted, “Well, why didn’t ya just say so?”

“Carrie, I’m sorry-”

“Now, why are you sorry? That’s good, you slept in! That’s real good that you did that!” 

Her face became redder as she rambled. Movements became more animated as she nodded and gave you a big ear-to-ear smile, though it was more the type that resembled a dog snarling. Her nose crinkled up and her neck was pulled the more she smiled. “You know what? You know something? I should have slept in today! It would’ve saved me so much stress. Hell, I could’ve come over and we would’ve had ourselves a fun little sleepover, y’know? A girl’s night — just us girls!!”

You wrung the fabric of the uniform in your hands that were getting clammier by the second.

But Caryl wasn’t done. She turned her head towards the bar where Dexter, your boss, and the diner’s bartender, stood. He was in the middle of preparing someone’s sundae when Caryl called his name.

“Hey Dex, wanna know something? (Name) slept in while we were packed on Valentine's Day!” Oh. Well, that explained the sudden increase in customers.

Dexter’s face fell, “Was she feeling bad?”

“Ya know what? I never asked!” Caryl whipped her head back towards you, a cartoonish concerned expression on her beet red face. “Were you, (Name)?”

The entire diner quieted, just as interested in what your answer would be. You cringed as you shook your head. Caryl then, turning back to your boss gave an exaggerated shrug. “Welp! What can you do?”

Dexter pursed his lips and went back to taking orders, though you didn’t miss the disappointed look in his eyes, making you feel a twinge of guilt.

“So um, what should I do now?”

Caryl pointed to a man in the far back. He was a big guy and drab looking in his secondhand corduroy jacket. He stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the rest of the diners who were either in their nicest day clothes or paired up with someone. He looked like a grifter. And while those weren’t uncommon in your area, you so rarely saw them outside of bars or street corners.

But one thing that overshadowed all of that was his striking blue hair.

“He got here ten minutes ago. Go over there and take his order,” she said. “I’m going to take my break. You can take the rest since you’re so rested up.” And with that, she turned on her heels and sashayed to the back of the diner.

You sighed. It was going to be a long shift.

—

Caryl had made her point. You could imagine her stumbling over her own heels trying to keep track of every order just like you were at the moment. Even when there wasn’t an order, there’d be a messy table left by a diner and you’d have to clean it up. You supposed that you were getting your just desserts, seeing as this was your fifth time in a month being late to your shift.

There was a family function coming up in a few weeks and your mother had been hassling you about bringing a guest. You’d brung plenty of friends in the past, Caryl included. But your mother was insistent that she’d rather you be seen with male company. You had no one in mind unfortunately. Thus, she kept you up all night with conversation that was 50 percent suitor picks, 40 percent nagging, and 10 percent actually asking about your day. Within all of that, you learned she’d also been telling your other family members you started dating as to “help you save face”.

“You’re just so pretty!” She said, “Pretty and intelligent! How do you think it makes me feel telling my sister that my only daughter is cooped up in her apartment, not enjoying life?”

You somewhat understood her point of view. Somewhat. Sure, with how hectic the city was, you had a habit of being overly cautious, and falling into comfortable patterns. But you really wish she considered your end of the little story she cooked up. It wasn’t as if your aunt and cousins didn’t talk to you. And you actually tell them what you do! Regardless of her attempt to make you look good, you’d both end up looking foolish!

What started as a sleeping off your mothers’ foolishness, became you getting careless with your work schedule.

As you’re cleaning off a table, you glance back at Dexter, still swamped with orders. The anxiety on his face makes your stomach churn and it dawns on you just how much you took advantage of his kindness. He’s a sweet but aged man who inherited the diner for his father, and while he insists he loves his job, you can tell he’s more than deserving of a break.

“Excuse me, ma’am. Another coffee?”

You could swear it was this man’s sixth cup of coffee. You guessed whatever was in his plans made for a lengthy day. And no matter how many times you approached him, the vibrancy of his hair seemed that much more so. You’ve heard of people going blonde or even brunette, but never blue. Maybe that scene from Grease was beginning to catch on in the city.

“You can just call me ‘waitress’, y’know. It’s way less offensive than ma’am.” You said, pouring the pitcher's contents into his mug.

The stranger raised a brow, “How is ma’am offensive?”

“It feels old.”

The man snorts, “Women.” he muttered.

“Yes, women.”

You looked him over for the first time since serving him. He’d looked pretty drab at first glance. But he had a nice soft face with a beauty mark in the right corner of his left eye, as well as a small dimple in his chin. His coiffed mullet that framed his face nicely. He might be what you call classically handsome if not for the eyebrow piercings and various tattoos.

Noticing your attraction to him, he leaned back on the booth. Eager to give your curious eyes a show as his jacket slid away from his shapely chest. It had a decent amount of hair on it. The kind you’d like to nuzzle into and sleep on at night while he held you tight…

“Well…if you don’t mind me asking. How old are you?” He asked.

“...Old enough.”

“What’s your version of ‘old enough’?”

“I dunno… twenty-something.”

“So, you’re twenty?”

“If I wanted you to know, I would've told you, right?”

Stranger scoffs in a good-natured way and turns to you with a big pure white smile. Your cheeks warm up and you feel yourself smile back, though your insides feel as if they're turning to jelly. He's probably had a ton of girls (or guys) fall victim to that smile. It's so photogenic, pleasant, and sweet. And his eyes betray an enticing bit of mischief. It's the kind of smile that should be in magazines and commercials.

Figuring your job here is done, you turn away with a brief word. But you can't help but feel like he's watching your back. You're still walking as you glance back – he is looking. 

You end up bumping hard into Caryl who was carrying a tray. Great. Just as she decides to help, that’s when you fuck it up. You dare look up at her and find her brown eyes are wide with white hot anger, but instead of laying those long claw-like acrylics on you she goes back to the employee break room. 

You hear the strangers’ laughter as you chase after your fuming co-worker.

—

It was pretty obvious you had a crush on the newest patron at the diner. Well, obvious to everyone but yourself. Caryl let you know that much when you came into work one day looking around and Joseph – the patrons’ name (which you learned with some unsubtle prodding) – was not there yet. Your mood was noticeably dim throughout your shift. You took orders and replied to patrons very curtly. As a result, Caryl ended up pulling you aside and made you take a break while she took on the rest of her shift. 

“I said I’m sorry, Caryl!” you whined. You knew that you were being unprofessional, but you hadn’t wanted your job to be in jeopardy because of it; you barely made as much in your regular hours as is.

“Nuh-uh! ‘Sorry don't cut it!” she said, “You need to kick that attitude when you come in here, (Name), you are not a child. Stop moping because some fella who can’t even afford a better jacket gives you bubble guts.”

“You mean butterflies..?”

“I know what I mean!” Caryl snapped. “That boy’s got your nose wide open and he’s not even any good.”

Your lip curled up in an indignant snarl, “You don’t even know him!”

“I know dudes like him. He likes the attention little girls like you give ‘im, and he always looks smug when you nearly fall over yourself to take his order. He’s trouble.”

You both went back and forth like that for a while. And of course you weren’t interested in a thing Caryl had to say. She wasn’t even that older than you despite her way of speaking and her height. She said she just had a lot of experience and made a lot of mistakes that she wished she hadn’t. You could understand that she had your best interest in mind – but that didn’t mean the same things would happen to you…

Ding!

You peeked out of the employee break room and who else should you see but Mr. Haberdae? Without even waiting for the go-ahead, you swiped your notebook and pen away from Caryl before skipping outside and up to his table.

It wasn’t like you were in love with the guy anyway. And if things got rough, that’s how life was right?

[wandamyconfort]

if I were you.. | CH.3

wanda Maximoff x fem!reader

summary: y/n is best friends with vision, who ironically, is the boyfriend of his worst enemy, wanda maximoff. until one night, when the clock struck midnight, they are both struck by something mysterious that completely changes the fate of their best friends, including a certain redhead… be careful what you wish for.

sorry for any translation errors, english is not my first language

the two friends were petrified, and you swallowed hard. Pallor took over their faces. Wanda just stared confused at them, not understanding why the tension had formed.

- Hu-hum ér... - she stammered nervously. - Wow, look at the time, I'm already late! - If I don't run now I'll miss class. - You dissimulated, looking shakily at your wrist as if you could see the time on an imaginary clock. - Wanda, let's talk more calmly later, okay? - you shouted to the bigger girl running away from the two of them. vision snapped out of the trance he was in. Wanda looked at him raising an eyebrow in total confusion, the boy looked at her for a few seconds before running after you. The redhead remained in place still confused.

(...)

The two of them entered the history room. They would have the same class, the place was still empty, there were only three students in a corner talking.

- What do we do now? - she muttered angrily, sitting down on one of the red chairs in the front row, and Vision imitated her by sitting next to her. - I'm not going to kiss your girlfriend! Damn it, no, no, no, no. No way!

You were hysterical and the boy put his hand on your shoulder.

- Calm down!

- How do you want me to calm down? - you widened your irritated eyes at him.

- Do you realize that? Wanda asked me for a kiss! She's your girlfriend and she won't leave me alone because she thinks I'm you! I won't put up with her for a whole month. No way! We can't stand each other, she hates me, and I don't care one bit about her well being! And now it won't be any different, not like this, not ever! I won't be able to be nice to her. Wanda doesn't suit me, you already know everything I think about her, she's a stupid, idiotic, stuck-up, cold and shallow girl who thinks her life depends on being prom queen and if that doesn't happen the universe ends. - She let out a deep breath through her monologue.

- You don't know her, Y/n... You don't know what you are talking about. - He crossed his arms, irritated by her words and looked straight ahead. The girl snorted and rolled her eyes.

- This isn't going to work!

- Anyway, stay calm, I know what we're going to do... Didn't you suppose we should tell someone what happened? Well, we'll start with Wanda.

Little by little the other students appeared and sat down in their seats. The teacher entered the room and wished everyone good morning. They waited for the class to end and Vision exchanged the schedules with you. So did your cell phones. You didn't leave each other alone for a minute, and when you had to leave each other to change rooms, which wouldn't be the same for both of you, you agreed to meet in your lockers. In one of those room changes, you spotted Wanda from afar and immediately tried to hide. you had to avoid her until you told her what was going on

(...)

Wanda closed the door of the house, placing her keys on the keychain attached to the wall. The girl's house, although not on the south side of Miami, where the mansions were, was wonderfully big and bright, with windows that went from the floor to half of the ceiling. a "small mansion" between Vision and Y/n, separated by a few blocks. that by Wanda's own will didn't want to live far from her grandmother Agnes or even from school.

She took off her uniform, took a relaxing shower in her bathtub, and put on a pair of shorts and a tank top, her hair in a bad bun with red hair falling across her face. She liked to be comfortable.

- Mom, are you home? - she asked, surprised to find Natalya in the study.

- Yes, daughter. - She answered quickly, concentrating on her notebook screen and holding a phone to her ear. Wanda tilted her head slightly to the side, passing an embarrassed hand over her arm.

- The Prom is in a couple of weeks... I think I'll finally get my crown this year. - She said with a simple smile, trying to talk to her mother who seemed to be waiting for someone to speak on the other end of the line.

- I'm glad, dear. - Wanda frowned, sighing. - Yes, Miguel, close the deal with the Mexicans... But my husband's not there...? Okay, they want to handle this personally with the owner of the company... - she huffed, scratching her temple. - I understand. Delay them as long as you can, please, I'll be there in a few minutes. she hung up the phone and then got up from leather chair.

- wanda, later we will continue this conversation, okay? - She was packing her purse.

- The Latinos want to deal personally with the majority owner of the company, as you see I have to go urgently. - She hurriedly argued, kissing her daughter's frown and leaving the office without waiting for the girl's answer.

wanda bit her lip, moving her head in a sorry manner. Always busy... They never had time for her. They had problems to show their feelings and affection for their daughter, and compensated this with gifts, trips, better clothes, cars.. Everything she wanted that could be bought, would be in their hands in seconds.

wanda since she was a little girl had a rigorous education, kept a healthy eating routine. she had the best nannies, although she preferred her grandmother Agnes. Stylists, etiquette teachers, teachers of several languages, teachers of musical instruments. But she didn't want any of that, she just wanted their attention. But that was too much to ask.

After being alone in that office, the redhead decided to go up to her room and rest for a while. Downstairs, someone rang the doorbell.

- maria, is Wanda there? - asked Vision to the maid, in the body of Y/n who had just arrived together.

- Yes, she's in her room. Come in! - she replied, looking at Vision sympathetically. She knew that the boy had free access to the house so she didn't hesitate to invite them in and send them straight upstairs and they did.

- What is this girl doing here? - Wanda was indignant after opening the door and seeing Y/n there.

Vision was startled by his girlfriend's murderous gaze on him and hid behind Y/n.

- Can I curse at her now or wait a little longer? - she asked Vision, who gave him a glare in response. - Okay, I'll wait. - she teased, laughing.

Wanda looked at him as if he had three heads. She didn't understand anything and looked at them in complete confusion. Vision, who occupied Y/n's body, didn't wait for an invitation to enter the room and immediately sat down on a small heart-shaped sofa that adorned a space for two. Wanda closed the door, looking at the girl for her impudence.

- This is going to be confusing for you... Oh dear, how am I going to explain this. - Wanda looked at Y/n with her arms crossed. - I'm not Y/n... I am Vision.

He went straight to the point, without beating around the bush, staring at the redhead who looked serious, now sitting on the bed.

- Y/n is in my body and I'm in hers... I know it sounds crazy but this all happened last night and when I woke up I was like this! - he looked at the body that now belongs to him.

- It was an idiotic source that caused this. - Y/n spoke up seriously. Wanda nodded positively slowly, bent her legs in an Indian shape on the bed with her arms still crossed looking at them seriously. But then she laughed, not being able to hold it in.

- What did you smoke? Vision, are you on drugs?

- I'm serious! You have to believe us. - argued the agitated boy. - I already know. - stood up looking at Wanda.

- Ask something that only Vision would know the answer to. - Good idea, Y/n!

- That's enough. I'm in no mood for jokes.

- Come on, please ask, and we'll leave so you can rest. - pleaded Vision.

- Ok, what is my favorite color? - she kept a smile on his face as he entered the game.

- Blue.

- Peen. - Wanda made a sound of denial. - Wrong!

- It's yellow, you idiot! Can't you see her room?! - Y/N slapped the other one on the head, frustrated that he had gotten something so silly wrong.

The walls of the room were white, but one was completely yellow. There were drawings of hand-painted flowers also yellow on the white walls. There was a peach-banana bear on the bed, the curtains, even the closet had yellow details. It looked like a baby's room, which caught Y/n's attention. she didn't expect it to be so... cute.

- Huh, that one was no good. Ask something harder this time. - He apologized and Y/N rolled his eyes.

Ask Vision something only he would know. - Y/n intervened.

- This is the last one… - She warned, already tired of all this tomfoolery.

- What is the day we started dating? - Wanda asked, not knowing who to look at.

- That's easy. - Vision smiled. - It was last year, January 7th.

- Wrong. Incorrect answer. - Imitated robot voice.

- God damn it, Vision, it was January 20th!

- And how do you know? - asked in disbelief, looking at Y/n.

- I could never forget the day I lost my precious voice and almost went deaf because my best friend kept shouting to the whole school that he was dating Wanda Maximoff. - she sneered. - It was the worst day of my life.

- Okay, that's enough! - she got up.

- I don't know what's gotten into you today, I'm really not in the mood for jokes. You. - she pointed at Y/n. - Get out of my house! And you. - she pointed at Vision. - Let's have a serious talk later!

she opened the bedroom door for them to leave.

- No, wait… I'm going to tell you something that only I would know. - Insisted Vision looking at Wanda. - Do you remember that time we drove back in the car just the two of us from your parents' beach house? It started raining and soon a storm came. The car got stuck on the sand road and we had to wait for the rain to pass and… - He scratched the back of his neck. - The weather started to warm up. You took off your blouse and I could see a small scar just below your breasts. We started kissing and it was the first time we…

What a bitch… In the car in a storm, in the middle of nowhere, with the car stuck. Very romantic place to have a first time. Y/n was immersed in her thoughts.

- DID YOU TELL HER? - Wanda shouted furiously, jumping on him and throwing several punches at Vision.

- Are you fucking crazy? Get off of me! - Y/n was caught by surprise and tried to dodge the blows.

- Wanda! - Vision was pulling her waist trying to get her off Y/n.

- I am Vision! Believe me!

- That's enough! I've had enough of this stupid game! - she got off Y/n, who was breathing in fright, and pulled himself together.

- Vision, I am very angry! And you don't want to know what I can do when I'm mad, do you? - He denied it with his head, quickly. - Good. I don't know what the hell has gotten into you to play this kind of sick joke on me. Especially with this... thing. - she pointed at Y/n.

- I don't want to talk to you or see your face right now. I'm not in the mood to argue. So please, get out of here!

They had no way of disputing the redhead. So they left the house without another word. The drive home was silent. He would drop Y/n off at his house and then go to hers. Her parents were crazy, calling all the time. They were worried, because she had left this morning without warning and now it was past 7:00 pm and she had not even shown up at home or at least given any news.

- I don't think this business of telling someone is going to work out too well. - Vision muttered, stopping in front of his house.

- I think you are going to be without a girlfriend. - Said Y/N while removing his seatbelt.

- No, Y/n. - looked at her, terrified. - You wouldn't do this to me. Please...

you stiffened as you realized what he wanted.

- No, this will never work. Wanda and me, never!

- Please, please, please… - he begged. - For our friendship, please. - The girl rolled her dark eyes. She couldn't say no.

- Thank you. You are the best friend in the world, you know that? - she smiled. he didn't need words to know that that was a yes. - I knew it. - She replied with a frown.

- Don't worry, everything will be fine, no one will notice! You know me as well as I know you. And in a month's time everything will be back to normal. And it will be as if nothing happened.

- hope so. Because I won't be able to spend more than an hour with your girlfriend. - she got out of the car, huffing.

- Ah, Vision," she called before the car started. - Take care of my body.

- tell you the same! - smiled and started the car.

(...)

Y/n couldn't believe how Vision could sleep in that pigsty. That room was a complete mess, not taking away the dust. Underpants and pieces of pizza from the last century under the bed, dirty socks on top of the closet. If she opened the closet, she would have the misfortune of a bundle of messy clothes hitting her. There was no way she could sleep there. Not in that mess. So she grabbed some cleaning products, gloves, and some bags she had found in the kitchen. She put on the gloves, covered her nose with a nose clip, and got to work! In an hour, she managed to leave the place spotless, smelling of roses and everything else.

- Gee, what happened here?

pepper came home from work early as she had promised in the note she left earlier. She went up to her son's room and found the place unrecognizable, completely amazed.

- Nothing... I just cleaned up a little. - She couldn't help smiling at the stunned woman.

- I can't believe it! Look at this desk, it's still here. - She joked, running her hand over the previously invisible piece of furniture, lost among piles of dirty clothes. Y/n laughed.

- Everything is perfect. You should keep your room like this more often. she looked inside the closet, which now held all the clothes neatly folded and organized.

- Are you hungry?

- As a matter of fact I am, sir... - she remembered. - Mom.

She couldn't help but scowl at for calling another woman his mother.

- You must be, even after that masterpiece you made. - She smiled and stroked her hair. - I'll get dinner ready! - She kissed her son on the forehead and went down to the kitchen.

Dinner followed quietly. Y/n called her all the time: Mom, pass me the salt. How was your day today, Mom? I'll help you with the dishes, Mom. Mom, Mom, Mom. There were so many mothers for one night, which surprised the woman. After dinner, she went up to her room, when an uncontrollable urge to pee hit her. She had gone the whole day without going to the bathroom, and she was even more surprised that she could stand it. She had to go to the bathroom, but she was afraid, terrified. It bothered her. She decided to call Vision.

- Vision... I need to go to the bathroom. - I said in a broken voice, squeezing my legs together so as not to do it in my pants.

- What?

He couldn't hear straight. He was lying on Y/n's bed entertained by the television on, after being showered with questions about where he was and kisses by scott, who was the most protective. hope had also been worried and asked if he had eaten properly, since he had left without coffee. The boy was enjoying this concern. His mother was not one to ask, after all he always came home earlier than she did. She only came home late or even the next morning after overtime and shifts. What he really liked was that he was welcomed home. Until yesterday he had no father, but today he had scott. Even if only temporary. Can you believe it?

- I need to... go... to... the... bathroom.

- Ah... That's it. Hurry up!

- How come? I don't want to see or touch what you have down there!

- Um... Y/n, don't get hysterical but... It's just that I've already gone to the bathroom. - Answered cautiously scratching the back of his neck afraid of the other's reaction.

- HOW IS IT?

Flashback on

- It's hot as hell. - The blond muttered opening the bedroom windows. - After a day like this, all this craziness, impossible for me to sleep without a good shower...

He spoke agonized to himself, sitting on the bed with his head resting on the headboard.

- I don't know why Y/n is making all this fuss, at some point or another it's going to have to happen. Come on, it's a month! Besides, she probably doesn't have much different from the girls in PlayBoy magazine...

He tried to convince himself that this wouldn't be wrong.

He got out of bed and went to the bathroom in his room. He slowly took off his clothes. He took off his underwear and didn't want to look at it out of respect for Y/n. It was also strange, he felt as if he had been 'caped'. He removed his bra, but he couldn't help but stare, it was comical. The next thing he knew he was playing with his provisional breasts under the shower, innocently. he let out a silly laugh every time he squeezed them. It was strange and new, but funny.

Then he played as if they were guns, squeezing them as if he were pulling the trigger and making shooting sounds with he mouth. The bath followed at the same comic pace. he lathered up he long hair, and also lathered up the pink nipples of he breasts. And the strangeness passed. After he finished, he put on some baggy clothes and left the room.

Flashback off

- Come on, don't get mad. We wouldn't go a whole month without going to the bathroom. Besides, you're just my friend, there's nothing to be ashamed of.

- Wouldn't it have killed you to at least call me? - squeezed her eyes shut, embarrassed. - Like I'm doing now?

- Okay. I'm sorry... - he pauses. - But then, aren't you going to use the bathroom? Or would you rather do it in your pants? - he couldn't help but laugh imagining the situation, it was all so insane! The only thing he could come up with was laughter.

- What do I do? - she pulled down pants and underwear already inside the bathroom and put cell phone on the sink on speakerphone.

- It's not that hard. But just one thing, you're not hard, are you? It's really annoying to pee like this, it hurts.

- I'm what?!

- Nothing... Just hold it and aim somewhere inside the pot. And be careful not to...

- Damn, Vision, I pissed myself! It's like a fucking jet hose and it's soft! - Y/n shouted from the call side, as she couldn't hit the toilet very well and was shaking the 'thing' terrified, wetting all her pants and the toilet lid together.

Vision burst into outrageous laughter without restraint imagining the scene.

- Stop laughing! How do you control it, my God?!

- Be careful not to wet your pants. - He added amidst his laughter. - Wait, did you get wet already? - exploded with another laugh.

- I don't know why you're so funny. Damn it! - she said, frustrated, finishing as best she could. Now she had to take a shower, she took off her wet blouse and pants, getting into the shower right away.

Y/n was showering hurriedly while mumbling things that Vision couldn't understand very well because of the noise of the shower water. But he couldn't help but laugh at the situation.

- Vision, I'm going to hang up now, I need to rest. It had been a busy day. - she curled up in towel without looking down.

- You are right... - you heard the little sigh in the call. - This was only the first of thirty days. I'll do the same, tomorrow is a long day and you still have to apologize to Wanda. She was quite... angry today.

- I what? - she asked incredulously.- Good night, Y/n!

(...)

- Come on, she's over there. going to apologize.

Vision said with his voice cut off by the effort he was making, trying at all costs to push Y/n, whose feet were stuck to the floor, to get her closer to the redhead who was putting something away in her own closet.

- I said no! - she exclaimed, watching Wanda's movements.

- You promised you were going to be nicer to my girlfriend. - Y/n looked at him with irony and he gave up trying to push her. It was useless, he didn't have enough strength in that small body.

- I didn't promise anything!

- Okay... You didn't promise... But you agreed that you would try to be nice to her, at least until everything was back to normal. - Y/n grumbled grumpily, - Come on, Y/n... I'll stay here from a distance to see if you don't make any mistakes. - He tried to push her again.

- Okay, okay, I'm coming! But know that you'll owe me for the rest of your life. - whispered as he walked away.

- Whatever you want, darling. - He smiled watching her approach his girlfriend.

- Wanda... - murmured almost voicelessly, making the redhead close her closet tightly and look at him afterwards.

- I wanted to... - She looked up at Vision who was standing behind them a short distance away, who was encouraging her with signs and gestures for her to continue. Wanda arched her eyebrows in confusion and Y/n looked at her again. - I wanted to apologize for yesterday.

- I was really very angry with you. I don't know what made you make a childish joke like that. That's what happens when you live with bad people.

- Don't put Y/n into it...

- Especially Y/n. You end up picking up on her weirdness. - Y/n looked at her somberly. - I told you she is not good company. - she continued with his criticism without noticing the other's hard stare.

- Enough about Y/n, okay? - I said dryly trying to change the subject before I lost control of hanging that girl in the middle of so many people. - Is everything ok?

Wanda agreed positively and slung her purse over her shoulder.

- Then... - took a deep breath and asked slowly: - excuse me?

She was impatient. But she tried to be as subtle as possible. Because what she really wanted was to tear the other's hair out, to beat her until she saw the blood flowing. Come on, Y/n was not violent, she was completely against violence. But she just didn't like Wanda and her criticism.

- You are excused, little bear. - she smiled, putting his tongue between his teeth in a childish way. - But don't make that kind of joke again. It's not funny. - said sharply, kissing the boy's cheek and interlacing her hand with his.

When she wasn't looking, Y/n tried to run his hand over his newly kissed cheek, wiping it clean.

- Little bear? - she questioned to herself in a thread of voice without realizing the contact she was holding, which was now the warm hand of the redhead, who was subtly pulling her toward the classroom.

Wanda didn't hear his questioning, as she was busy on her cell phone. Y/n didn't understand anything. She was embarrassed by that simple touch, which somehow made her calm down in the same instant. Vision watched everything from afar and smiled. Happy assuming that everything had gone well.

(...)

- Good Morning. I received a letter in the mail today and folks... - Mrs. Miller began a little uncertain.

With everyone in the room, Y/n and Wanda were sitting side by side in the front row and Peter in the second row behind Y/n.

- We already knew that we would face Hayfield at regionals and it looks like this year we will also face Cleverford University. - Miller was blunt in spilling the news and clearly saw natasha snort.

- But they beat us last year. - nat commented despondently as her fingers restlessly fiddled with the bottom of her dress.

- It seems that the council has assigned a theme to the regionals this year and part of our points will depend on a good interpretation by you... - He opened a card that remained in his hands the whole time for you to see.

- Hymn... Now who of you can tell me what an Hymn is?

Clint raised his hand before fixing his glasses on his face. - The bottom of a lady's pants?

- Close... but no. Hymn is an epic song, surrounded by emotion, that somehow seems bigger than itself. Even bigger than the person who performs it. So I have the perfect song for the regionals, which will be... - She made suspense while Cassie played the drums in the same way. - My Chemical Romance!

- But, Ms. Miller. - Y/n raised his hand. - Even though I like My Chemical Romance and I think we were great in this number, as leader of the group and arbiter of all that is good enough... - At that moment everyone turned their heads toward the voice. Their eyes widened, confused, shocked. Y/n totally forgot that he was in his friend's body, and as he always did, he had to give his opinion. What caused the most astonishment in the group was that Y/n was never silent in meetings and she was at that moment, completely still and silent. Not totally, her body was still, and who was imposing was Vision who never paid attention to anything Mrs. Miller said and was always oblivious to the subjects.

- I must say that I don't think this song is good enough for regionals. We can't just do any song, we must be crafty, epic. We need an indisputable advantage. We must write our own song.

still continued didn't notice the stares of others.

- Y/n, what have you done with Vision? - Sam stared dumbfounded at Vision, who looked distraught.

- Man... You're talking like the weirdo now. - Bucky muttered in amazement next to the boy.

- I-I-I just assumed what Y/n would say. - tried to dissemble without fumbling after she realized the situation....

- That's it..... That's exactly what I was going to say. You took the words right out of my mouth, Vision. - He punched the air pretending to agree to help the girl. Everyone kept looking at the two without understanding anything.

- Okay... Then let's take a vote. - Miller spoke up. - Raise your hands if you are in favor of doing an original song...

Y/n was the first to raise her arm, followed by vision who supported her.

- Chemical romance? - Everyone consequently raised their arms, except wanda who didn't speak up at any time.

Miller closed the subject exactly when the bell rang to end the class. wanda was really confused, as was everyone else in the choir, by vision's attitude, she was beginning to be sure that it was from spending so much time with Y/n, that he was already starting to act like her. But she decided not to comment on it, she didn't want to blame him again, she didn't want to argue with him about her. Y/n left the room snorting with anger. even when I am not in my body Ms. Miller tries to ruin my life. I thought.

- Vision.

Y/n slowly closed his eyes.

- Oh no... No... Not again. Get off, tick. - She whispered to herself before the girl approached.

- teddy bear, tonight I really want to go to the amusement park.

- And what does that have to do with me?

- What? - She had listened very well but gave him a chance to change what he had said.

- And what can I do about it? - she smiled, falsely.

- You can come by my place at seven... be on time. - she smiled and gave her a quick soft kiss close to her mouth, then left and went on to his practice without waiting for an answer.

If the touch of the hands was awkward, the kiss close to the mouth was a thousand times more so. She was disconnected and embarrassed. She stood still for a while still processing what had happened and blushed hard still feeling the soft touch of the warm lips on her, close to her mouth. And this time, Y/n didn't run her hand over to wipe it off.

- But... - You're back to your normal state. - Wait, Maximoff, I didn't say yes. - It was late because the girl had already gone. - Damn that redheaded barbie.

- Hey... What's up? Why are you cursing the wind? - joked vision.

- I am actually cursing your girlfriend.

- She wants to go to the amusement park tonight. -said incredulously as if this were the most supernatural thing in the world.

- What's wrong with that? As far as I know you love amusement parks, right?

- Of course I do. Who doesn't like amusement parks?

- Me. - He answered even though he knew it was a rhetorical question.

- I don't like your girlfriend.

- you have to promise me that you won't treat wanda badly in any way today. You'll be nice to her, won't you? please.

Raising his hand for her to shake, y/n made sure to leave him in a vacuum.

she rolled his eyes. - I'll do it for you, but I remind you that YOU owe me one. You can't make any more demands. - she smiled cynically.

- Yes, I owe you one, but I don't necessarily have to pay you now. It could be in a month, a year, two... - he smiled victoriously.

- I hate you, you know? - Vision laughed.

(...)

- Twin one, apologize to twin two. - he asked, playing angry. He was lying on the bed and playing with his new "toys".

- But... But he started it, he thinks he's a little bigger than me. - He personified one of the breasts by squeezing it while producing a thin voice as if he was receiving the answer.

- I... - He started to produce a thin voice again when he was interrupted by y/n who had just arrived at his parents' house and was entering the room.

- What are you doing? - She asked slowly, cautiously, looking at her friend who was squeezing with his hand one of the breasts that had been her.

- I-I-I... Nothing! - he exclaimed with a startled gasp, quickly removing her hand from her breast.

- You are so weird," she said, raising an eyebrow at the scene her had seen.

- And you... what are you doing here? - He tried to change the subject.

- Nothing... I just came to tell you that I'm going out with Wanda. - said dryly and vision smiled.

- behave yourself. - He said holding back his laughter, enjoying his best friend's torture.

- I can't promise," she laughed in her reply, and vision rolled her eyes.

He quickly got up and hugged her, trying to pass on confidence even though his body was smaller than hers.

(...)

At seven o'clock sharp Y/n was in front of wanda's house. Not because she had asked him to, but because it was a routine custom and habit to be on time. He rang the bell and soon the door was open. The redhead was wearing tight jeans that made her large butt visible, and a blouse above her navel with a jacket over her shoulder in case it was cold. Her shoulder-length hair fell perfectly into her back.

The walk had been made in silence, some music resounded on the radio. Wanda sang along with her and swayed her body with her tongue between her teeth. y/n glanced at her and almost smiled. Almost half an hour later they arrived at their destination.

- So... - You started out uncertain. You were embarrassed to be holding Wanda's hand. The girl, on the other hand, was looking everywhere in the crowded park, looking delighted as she decided which toy to go on first.

- Look, Mama, the ugly monster. - A little girl pointed to one of the big posters that stood next to the castle of horrors.

- Are you going to let? - You asked with a wicked smile, not being able to avoid missing the joke, even though you regretted it seconds later.

- Leave what?

- No... Nothing! - she sighed relieved that she hadn't heard. After running around almost the entire park, Wanda decided to go shoot the ducklings.

- That's not funny... I can't hit one! - she grumbled, missing all three shots without knocking down any of the ducks.

- My turn... - wanda smiled and took the toy gun from y/n's hand, aimed and fired, hitting a moving duck.

- I don't believe it. How did you do that? - She widened her eyes in disbelief, making Wanda laugh. - You hit the little one!

- To the winner. - Said the toy's owner, nicely handing over a small pink teddy bear as a prize.

- A teddy bear for my teddy bear. - she smiled sweetly, again putting her tongue between her teeth that y/n was already finding adorable.

- Are you going to give it to me? - she asked spontaneously, a little embarrassed by the girl's gesture. - But you won...

- It's yours. - she came closer and kissed the corner of her lips, still looking into her eyes.

you truly smiled that night.

- So you will be called Blue. - I spoke in a gentle voice, looking down at the bear and playing with its paw.

- Blue? - she laughed in amusement. - But he's pink.

- I know. That's why it's fun, right? - she answered without taking his eyes off the little bear.

Wanda smiled again, but in a different way this time. She looked at Vision for a few seconds and saw him run his hand over his head between his hair and his eyebrows flattened. She wondered why he didn't have that mannerism. But she didn't care much.

- Now Mr. Bigous will have a new friend, won't you Blue?

- Mr. Bigous? - Smile all the time.

- Yes, my little bear. I've had it since I was eleven. It was the last one my father gave me as a present, before he bought me sanitary pads. - she said on automatic and wanda choked on her soda.

- What? Your father? Absorbents? What do you mean? - she blurted out, wide-eyed.

- What? - she looked at her confused.

- What do you mean "what"? You said you had had this bear since you were eleven, before your father bought you sanitary pads. - You widened your eyes and moved your mouth without making a sound. Damn it, Y/n! You mentally beat yourself up.

- Did I say that? - She dissimulated by playing crazy.

- said.

- Strange... Hey, have you ever seen Titanic? - she abruptly changed the subject.

- Not really. - she found the exchange strange. - I always saw some parts of it on TV but never actually watched it.

- Me neither! Look, cotton candy! I'll buy it for us, wait! - she said, desperate to make Wanda forget what she had said. She returned soon after with two large cotton candy balls.

- I bought a yellow one, her favorite color. - she smiled crookedly, feeling sorry for himself for having remembered that little detail, she wanted to give something back for the teddy bear.

- Thank you... But I don't eat sweets or anything like that. - She replied half embarrassed that he bought it to please her and she couldn't eat it.

- What do you mean you don't eat sweets? Are you allergic? Are you diabetic?

- No. - she answered, laughing at all the questions. - I have never eaten.

- NEVER? - y/n made a face in complete horror and wanda had to laugh.

- So you've never eaten cotton candy? I don't believe it... What unknown planet are you from? - She asked, amazed, and Wanda was amused by this, because even the aliens must eat this on their planet.

- Severe diet. - she shrugged.

- Well, today you're going to get off this crazy diet. You have to try the cotton candy, I swear you won't regret it. - she offered it to her now, smiling.

wanda thought for a few seconds whether or not to try it. And y/n must have read her mind.

- You will never know if you like it unless you try it...

wanda smiled and decided to eat. Just for today, it wouldn't hurt, she already ate so many banana desserts hidden from her mother. She never realized, nor did her nutritionist or all those people who wanted to tell her how to live.

- It's okay. - she put a little mound in her mouth and after a few seconds her eyes widened. - How incredible! It melts in your mouth... It's like... - She smiled, stuffing more cotton candy in her mouth. - Huumm... like magic!

y/n couldn't help a laugh, which wanda found enjoyable to hear.

- Do you believe in magic...? In elves, angels, something like that? - She put her hands in her pants pockets as she smiled relaxedly walking through the park with Wanda by her side.

- No... Not leprechauns. - She answered, amused by the cotton candy as a child.

- Angels, yes?

- It would be very nice to believe that somewhere there is someone watching over you and taking care of you, don't you think? - She put another mound of cotton candy in her mouth and looked him in the eye.

- Yes.. - she returned her intense gaze, now with a half-smile, tender, sincere. Maybe Wanda wasn't so bad. Maybe deep down, deep down, she was a good person. Just maybe...

- vision, my cotton candy ran out. - She replied in a low voice sad that it was over and he quickly gave her his, still amazed that she had eaten it so fast. wanda smiled and devoured the candy again.

- Colorful gum... If you liked the cotton candy you will love this too. - y/n commented as soon as wanda had finished the second candy. she bought and handed her a small bag of gum.

- This is very good... How come I've never tasted it? - she asked herself, fascinated, while chewing her gum.

- Show me your tongue. - she asked amused.

wanda stuck out her tongue, making an amused face.

- It's green.

- Show me yours now.

- I won't show my tongue.

- It's not fair! I showed you mine. - she pouted in a sad face with his arms crossed.

- Come on, show me...

- No. - She laughed at the other's reaction. wanda punched her arm.

- Ouch, Wands!

- SHOW ME!

- No.

- Yes.

- No.

- No.

- Yes.

- It fell in the game. Ha! I won. Show me now. - Punched his arm again, this time weaker.

- I can't believe fell for this stupid game. - she surrendered to the girl's insistence and showed his tongue.

- It's blue. - She smiled mischievously and y/n looked at her strangely. - Good. Now let's put our colors together.

y/n took a step backwards almost tripping over a rock when she felt the other girl's hands pulling her by the back of her neck. wanda flattened her eyebrows, confused by such an attitude.

- Look! Car-battles! Let's go? - she didn't wait for an answer and pulled the girl's hand to the toy line.

- I drive.

(...)

- You can see everything from up here. - murmured y/n looking at the shining city. They were now on the Ferris wheel after riding on almost all the rides and eating more candy from wanda. The chair of the two had made that typical stop at the highest point of the wheel. Vision would probably have a fit, after all he was scared to death of heights.

- It's true... It's beautiful. - She looked at the sky flooded with stars and it hit her in a strange way, reminding her of y/n and its crazy metaphors.

She laughed, shaking her head, and looked at the boy next to her.

- To be even more beautiful now only one thing is missing... - She smiled holding her boyfriend's face.

y/n realized the intention and literally petrified, clenching his hands on the iron bar. she closed his eyes tightly feeling the girl's nose caress his and the warm breath join with his trembling one. There was no escape, they were meters from the ground. she waited for the next movement but nothing came. she opened his eyes and saw the girl's pale face.

- Vision... I think I'm going to be sick. - She put her hands to her mouth. After so many turns and so much sugar, she began to feel her stomach turn, her hands were sweating cold.

Y/n shouted as much as she could promptly asking the conductor to make them get off the toy.

- Have some water. - She offered carefully with a mineral water in hand, handing it to the redhead who was already sitting on a bench. - I shouldn't have given you so much candy.

- I am already better. - Really? - Wanda nodded with a half-smile.

- Anyway it's still eight o'clock, let's go on some more toys and then we'll leave.

The girl nodded and stood up, paying in the boy's hand to go to the house of horrors.

(...)

The return trip, unlike the outward one, was more relaxed. They talked about the night, laughed and sang to the sound of the Pixies. Wanda's favorite band. You would never admit it, but you had enjoyed the evening. Although your concept of Wanda hadn't changed much, no arguments, no insults. Vision could be right. maximoff could really be a nice person.

- Rest and don't eat anything sweet anymore. You might feel sick again and we don't want your mother to find out, right? - she murmured, amused but worried at the same time.

- You too, Teddy Bear. - She said goodbye with a little kiss on the cheek. And before she left the car, she received an unexpected kiss on her forehead.