#or you’ll sell the second ticket but either way don’t just wait on it for no reason

[ilostyou]

don’t think i’m over not buying those 5sos tickets on tuesday though i was so close to having perfect seats and essentially screwed myself over by trying to be a good friend lol. i am not over that

[spidercookie18]

𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑪𝒂𝒏 𝑹𝒖𝒏 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑪𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝑯𝒊𝒅𝒆

The Lost Boys 1987 AU set in modern time. None of the boys died, and all the Emersons/Star/Laddie/Frog brothers are vampires. This is explained later…

Tags: Halfing vampire, mentions of killing, swearing, scenting, biting, smut, dp, oral, creampies, choking, degradation, praise, spanking, smoking, use of y/n, afab, use of she/her. Warnings: This chapter is basically 97% porn 3% plot. MINORS DNI Summary: Y/N apologizes to Marko, David is behind her every step of the way ;) Word Count: 7k Previous chapter here: Next chapter here:

“No one should suffer what I suffered. I still dread those scenes when man killed man. I lost my parents, most of my family, by running away.” — Milkha Singh

Chapter Four

After some light arguing, and some teasing, David agreed not to rifle through your things again…for the time being.

You got dressed and packed your bag for what you were sure would be another overday stay. You remembered to burn the old vial necklace you had before you left, and then locked up. David took you to a burger joint and you both sat on the curb near the bike, eating burgers and fries.

“Thank you, these are really good,” you licked your lips and picked up another fry.

“Told ya, they’re solid, it’s no ‘Charlie’, but it’s good.”

You laughed and had a sip of your drink. You shifted to one side and pulled your shorts down a bit. David noted that that was the third time in a few minutes that you’d adjusted your clothes.

“Yeah, it’s that damn thong you wanted me to wear,” you snapped at him.

He laughed, “you don’t like it?”

“No, it’s cute, but it’s just annoying,” you shifted again in your seat.

“Well, I’ll just have to take it off ya then,” David said, slipping his fingers down the back of your shorts to pull at the thong.

You yelped, “David!” And arched away from him.  

“Sorry, sweetness, couldn’t help myself.”

He chuckled and went back to eating his burger. He watched you from the corner of his eye; you looked happy sitting next to him, just doing something normal for a change.

“What David?” you asked, noticing him watch you.

“You got a lot of shit at your place,” he said bluntly.

“Okay, you’re one to talk, you’re actually a hoarder.”

“Am not,”

“Who’s Michael?” You asked, poking fun at him, “should I be worried?”

“Wait, did you go through my stuff?” David turned in his seat to question you.

You shrugged, continuing to eat.

“Don’t go through my things,” he hissed.

“Oh, but you can go through mine?” Your mouth full, you sipped on the coke.

“All you said was ‘not to break anything’, which I didn’t,” he reminded you.

“Fair enough,” you put the empty fry cup in the bag.

David turned back in his seat and got quiet, like he was thinking. “Eh, you’ll meet Mike n all of em soon enough.” He picked up his soda and took a sip, “I’ll take ya along on laundry day, how about that?”

“Oh, so you guys do do laundry,” you giggled.

“We don’t smell,” David rolled his eyes at you.  “But my point was… where’d you get all that stuff?”

Without turning, you replied to him, “thirty-five years is a long time to be on the run, David,” you wiped your mouth with a napkin.

He shrugged, “you got sticky fingers,” he chuckled.

“I did not steal that stuff!” you shouted at him.

“Then how did you-”

“I bought it, stupid.” You put the empty burger wrapper in the bag, “also, plane tickets aren’t free.”

He looked at you confused, “what do you mean you ‘paid for it’?”

“I work, duh.”

He stared at you for a second, “what work can a halflin’ do?”

“Kinda what you guys do, but for money.”

“You eat people for money?”

“No,” you rolled your eyes at him. “I kill people…n’ sell their parts,” you said, plainly.

“You WHAT?”

You took a long sip from your drink, and began to explain, “when I left Monty, none of the people he dealt with would work with me- I can’t even be mad at them; hell, I wouldn’t have wanted to work with me either. But because I knew how to make those kinds of…connections, I was able to make some money. Whatever the pack wouldn’t eat they would sell to certain… buyers.”

“Buyers?”

“Mhm, if you have enough money, you can buy all kinds of crazy shit. I had this one guy the other day wanting Orc tusks. I’ll tell you, that job fucking sucked.” You laughed.

“Wait,” David was still confused by how casual you were being, “you can just buy parts? Like black market type stuff?”

“Um, kinda, that stuff is used more for surgeries and medicine, my stuff is more niche. I’ve had people ask for body parts of old lovers, or enemies. Sometimes they’ll want dragon eyes, or maybe a rich farie wants to eat some specific part of some specific person, or sometimes rich humans want to mount a werewolf head in their parlor.”

“Dragon eyes?”

“Not the kind you’re thinking of…”

David was taken aback at this new revelation, he didn’t really consider the lives of other night creatures often, and he especially never thought people hunted them for parts. “Do you ever hunt vampires?” He asked, sheepishly.

You shook your head, “nah, I try to steer clear of vamp nests, you just never know who knows who, ya know?”

“Huh.” David stared at the ground, pushing a pebble around with his shoe, pondering. He looked back at you.

“What David?”

He scooted a bit from you, “you’re kinda scary,” he said, and you busted out laughing.

“Shut up!” You laughed out and pushed his shoulder. “Relax, I’m not hunting you,”

“Sweetness, you couldn’t take me down,”

“David,” you patted the gun in your tote, “I already did.” You reminded him, and he scoffed.

“I let you,”

“uh-huh, whatever helps you sleep at day, sweetheart.”

David huffed at you, luckily, he thought your attitude was cute. He stood up and stretched. You loved watching him; there was something about David that just, enamored you. His arms went high over his head, and he grunted as he stretched; you watched as his shirt raised up just a little bit and exposed his tummy.

Such a cute treasure trail, you thought as his arms came back down to his side.

David raised an eyebrow as he watched your eyes fix on his belt. He smiled, “looks like I gotta get you home.”

You blushed when you realized he caught you staring at him. David extended his hand out to you, and you took it; he pulled you up off the ground, and close against his body. He growled low against your neck, nuzzling your skin; you could feel him inhaling you.

“David,” you said meekly, “people are watching,” you squirmed against his hold.

“Let them look,” he began to suck hickies into your neck.

You mewled, you weren’t going to get free from him, you knew that, but you could at least have some privacy. “David,” you whimpered, “please...”

You felt his teeth scrape against your neck again, and he swiftly picked you up, and placed you on the back of his bike. He pulled you by your jaw and kissed you, and you moaned against his lips. “Ohh, sweet thing, you’re gonna get it.” He swung a leg around the bike and revved the engine. He kicked the stand up and waited for you to put your arms around him, the second you did, he took off. The bike sped off down the street and within a few minutes you were rolling up to the cliff above the lighthouse.

David parked the bike behind the rocks where it normally was, and he noticed that Marko’s bike was back in its spot. His mood shifted, and he turned his head to look at you,” you’re still going to apologize to him.”

“I know, David.”

David offered you his hand as he got off the bike. You took it and swung your leg off. You watched as David pulled his cigarettes out of his jacket. He put two in his mouth and pulled out his lighter. He lit the cigarettes and took a few short puffs to ignite them. He put the lighter back in his pocket and pulled one of the cigarettes from his mouth and handed it to you. You smiled at his trick and took the cigarette from him. He took a long inhale and walked you down to the edge of the stairs.

When you got to the first step, David started floating above it, “you want me to carry you?”

 You chuckled, when he wasn’t being a menace, he was actually quite sweet. “Thanks, but I can do it,” very lightly, and barely noticeable, you floated above the wood, and down the stairs.

David was grinning, ear to ear, “ha-ha! I didn’t know you could do that!” He floated in front of you and landed, waiting for you with open arms. Your heart glowed at how proud David looked, “sweet thing, what else can you do?”

You chuckled as he rubbed his thumb over your cheek; there was a loud noise that came from the cave further in, and the both of you looked towards the flickering lights, “I’ll show you another time, okay?”

The two of you walked inside, and your mind raced with what you would say to Marko to get him to forgive you. David helped you down the rocks into the main cavern and you saw Marko, laid up against the couch blowing up puffs of grey-white clouds. He was blasting rock music and as you got closer, you noticed he was smoking a joint.

“Marko,” David called to him over the noise, “we’re home!”

Marko half turned his head to see who it was, then rolled his eyes and turned back around. He huffed and pressed himself further into the arm of the couch. David puffed on his cigarette and walked over to the old boom box, to turn it down.

“Hey!” Marko protested.

David motioned for you to step forward, and you took one last drag from the cigarette before you tossed the butt in an old tin can. You walked in front of where Marko was sitting, and he looked at you from the corner of his eye.

“Marko…” you fiddled with your hands, “I’m really sorry for being a brat to you earlier.”

He took a long drag from his joint as he eyed you, then turned and blew the smoke in your face, “fuck you.”

“MARKO,” David shouted at him.

“That’s not a fuckin apology, she’s not sorry!” Marko hissed at David.

David started to move towards the couch to continue yelling at his brother, Marko kicked his legs off the couch and sat up to defend himself. The boys were yelling all kinds of nonsense at each other, none of which you paid any mind to.

All you did, was kneel at Marko’s feet; he wanted an apology, so, you’d give him one that’d shut him the hell up. The boys quieted as they watched you, you knelt in between Markos legs and held your closed hands in a prayer to your forehead. You looked down at his feet and gave him what he wanted.

“Marko, I’m so sorry for my behavior earlier. Thank you for taking care of me… I’ll never disobey you, or lie to you again,” you looked up at him with puppy dog eyes and pouty lips. “Please…forgive me.”

The boys stilled, watching you in silence. David had no idea you would take it that far, and Marko… well, he really enjoyed that.

He gulped and shifted in his seat. He didn’t know if it was the weed, or that desperate look on your face, but he loved the way you looked groveling below him. He leaned down, and inhaled the joint, his hazel eyes looked over all your features, and he slowly blew the smoke out on your face. You winced, coughing lightly. Marko chuckled and sat back up in his seat. He spread his legs in front of you, and you noticed the tent growing in his jeans.

“Marko?” David called to him, standing behind you, “is there something you want?” You could hear the smile in his voice.

Marko smirked, his eyes locked on your, “you really want me to forgive you?”

You were ordered on the bed and positioned yourself on all fours. David sat behind your ass, and Marko stood in front of you by the bed, still smoking his joint. He slowly crept on the mattress in front of you, his knees on either side of your hands and softly angled his hips up into your face.

You knew he would enjoy taking out his frustrations on you, especially since you would be ‘apologizing to him’ the way he wanted. You felt David kiss up your thighs and pulled your shorts up by the belt loop, the seam of the denim rubbing against you. You moaned and wiggled, you could hear him chuckling now. He rubbed his fingers along the seam against your clothed pussy and felt you get wetter with anticipation.

Marko looked down at you from where he was on the bed, he was clearly still very upset with you; you swallowed hard in your throat and felt your cunt clench around nothing. You felt David’s nose press up against your pussy, and you whined. Your mind was fuzzy from the smoke, and you felt Marko place his hand on the back of your head. You’d noticed him shifting around on his knees and the denim creaked from the push of his erection. He rubbed his hand over his jean covered cock, and slowly undid his buttons and belt. You gulped at the worry of your punishment.

Marko was smiling that devious grin down at you, as he slowly freed his cock from his jeans. He wasn’t as big as David, he was a bit shorter, but still very thick, his veiny cock curved up, and had a bulbous, red head, that looked heavy as it bobbed up and down.

He pressed it up against your nose and held you against his shaft.

He wanted to degrade you; he was going to embarrass you in every way he could. He was furious at you for stepping in between him and David. He was his second in command, he was the one you should have been submitting to. Instead, he had to baby your ass, while you got him in trouble. Marko gritted his teeth. He licked the tips of his fingers and tossed the dead joint from his mouth. He was going to make you regret pissing him off, he would burn that lesson into your body.

Marko pulled your hair and you winced, he pushed his tip up against your lips and rubbed his precum along your smile. “Put your tongue out,” he ordered, and you stuck your tongue out for him. You flinched when he tapped his cock on your lips and tongue. “Oh, don’t you like that?” Marko mocked you, “how about this?” He pulled hard on your hair, and when you opened your mouth to protest, he shoved his cock deep into your mouth.

“Mrmph,” you moaned around him; David was having fun slowly stripping the clothes off of your body. You could feel his hands wandering around your cunt and ass, but your attention was somewhere else.

Marko made shallow thrusts against your mouth and held your jaw so you would look up at him. He wasn’t as big as what you were forced to take last night, but he was damn near as mean about it, and he was mocking your every sound.

“Ohh does the princess not like that?” And he would shove his cock in deeper, and harder than before. He pushed you down on his length and held you there, you felt your lips hit against his base and his pubes tickled your nose. You struggled against his hold, and when your eyes began to roll back from lack of oxygen, he took you off in one quick movement.

“Aaaah,” you gasped, and Marko laughed at the saliva that connected you to him.

He watched as the string of drool got thinner and thinner and finally dripped down your chin, “you look good like that,” he was wearing that shit eating grin of his, and he rubbed his tip across your mouth and cheeks to spread the saliva.

You grimaced and tried to pull away from him, so he gripped your chin, pried open your jaw, and shoved his cock back into your mouth. He held you by either side of your face and fucked his cock down your throat. He was going to make you pay, and he laughed at the tears that prickled the sides of your eyes.

“You’re going to be good from now on, you hear me?” The words he growled out accentuated by each thrust, and you moaned in agreement against his length.

David was having the time of his unlife watching the two of you have fun with each other, if he had thought for even a second, that you didn’t want this, he would have stopped. But he could tell how much you were enjoying apologizing to Marko by how wet your pussy was getting. David had pulled your panties off and watched your love drip down your cunt. “Fuck darlin,” he sucked in through his teeth, and started licking slow stripes along your slit.

You moaned on Markos cock, “fuck, David, you really got her going there,” Marko bobbed your head along his length.

“Do you like all the attention you’re getting, Y/N?” David chuckled as he shoved a finger inside you.

“Mrmph! Mhm-mhhh,” you moaned eagerly.

Marko loved how soft and warm your tongue felt on the underside of his cock. He pulled you off of him with a pop and he moved your sweet dirty little mouth to lick his balls while he jerked off on your face.

You licked, and sucked, and swirled your tongue on his balls, trying your best to be apologetic for your behavior earlier. “Ohh, fuck, David I think she’s really sorry man,” Marko laughed out. He loved the way your eyes rolled back as you licked at him from below.

“Good,” David shoved another finger inside your cunt and scissored you open, “now she’ll know not to be a little shit.” He said sternly as you clenched around him. “Oh, sweet thing, are you gonna come already?”

Marko looked down at you as your eyes began to cross.

“Mmhm,” you moaned with his balls in your mouth.

“Fuck, David, I think I’m close too,” Marko moved you from his balls back to his cock, you gasped as you were repositioned. Marko was deep in your mouth, against the back of your throat making quick shallow thrusts.

David chuckled, “are the both of you going to come? Already?” You and Marko whimpered unanimously, and David chuckled, delighted by the way the both of you squirmed. “Tisk, tisk”, David shook his head in amusement. “Well sweetness, if you wanna come you know you gotta beg,” he shoved his fingers deep into you, curling them and pushing you further on Markos cock. You came off of Marko’s length with a pop as you turned to look at David.

“Please,” you begged out, a breathy pant. 

David smiled into your skin as he pressed kisses on your thighs, “not me, darlin,” he pushed you forward on the other vamp’s cock as he curled his fingers in you.  

Marko rubbed the back of your hair, he chuckled when you looked back up at him, puppy dog eyes trying to win his favor. “Get back to it, principessa.” He slipped your mouth back on himself, and you wrapped your tongue around his tip.

“Pwease,” you mumbled, still lapping at his tip. Your eyes were shut now, brows scrunched up in want; you focused on giving him pleasure, so you could get some.

You both moaned and whimpered, your lips pressed to his base, begging for your release. Marko whined, his face contorted with pleasure, “come for me, bella,” your walls spasmed around David’s fingers and Marko’s fingers intertwined with your hair as he shoved himself deep into your mouth to spray down your throat.

“Fuuuuuuck,” Marko moaned as his hips stuttered against your lips. You felt your whole body shake from your own orgasm, and you tried not to choke on Marko’s cock, it was so much come, you couldn’t swallow it fast enough. Marko pulled out from you and jerked the last few sprays in your face. You flinched as it hit your nose, and cheek, and the boys laughed.

Marko sat back down on his knees, clearly spent, while David turned you over to your back. He moved from his place between your legs, walked over to the side of the bed, and sat down next to where your head was. He wiped off Markos cum from your face, with his fingers and pushed them into your mouth.

You swirled your tongue against David’s gloved digits, “good girl,” he said darkly. He pulled his fingers from your mouth and moved his hand to your throat. “Now,” he let his other hand travel down to your cunt and rubbed your clit gently. “Are you going to be good from now on?”

You whimpered and nodded, “mhm”.

David squeezed harder on your throat, “is there something you want to tell Marko?” David pressed harder on your clit, and your hips started squirming on reaction. “Sweetness?” David called to you.

“Yessir, m’sorry Marko,” you choked against David’s hand. “I’ll be good…I promise,” Marko smiled, and David leaned over to kiss him.

You watched from your place below the boys as they licked each other’s tongues. You whimpered; watching the boys make out, while David choked you and played with your pussy, felt too good. Your hips bucked against David’s hands, and he pulled away from Marko.

“So fucking needy,” Marko said as he kissed down David’s cheek and jaw; the boys were looking down at you now.

Tears ran down the corner of your eyes and David finally pulled his hand from your throat. You gasped, and David moved to kneel above you at the top of the bed. His legs on either side of your head and pinned your wrists down. Marko walked to the other end, between your legs and started to lazily stroke his cock in his fist. You picked your head up and looked down at Marko, he threw his jacket to the wheelchair that was still by the bed and pushed his jeans further down. You looked up at David as Marko began to take off his shirt, your eyebrows knitted with nervousness.

“If you want to stop darlin, say so now,” David pressed a kiss against your forehead. Marko leaned down and ran his tongue over your wet slit.

“F-fuck!” You looked back down at Marko; his tongue was thin and forked and he slowly flicked it across your clit.

Now, he could smell you. The scent of your arousal, and the scent of your skin, he felt a heat grow in his chest and cheeks.

Was this what David had been smelling? He thought as he let his tongue lap up your love, no wonder he was going crazy.

He looked up at you, his beautiful hazel eyes turning gold and red, his nostrils flared as he savored your scent.

More!

He swirled his tongue in and out of you, it felt so odd and so fucking good. You pulled against David’s hold as you mewled and bucked your hips against the curly haired blonds face.

“Maarkoooo…” David called to the other vampire. He could hear his brother beginning to slip away, and called him back before it was too late.

Marko looked up at David from between your legs. He reluctantly pulled his tongue from you. He sat up, crawled onto the bed, and held his cock in his hand, he rubbed his thumb over his tip. He bit his lip; silently begging for your permission. You nodded softly to Marko, and he eagerly pushed himself inside you.

You moaned so sweetly for him, you felt so warm and nice against him. Marko pushed into you to the hilt. He pushed your shirt up over your breasts and pulled your hips down to him. He was a tits man, and he was going to love every second watching your beautiful pair bounce up and down for him.

“Aaah, Marko,” you whimpered as he bottomed out in you.

“Fuck,” he sucked in air through his teeth.

You could feel David shifting around atop you; you were surprised at how patient he had been this entire time, maybe this was his way of making it up to Marko for how he snapped at him earlier.

Marko wrapped your legs around his waist and started slow thrusts, you moaned, and he gripped his fingers into your flesh. It was a nice change of pace from last night, they both felt so good. From where he was hitting you, Markos tip dragged slowly against your sweet spot.

“Marko,” you whined, and pulled against David’s hold on your wrists.

“Easy, sweet thing,” David said gently, “just enjoy it.”

Marko picked up his pace and you could feel his balls slapping against your ass. The noise coming from you all was so lewd, you and Marko were moaning and gasping with the feel of each other’s bodies, and David was humming contently at the sight before him. Marko pulled your legs from around his waist and sat up with your legs parallel to him. He dug his nails into your thighs and started fucking you harder.

“Ahh fuck!” He’d stopped being gentle and was fucking you akin to how David was the night before. “Marko!”

You could hear your own mewling in your ears and David had moved to hold both of your wrists with one hand to cover your mouth with his other. “Noisy little thing, you don’t want to wake the neighbors, do you?” David chuckled.

“I want to hear her,” Marko panted out.

David looked up at him,” yeah?”

“Yeah,” Marko nodded, and David took his hand from your lips.

You moaned a symphony of the boy’s names as you came undone for them.

“Fuck, she’s squeezing me so tight,” Marko winced as he held your legs close to his chest.

“Yeah, but it feels fucking good, don’t it?” David looked down at you.

Marko started licking and nipping at your legs.

“Aah!” You cried out as he began to sink his fangs in.

“MARKO,” David shouted. Marko looked over at David, confused by his anger. “No blood,” he shook his head slowly and you could feel his low growling rumble through your upper half.

Marko reluctantly retracted his teeth and continued to suck marks along your legs.

“Marko,” you whimpered under him, you felt so good squeezing his cock, so warm, and soft, and wet.

“Fuuuuck,” he growled, moving your thighs off his chest, and your legs draped across his elbows. You could feel yourself bouncing in the bed when his hips came down against your ass. It was so hard, and deep into your heat. The plat, plat, plat, that came from Marko’s thrust against you was barely louder than your moaning.

“Harder!” you screamed as you raised your hips off the bed.

“Oh, is that not enough for you?” He lifted his arms and pulled your hips up to his level and railed into you. You moaned and whimpered as the boys enjoyed your reactions. David freed his cock from his jeans and started slowly jerking himself off with his free hand, while Marko fucked you dumb. He thrusted hard against your cervix, and you begged for his cum.

“Please, I want it,” you called out to Marko, and began begging for kisses.

David leaned down, shoving his tongue into your mouth. You tasted yourself on his lips, and he tasted Marko off yours. Marko pushed hard into your warm cunt and painted your insides white; he bent over you to suck on your breasts as he came.

Marko pressed his hips against your ass, and moaned as he filled you past your brim. You whimpered and David kept shoving his tongue down your throat.

Poor Marko slumped against your form, it had been so long since he’d shared someone with David, he loved sharing with him. He pushed up from where he was on the bed and brought David in for a kiss, you’d have felt left out if Marko wasn’t still throbbing inside of you. You wiggled against David’s hold and the boys chuckled as they pulled off of you.

You were more than satisfied with how the night was ending. The two vampire boys enamored with you, kissing, and licking all over your body, their sweet moans captured on yours and their skin. The warmth of the friction, the bruises and marks, the beautiful noises that echoed through the cave…

But David had to greedily end your happiness, “oh sweet thing, you’re not tired yet are you?”

With that, Marko pulled out of you, and pulled you over him. He laid back on the bed, and his come started dripping down your cunt onto his cock. You were back on all fours, and he was on his back on the bed. David pushed your ass down, your knees slid out and Marko’s cock was stuffed back in your pussy. You whined as David quickly moved behind you. He pushed down on your back and angled your hips up. He climbed over you and Marko, then lined up with your entrance. You were still hazy, coming down from your high when you realized what was happening.

“David, wait,” you tried to turn your head.

“It’s okay sweetness,” David said as he teased his tip against your skin.

“We’re gonna make you feel real good,” Marko said, pulling you down to him for a kiss. He tasted like weed; he was so greedy with how he kissed. His lips crashing against yours, his tongue eagerly pressing into your mouth, biting, and sucking your lips, you finally pulled away from him with a loud gasp when David pressed into you.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, David!” You screamed and moaned and wiggled against the boys as David’s cock bullied its way into your pussy.

“Hold her Marko!” David ordered him.

“Comere bella,” Marko pulled you back to a kiss and you whimpered against him. Your eyes were all the way back in your head, and your arms and legs shook as you tried to stay up right. The sensation of both the boys stuffed into your cunt was overwhelming. It was painful, and it stung at how stretched you were, you felt the tears come to your eyes and you sobbed into Marko’s mouth.

David finally stopped when his cock wouldn’t go in any further, nestled against Marko’s, the boys stilled to let you adjust. You were still sobbing and whimpering into Marko’s mouth when they finally checked on you.

“How’s she doing?” David asked Marko.

Marko pulled away from you and watched as the drool dripped out of your mouth and your eyes crossed. He chuckled, “I think she likes it,” Marko called to him. The boys slowly started to move in and out of you.

“F-f-fuuuuuuck,” you moaned, and tears started streaming from your eyes.

It was more pleasure than you’d ever felt, you tried to keep yourself from coming, because you knew your cunt would clench around them and squeezed even tighter. You didn’t want them losing control right now, so you just focused on breathing.

You panted, hard, and your fingers gripped into the sheets. When David pulled out, Marko pushed in, when Marko pulled out, David pushed in. They worked together to make you cry out with pleasure, they knew just how to make you come undone for them.

With a scream, you tore at the sheets in your hands, and you felt your knees buckle below you. You slumped against Marko’s chest, and he looked down at you from where he laid.

“You’re tuckering her out David.”

“She’s a big girl, she can take it.”

David slipped his fingers down your shoulders and around your arms. He grabbed around your elbows and pulled your arms up and behind you. You huffed and David sat back with your wrists in his hands and your arms pulled straight back. From where he was leaned back, he had you sat up, it was almost a sadistic form of cowgirl, except you were double stuffed with two big vampire cocks.

“D-D-David” you whined. Your head falling up, and felt the tears roll down towards your ears.

You could hear him laughing behind you, there was little you could do but pant and come. Marko gripped his nails into your hips and thrusted up into you. He loved watching your breasts bounce up and down, he was starting to be glad that David brought you home.

Marko sat up and wrapped his arms around your waist, he was sucking marks into your breasts now and you could feel his teeth on your flesh.

“Marko!” You sobbed.

David was too wrapped up in the feeling of your wet cunt around him to notice what was going on in front of him. Your scent in the air made the boys start to slip away from you, they fucked roughly into your cunt, and their movements became more erratic.

Poor you, you didn’t know that your scent was a damn vampire aphrodisiac.

Marko bit down, it was taking everything in him to keep from breaking the skin, but he was going to get as close to that as he possibly could. You looked down at the curly haired blond, you could barely see his golden eyes from how they were fluttering shut. He growled into your soft mounds, you could feel the rumbling rip through your chest, and he pulled tighter around your waist.

David could only hear three things at this very moment, the sound of his grunting, the sound of your heartbeat, and the sound of his hips slapping against your ass. Nothing else mattered to him. He was sharing his mate with his favorite brother, Marko, and David could tell he was starting to love you too. You felt so good around him, and he loved how Marko’s cock felt rubbing against his as well. He was going to abuse your body every day for the rest of your life if he would have it his way. He felt you spasming around their cocks again, and he laughed deep from his chest; he loved how easily you fell apart for him. He let your arms drop, and you slumped against Marko’s chest.

He leaned forward against you and licked the shell of your ear, “you comin again sweetness?” You just panted and whimpered for them, David chuckled, “you’re already getting used to us playing with ya, huh? Your sloppy little pussy loves sucking on our cocks, eh? Just a fucktoy aren’tcha?” He felt you squeeze against their cocks, “oh? You like being bullied, darlin’?” You squeezed again.

David looked over your shoulder at Marko, who was still sucking marks into your breasts. His golden eyes glossed over in lust; David could only imagine the look that was on your face, or his. He chuckled, his two favorites, both so wrapped up in their own pleasure to think of anything else, to notice anything else. With the way you were sucking them in it was a wonder how they both lasted so long. You felt Marko’s hips begin to falter, his nails gripping against your waist, and both you and David felt him throbbing as he came again.

Marko made such cute noises as he came, he grunted as his hips stuttered against you. His soft panting and whimpering into your skin was endearing, then he fell back hard against the bed. He was the one thing keeping you sitting up, so when he fell, so did you. You pushed your hands to Marko’s chest, trying to push yourself off, but you were stopped by a large hand on the back of your head.

David didn’t stop, he was merciless. He pushed your head down in a warning to not move, and he pulled your hips up and off of Marko. He fucked you against the other vampire.

Your top half was slumped against Marko, who was still panting from his own release, and you could feel the cum dripping down your thighs. David’s hips were smacking hard against your ass, the way his cock dragged slowly out of you, and slammed hard into you. His cock bullying its way into you, as you wiggled your hips, trying to get him to stop. His tip hitting your cervix hard with each thrust. It was torture, your poor cunt was so abused by this point, you could barely think with how sensitive you were. You were panting, trying to catch your breath.

“You’re finally quiet? Sweet thing? I wanna hear you!” David said, slapping your ass.

“Aah!” You moaned.

“More!” David yelled, smacking your ass again.

“Fuck!” You could hear some rustling behind you, and you felt David smack your ass again, this time it stung more, much more.

SMACK.

“Fuck! David!” You screeched. David had taken his belt from his jeans and was hitting you with it. You felt tears begin to prickle your eyes again, “please!”

SMACK.

“David!” You were crying now, your ass stung and the way the pleasure mixed with the pain… your eyes rolled back into your head, and you felt the tears roll down your cheeks.

David didn’t entirely like hurting you, but the way you clenched around him when he did… it was too good for him to stop.

SMACK.

“You really like getting bullied don’t Cha darlin?” David’s hand kneading the plush of your ass. “Dirty little whore, loving out cocks.” His hips pistoning against you as he continued to degrade you, “my good slut, our good slut. Come on sweet thing, tell me how much you love getting fucked dumb on my fat cock.”

Marko had finally caught his breath enough to look down at you, he saw you crying. He was a sadist, but after how good you made him feel he wanted to help you enjoy the pain that was being inflicted on you.

“Look at me, bella,” he called to you. His eyes were a deep golden color now, his voice was like silk, and you couldn’t help but listen to him. “Just enjoy it, principessa,” he called to you.

You were so weak, you let your mind slip under his control. The last of the pain quickly turned to pleasure, and you felt the knot in your stomach tighten. Marko smiled at your fucked out expression and pulled you into a kiss.

SMACK.

You felt David’s belt come down hard on your ass again, your legs shook, and you fell deeper into Marko’s kiss.

You moaned and screamed against his lips, you felt your orgasm crash into you, your heart felt like it was going to pound out of your chest, and this intense wave of pleasure washed over you. Your eyes crossed, your toes clenched, your whole body shook; suddenly, everything was hot, then everything was wet.

You heard David moan out behind you, and his thrusts became sloppy, and finally he pressed hard into you. You felt his spurts deep against your cervix and his hold on your hips felt like it was going to bruise, if not make you bleed.

He held himself against you for a second, then slowly, so tortuously slowly, pulled out of you. He watched as your cunt twitched around nothing, and the cum dribbled down your clit, and onto the bed.

“Fuck,” David panted out.

Marko pulled from the kiss, and you felt the fog in your mind begin to dissipate. The sting on your ass came back, and the welts from where the boys’ nails dug into your skin burned. But the ecstasy that pulsed from your cunt, it was all worth it. David was chuckling behind you now.

“What?” Marko called to him.

“She made a fucking mess of my jeans,” David moaned in delight.

“Did she?” Marko peered out from under you, sniffing the air. His eyes rolled back at the scent of your love, and he let out a low groan.

David swiped his finger across his pants and licked your taste off his digit. “Mmhm, my sweet thing.” David helped roll you off of Marko and pressed his index and middle finger into your mouth. You softly sucked on his fingers and pressed them between your tongue and the roof of your mouth. He smiled down at you, and Marko put himself back in his jeans.

David watched as your eyes softly shut and you gently stopped sucking on his fingers. He wanted more of you, but he knew you were done. Marko rolled off the bed and walked over to the wheelchair to pick up the rest of his clothes. He slid the shirt over his head and then put on his jacket; one arm in, and then the other, he looked over to David, who was still leaning over you in the bed.

Marko watched David smile down at you, he placed a soft kiss to your temple and covered your naked body with one of the blankets that was on the bed.

“David?” Marko called to his brother, he could usually read his mind, but right now he had closed himself off to Marko.

“Shh,” David hushed him, still watching you as you drifted off to sleep. After a moment, David turned to Marko, the look on his face a graven sight.

David knew he wouldn’t be able to keep you a secret from Max forever, and God forbid that psycho, Montgomery, came looking for you and the pack got caught in the crosshairs. He didn’t know what to make of it, but he knew Marko would be able to at least calm his nerves; maybe even offer some advice.

David stared at his brother, unsure of himself, “we need to talk.”

[perfectlyripeclementine]

Sorry if this is too personal for an ask, you seem to have developed a very mature and nurturing way of navigating past relationships... ofc this might just be from the outside looking in but still. In my experience and cultural background (monogamous, cishetero, conservative) -and despite outgrowing most of that education- I still struggle with grief when it comes to unresolved feelings for previous partners.

I understand that it's a very nuanced thing and it involves lots of factors for each particular person, in any case i thought I'd ask for your thoughts on this from your perspective and maybe some good literature to go along with it?

hi friend ❣️ i’ll start by saying, if you’re asking this question you might be feeling a bit tender, so i hope you’ve got some softness - that you’re receiving it from others, and that you give this to yourself. thank you for your trust.

read more bc this might be a long one.

there’s a lot of different things i’d like to say. i’ll start by saying the framework of polyamory really helped me here. the biggest lie of compulsory monogamy is that exclusivity means safety. monogamy sells you that the goal is to Date and then be Exclusive and then Marry and then you’ll be Safe. but marriage doesn’t mean safety: people divorce all the time; cheat on each other all the time; people stay in unhappy marriages (and relationships) all the time. i believe there is no such thing as safety in relationships - monog or otherwise. at the risk of being dramatic: in one way or the other, you will either lose them or you will die first. grief is not only a risk of love, it is a guarantee.

when i fall in love with someone i ask myself: is this person worth grieving? so far, the answer has never been no. but i walk in knowing i will either die first, or grieve them. it’s a bitter pill, but it gives me freedom, because it also means that the end of a relationship isn’t necessarily a failure. if i’ve learned, if i’ve grown, if the relationship gave me happiness, i consider it a success.

on that note, experience does help. i’ve had three or four Big Breakups(tm). and they don’t get easier, but now when i get my heart broken i know i can survive it. i may be in the Big Ouchies for a while but i won’t keel over and die. like a bad flu.

my work when i’m in the Big Ouchies is to not let my body deteriorate. i need to drink water especially if i’m crying; eat food even if i’m not hungry (that one’s tough for me); take myself out for walks even if the flowers aren’t out. if i can only eat butter pasta, so be it. if the only way i can sleep is taking melatonin, so be it. everything else, the processing, the learning, etc, can wait a second. when i’m in the Big Ouchies, i see what i can take off my plate. my priority for a few weeks is just to get through the searing heat of it. (two week statute of limitations on exclusively eating junk food tho. we do need vitamins and protein.)

the next step for me is to take what’s mine. i believe people when they say they love me, and when they say why; no take-backsies. whatever i learned from them is mine now. whatever confidence they gave me is mine now. i give myself credit for the things i loved about them: it’s a reflection of my values that i did. those are things i can cultivate in myself.

i do by myself or with friends the things i wanted to do together. i read that book we talked about. i go to that show i got us tickets for. i wear that sweater i got them. slowly, all these things become mine and stop being reminders that i lost them.

when i want to text them i text a friend a friend instead. ideally not to talk about them (although i do that too) but to make plans so i don’t isolate myself. it doesn’t fill the hole but it helps.

over time the missing gets softer around the edges. there’s one ex from years ago i think about every day. but it’s a soft kind of missing now. it kind of keeps me company. it’s proof i had a love worth having.

i don’t really have Breakup Literature but every time i’m in the Big Ouchies i reread Love Enough by Dionne Brand. I’ve talked about this book before. It soothes my heart each time.

When i’m in the dark pits of it I listen to Banks. When I have the energy to be angry or feel spiteful I listen to Dezi and Havaiah Mighty.

Sometimes the missing never leaves. That’s okay. I can still enjoy the sun on my skin and the taste of clear water.

[lettrespromises]

PLAN À TROIS.— TODOROKI, BAKUGOU.

A.N:

❝ dear reader,

why hello it is i, nikki, back at it again. this post was specifically written thanks to @sasukelore’s big brain, meaning that this one is for the boys with the booming system, top down, AC with the cooler system😔✊🏻. it’s my first attempt at writing smut (which means it’s a direct ticket to hell) so please bare with me, i hope you’ll like it! if you have any feedback, please feel free to send it to me! also, my requests are open for business hehe.

sincerely yours,

nikki.

P.S: “plan à trois” has a double meaning— it means “threesome” in french but it also literally means “a plan involving three people” which is the core of the story, both literally and figuratively. ❞

Genre: Smut. (All three of the characters have been aged up.)

Warnings: Cursing, mentions of drugs (but no actual use of drugs), unprotected sex (please use a condom), nudity, spanking, choking, cunnilingus, blow-job, temperature play, threesome, dirty things.

Word count: 6.5k (she’s a big girl, don’t be shy.)

Letter object: One hotel. One gala. One mission. One person to take down. Three heroes. You and Shoto have to play the perfect fake couple to gain your enemy’s trust, the only thing is, Shoto has no clue how to behave as a couple. The unexpected help comes from Ground Zero who seems a bit too impatient and eager to show Shoto how to really treat a lady.

Metaphorically speaking, the heroes are seen as the predators and the villains as the preys, it’s always been that way— an eternal game of hide and seek, which only ends in binary results, either victory or loss. The latest news concerning the hero world had put this little game to a halt: the hushed rise of the anti-quirks drugs were concerning. The enemy was everywhere and nowhere, it was all whispers, a thread of ‘who said what’, mere illusions replaced authentic clues. The rules of the game had been changed into a paradox where the villains became the predators and the heroes were deemed as the preys.

The rule of silence, which could have easily been personified as the ringleader of this dystopic scenario, was cruel— anyone could be suspected of being a link of the drug chain. But fret not, if you were suspected and voices started to echo around louder and louder, a little bit of hush money was the price to pay to reinstate the rule of silence. Anyone could be a culprit, even (or mostly) into the highest spheres of society. Those who are worshipped in an agnostic way, they were on top of the social food chain and, perhaps even, on top of the drug chain. These elites have been very vocal about their will to suppress the almighty authority pro-heroes possess— feeling threatened for their own sake and their own inferiority complex, they were willing to play dirty to be able to rule the country with an iron fist.

The corrupted elites still remained as elites and enjoyed their mondane occupations— galas being one of them. It was a dream opportunity for you as a pro-hero, a room crowded with highly potential culprits served on a silver plate with a cup of champagne to serve as the cherry on the cake.

Stealth missions were highly dangerous if you didn’t have a cover good enough, and treading on the playground of influential people could possibly cost you your career as a pro-hero, but if you managed to succeed, you were bound to bask in glory. Keeping a realistic cover is the number one check on the list entitled “how not to blow up your whole mission and be hated by the rest of the country.” Luckily enough, your agence had already done all the dirty work for you and sent you everything you needed— a flawlessly cut evening attire, a shockingly well-done fake ID and a full file regarding the background of your character, all down to the tiniest details. And I cannot emphasize enough “all” the details...

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me…” Amongst the myriad of details (and some of them were completely unnecessary, I mean, was your favorite fruit really important?), one of them was impossible to ignore. “Shoto Todoroki, really?” His name rolled off your tongue for a reason, you were supposed to play his pseudo fiancée for the night. Your thumb brushed the surface inked with his name, unconsciously wishing that if you were brushing hard enough, his name would disappear and so would your almost wilted high school crush on him.

Your silent complains were cut short, the sound of someone knocking on your door stirred you from the invasion of your thoughts. Then the knocking sound echoed once more. “Just a second!” Has anyone heard of the concept of patience? Waiting a few seconds for someone to open the door isn’t a inhuman task. Eventually (although it could’ve have been funny to let this mysterious person fume because you purposefully took too long), you opened the door to your hotel room and it just felt like you had welcomed a storm in. Much to your surprise, there were two surprise guests, two U.A alumnis just like you— Shoto and Ground Zero.

“Well, shit, were you planning on letting us fucking die in the hallways, woman?! What the fuck took you so goddamn long, ha?” When I mentioned a storm earlier on today, I meant Bakugou Katuski— his annoyance was transcripted upon his face through the frowning of his eyebrows and the wrinkle sitting between them. “It’s good to see you too Bakugou, glad to see you missed me after all this time.” His hands were shoved in his pockets, clearly not keen on listening to your sarcastic remarks nor wearing a tuxedo for the night. “Tch. Keep your smart ass talk to yourself, dumbass.”

You had indeed let a storm invade your hotel room. But unbeknownst to you, you had also welcomed a hypotizing breeze, the polar opposite of Bakugou, and apparently future fiancé for the night: Shoto Todoroki. His facial expression reflected nothing but pure serinity, a signature stoic face which radically clashed with Bakugo’s scowl. Todoroki was so discreet, almost blending his presence with the newfound silence. He was wearing an evening suit of his own, aquamarine was his color after all, it was a known fact since your high school years.

“Y/N, as you may be aware, I am here for the stealth mission. Bakugou is going to accompany us just in case something goes wrong. It was a last minute change, but considering the household names who are going to attend this gala, too much precaution is better than not enough.” Ohh, so that was the reason why the angry gremlin was here. Although, you wondered how Shoto felt about the two of you acting as a fake engaged couple, was he still serene about that? “Yeah, while you two fake lovebirds will be busy eating each other’s faces off, I’m gonna be around to check if there is any intell on these anti-quirk selling bastards.” Each of his word was accompanied by a hand gesture pivoting between you and Shoto and, of course, the same old look of annoyance plastered upon his face. You and Shoto, on the other one hand, appeared a bit surprised at the use of “fake lovebirds”, it just hasn’t sunk in yet... Denial, perhaps?

“Speaking of kissing and shit— you, half and half bastard, do you still have a fucking stick up your ass or do you know how to act in a relationship?!” His interrogation was accompanied with a daring glance thrown in Todoroki’s direction and an eyebrow lifted just to emphasize the characteristic of his question a bit more. A bold question which immediately found its answer from the mouth of Todoroki, needless to say, you felt this remark coming. “Bakugou, you’re the last person here who could pretend having the knowledge necessary to provide relationship advices.” You couldn’t help but let a laugh escape at Todoroki’s remark highlighted by its bluntness, although you quickly changed your mind once you felt Bakugou’s stare landing on you with such rage causing you to hush your laugh by biting your thumb.

“Ha?! What the fuck did you just say, half and half bastard? Use that fucking mouth for yours for good measure and let’s see if you can kiss Y/N correctly. I won’t let this mission be blown up by your stupid ass.” This time, there was a hint of amusement in Bakugou’s voice, it was hard to distinct if he asked that because he truly cared about the mission or if he just wanted to push Todoroki out of his comfort zone. But the ghost of a smirk drawn upon his face seemed to support the second hypothesis.

“Guys, just a second here. I understand why we have to take care of our cover but it’s not like Todoroki and I are going to kiss all night long.” Your gaze alterned between Todoroki and Bakugou, it became impossible to hold your gaze on a fix structure due to how flustered you felt, and soon enough, your cheeks were quick to adopt a rosy tone. “Y/N, are you scared of kissing me by any chance?” You secretly hated the obvious tone of concern in Todoroki’s voice, he was willing to do anything to make this mission a success but also make sure you were comfortable around him. “N-No! It’s just… I don’t mind it.” What a miracle, you finally managed to look at him in the eyes but the blush on your cheeks was as lively as ever. “Then damn, if you don’t mind it just fucking kiss already we don’t have all night, dumbass.” You could tell by Bakugou’s body language that he was growing more and more impatient by the second, his arms were crossed over his chest— he was getting pissed.

Todoroki captured your attention once more when his index brushed the surface of your skin right below your chin while his thumb was carefully set upon your jawline. His orbs shone by their gleam of reassureance, his eyes met yours, as a silent way to ask your for permission and you fluttered your lids shut as an answer. As if it was some kind of second nature to him, his other arm compassed your waist in order to bring you close to him. His lips finally touched yours. Each one of his actions was so soft, you could barely feel them yet, you felt like you were floating on a cloud. His lips were melting ever so perfectly with yours, as if your lips were the sole one which could fit is, you couldn’t help but to hum as the carefulness of his lips overwhelmed you. The kiss was shy, experimental, and yet so agonizing. He was temptingly and agonizingly slow, which only made you crave for more. However, given the lack of oxygen, you had no choice but to (relanctutly) break the kiss. You opened your eyes and basked in Todoroki’s beauty, still in awe at what just happ—… “Oi! Have you ever kissed anyone before, Icyhot? Fucking hell, what was that?!”

Of course this was bound to be expected— the angry gremlin in his natural behavior. You and Todoroki exchanged a look which held a thousand questions before you felt your wrist being caught by a much warmer palm, and eventually, you were yanked straight into Bakugou’s chest (not that you were complaining.) “Open your damn eyes and look, this how you fucking kiss a woman, dipshit.” The sound of his voice roaring against your eardrum made you flinch in the nicest way possible. Bakugou naturally made himself at ease all while maintaining his gaze upon Todoroki who was looking at him in return with a noticeable disdain in his eyes.

Bakugou was challenging him in a way, he perfectly knew that Todoroki was observing his every move, hence why he took the liberty to let his palm roam over the curve of your derrière as a way to taunt him. However, the taunt didn’t last too long not to make you feel uncomfortable. He quickly settled one of his hand on the small of your back (to maintain you as close to him as humanly possible) whilst his other hand was set upon your neck. He didn’t waste any more time and went straight to business.

Bakugou’s kiss was, as expected, a vivid contrast compared to Todoroki’s kiss. While Todoroki’s felt hesitant, caring, sweet… Bakugou’s kiss was rough around the edges and his sole purpose was to make your knees weak. Once he crashed his lips upon yours, he immediately swiped his tongue over the surface of your bottom lip, demanding immediate access to your mouth. You knew better than to upset Bakugou so you pleased and allowed his tongue to explore your mouth— your tongue was at his mercy for a few instants before finding a steady rhythm for you two. His presence was overwhelming— his smell, how close you were to him with nowhere to escape, his mouth, his tongue, everything caused you to rightfully let a moan escape into the kiss. At the sound of it, Todoroki’s eyes widened while Bakugou smirked into the kiss, he knew he made a point. You, in return, started to tug at his blonde hair— the rough atmosphere of the kiss affected your actions as well. Just prior to breaking the kiss, Bakugou’s teeth dug into your bottom lip and applied a few pressures while you were looking at him with pleading eyes to continue. Once he got what we wanted, he ended the kiss with a surprisingly soft peck upon your lips.

With his hand still settled on the small of your back, Bakugou turned to Todoroki’s direction and offered him his biggest smirk to show his secret victory. You were left breathless by the kiss, a series of uneven hot breaths crashed down onto Bakugou’s skin. 

If anyone were to walk in your hotel room, they would be able to feel and even touch the graduating tension in the air which almost felt agonizing. The tension was mostly radiating off of the two men, a silent battle for dominance had been declared through glances, holders of pure will to outbest the other. 

Todoroki observed the scene on his chair, and unbeknownst to him, Bakugou had indirectly offered him the best seat in the room to watch the manifestation of his talents. An almost inaudible sigh left Todoroki’s lips which translated into a sign of discontentment. “Y/N, come here.” The tone was strict, cold even, and you felt obligated to do as told. 

Detaching yourself from Bakugou’s embrace (you could tell he didn’t want to let you go judging from how his palm lingered on your back), you stepped away and made your way to Todoroki, a quizzical look noticeable in the reflect of your eyes. “What now?” You asked. Todoroki gestured to his lap and you knew what it meant, it was a speech without any word necessary. 

Paradoxically enough, Bakugou stared at the scenery in front of him in pure silence, and although it was very unlike him, he was mimicking Todoroki’s actions earlier on- he wanted to witness how Shoto was going to respond to his own deeds. 

You placed your hands over Todoroki’s shoulders to gain stability before sitting on his lap, it was a foreign feeling, but goodness, it was already addicting as hell and you were not interested in finding a cure. Both of Shoto’s hands crawled on the same spot where Bakugou’s hands used to linger just a few moments ago, you understood rather quickly that he was using his own methods against him. You were the center of Todoroki’s attention, his gaze graced your frame and he was loving the sound of your uneven breath, he wondered if he could make your respiration even more irregular.

He paid no mind to mind to the silent Bakugou who was already fuming in his corner as Shoto delivered a succession of pecks on the delicate flesh of your neck, and you tilted your head just enough to let him play on a wider surface. He traded the pecks for a few daring bites on certain areas, he needed to find your weak spot. “A-Ah... Shoto!” the sound of his name rolling off your tongue coated in such bliss was enough for him to curve his lips into a smirk. 

It was a brief moment of peace before he dug his teeth on the same spot and you failed to prevent any whimpers from coming out by biting your lower lip. He knew you were restricting yourself, prisoning these beautiful sounds of ecstasy, and he didn’t like any of it. He focused on your lower lip and rubbed the oh so soft surface with the pad of his thumb to prevent your from biting it, and thus, keeping your sounds of pleasure to yourself. 

“Don’t be shy, love. I’m pretty sure both Bakugou and I can agree on the fact that the little sounds you’re making are too divine to be hushed. Will you be a good girl and let us hear the sounds you’re making?” It was as if his voice was coated with honey, just his voice alone was enough to make you feel weak, and if you paid enough attention, you were pretty sure he purposefully blew a fit of cold air onto the skin of your neck. “Yes, please... I’ll be good, so good.” From that moment you knew you were at his mercy and he enjoyed every second of it. “You’re such a good girl for us.”

And so he continued, but it was rougher this time, a harsh contrast compared to his hesitant kiss from just a few moments ago. His teeth dug into the flesh of your skin harder this time, the sole purpose of leaving a mark on your crimson colored flesh was haunting his mind. To accomplish said purpose, Todoroki alternated between biting motions and a few swipes of his tongue on the newly bruised skin. The whimpers coming out of your mouth shamelessly only added fuel to his fire. He knew what he was doing, and you knew just how sensitive this particular area could get. 

Once he judged it was enough, he delivered a few pecks on the love bites, a way to kiss his art into your skin. “You’re so perfect, love, so perfect with my name written over your skin.” He whispered between kisses. Your head was thrown back, fingers grasping at the roots of his hair, your mouth agape- your whole body language testified of the addictive effect he had on you.

Such bliss couldn’t last for long, and quickly enough, another voice was being heard, a roar even. “Oi, oi, oi! Don’t even think for a single fucking second that you can have her all to yourself, half and half bastard.” It was almost a miracle that Bakugou had observed you in silence, but as expected, patience was nowhere near his forte. He had already crossed his limit long before you sat on Todoroki’s laps. Bakugou’s eyes were strictly focused on your frame, he was completely under your spell after observing how your chest would rise and fall unevenly to grasp any ounce of oxygen. 

Your knees felt weak already, you could only stare at Bakugou and silently ask him to continue, to make you feel even weaker, to make you experience pure bliss. You wanted to say his name, it was right on the tip of your tongue, but as you observed his figure reducing more and more the space between the two of you, you just admired him in silence. 

“Hah? What’re you looking at, brat? You want more? Is that it? You want fucking more? Say no more.” You should’ve known that the wicked smirk plastered upon his face was a pre-indicator of what was bound to happen. He lifted you off of Todoroki’s lap, the latter frowned a bit at the lack of your presence on him, and carried you to the bed before dropping you on the mattress. Todoroki was quick to follow from behind and stood right next to Bakugou, his hands already busy taking off his jacket and unbuttoning the first button of his evening shirt. “I’m sure that Bakugou and I can find a little agreement. After all, we can share, correct?” Todoroki’s rhetorical question found its answer once Bakugou let a discreet chuckle escape from his mouth after throwing his jacket God knows where and messily undoing his tie. “We’re gonna take real fucking good take care of you, baby girl.”

You were refraining yourself from already touching you, it took all the strength in the world not to give in to the most passionate temptations. But deep down, you already knew you were bound to be overwhelmed by pure bliss judging by how they were looking at you. You could only hum in response, unsure of how your voice would have sounded under the heavy influence of desire. 

Bakugou made the first move, after all, his poor soul felt left alone when Todoroki overwhelmed you with pecks and bites. He crawled over you, his knees were on each side of your waist, his hands however, assured total domination- his right hand clutched your wrists now pinned above your hand while his left palm settled by force on your throat, needless to say, the pressure was already applied on your windpipe. “You wanna’ play that game with me, hah?! Let Icyhot have all of you to himself and I got fucking nothing in return? Babygirl, I don’t watch, I fucking play.” It was too ferocious to be qualified as a whisper, and yet, when Bakugou pronounced the last bits of his sentence right in the shell of your ear, you felt like you were floating in pure bliss. “Answer me.” His grip on your throat felt a bit tighter. “P-Please... Ju-Just do whatever you want... With my body.” The lack of oxygen felt agonizing, you were deprived of fresh air and you were laying on the bed while Bakugou exuded pure confidence and domination, an aura so thick, you wished you could’ve touched it. “That’s my babygirl.” 

As Bakugou’s lips crashed onto yours, forcing its tongue into your mouth while maintaining the right amount of pressure on your throat to offer you a panorama of new sensations, Todoroki had already gotten rid of his shirt. If you paid close attention, you could see shy flames on his shoulders, he was absolutely adoring the scenery unfolding before him. Everything about you filled his senses, the sight of you giving in to Bakugou was nothing short of divine, the whimpers leaving your mouth in cascade whether the reason was the lack of air or the fierceness of Bakugou’s intentions was the sweetest melody he had ever heard. Everything was perfect. 

You felt the oxygen become one with your body again once Bakugou broke the kiss and allowed his hand to travel from your neck down to your chest, but his eyes were never leaving yours. He wanted to watch you come undone under his touch, he swore it to himself.

“I’ll take the bottom half. Icyhot, I don’t give a damn about what you do, just don’t fucking interrupt me.” His eyes were already set on the prize, your heat in all its glory. Shoto said nothing in response, you were the holder of all his undivided attention. As Bakugou took a firm grasp of your thighs, opening the way to his newfound purpose, Todoroki took over the top half of your body- he started by planting a succession of pecks from your lips down to your collarbone, passing by your neck, and each kiss was amplified by the cold air he was blowing on the surface of your skin. The contrast in temperature cause you to allow a few whimpers to escape, you already knew you craved for more, it was a way of manifesting it.

 “You won’t need that, will you, love?”  He said while pointing at your shirt, as his index was already hooking the fabric. It was a rhetorical question of course, you simply answered by humming. Your silent response was the only thing necessary for Shoto to send your shirt flying somewhere in the room. He continued his trail of kisses down to the valley of your breasts, the same cold air following him as he went.

Bakugou, on the other one hand, had already gotten rid off your skirt, but not before letting his palms explore the generous cheeks hidden underneath it, and eventually, leaving a slap right on this area which caused you to yelp in surprise. The pad of his thumb was already brushing against the surface of the fabric, oh what a pleasure it was when he felt the sensation of humidity coming through your underwear. A sensation so good, so addicting, so divine that it brought a sly grin to his face. “Already so wet for us, babygirl? You’re not wasting your damn time, hah?” Your skin was burning under his touch, you could already feel the chills running down your spine and he hadn’t even taken off your underwear yet. 

Todoroki took the strap of your bra between his thumb and index, and much to your suprise, he used the right amount of his quirk to burn the fabric and applied the same treatment to the other strap. Before you could even protest about the poor outcome of your bra, he planted his lips on your own to keep you quiet. Now, he focused his attention to your breasts and the bits of clothing left which prevented the upper half of your body from being fully exposed. He took the opportunity given by Bakugou who had gotten rid of your underwear which made you arch your back to unclip your bra. There was nothing stopping him now. He let his gaze fell on you, so full of adoration, while he leaned down and caught the last piece of fabric remaining of your bra between his teeth. His eyes held so much envy, so much desires which reciprocated in the reflect of your own orbs. 

Shoto threw your bra out of his mouth, and there you were- your body bare in all its glory. “Fuck, you’re so perfect...” He whispered right against your chest, causing you to let out a sigh you didn’t even know you were holding. He used his mother’s inherited side to trace the contour of your breasts, he knew he was going to earn a moan in return and he was so please to hear such a sinful melody at the clash of his cold fingers against your burning skin. His thumb and his index worked in harmony to twist the bud of your nipple and overwhelm it by Shoto’s cold touch while his tongue delivering hot saliva on your skin was already doing wonders on your other breast, a perfect balance between cold and hot which made your arousal erupt even more and someone was quick to notice...

“Oi, doll face, focus on me, not on this goddamn fucker. Don’t you feel so fucking good when I touch you like that, hah?” His burning jealousy amplified the voracity of his deeds. Every single one of his touch served the purpose of pleasuring you, but also outdo Todoroki’s touches. He needed to be the best at everything, including making you melt under his touch. You struggled to keep your eyes open, the desire to close your eyes and let your body attract all the attention while basking in pure bliss was too strong and yet, Bakugou’s voice roared into your mind, you couldn’t help but lay your eyes on him through half-closed lids. 

Once he knew he was the bearer of all your attention, he put his body and mind to work. Both of his hands planted your thighs on each side of his body, you felt too weak to move under his touch and did not dare resist the pressure. You whined in advance because you knew what was coming- and boy, did he look good with his face buried between your thighs. 

One long, sharp, vertical lick was all it took to let yet another moan escape your lips once more, and to Bakugou, it was the best reward. The heat of his tongue responded to the heat of your core, it was pure harmony. He licked the your core over and over again, tasting you, loving you, worshipping you even. One time he left lingering kisses to the side of your core, another time he was left licking motions all over your folds because your taste was the best thing he had ever felt. His motions echoed to your whines and moans, he was sure of hearing a sinful melody each time his tongue entered in contact with your skin.

“Keep making these noises for me, don’t be fucking shy.” His hot breath on the center of your heat embraced perfectly the succession of his actions, “Y-Yes... P-Please, I want... I need more.” Bakugou couldn’t help but let a low chuckle leave his lips, in response to your needy attitude, he left a harsh slap on the surface of your butt, to which you whined loudly in response. “Such a fucking filthy mouth you have there, hah?” He smiled to himself, knowing perfectly that what he was about to do was bound to leave you as a whimpering mess. Without any warning, he slid two of his fingers inside your core, and fuck, you were tight. His thumb was brushing against your sweet bundle of nerves which had already been cherished by Bakugou’s tongue earlier. 

You clutched the sheets of the bed to release some of the buildup pressure inside, it was as if a tornado, a volcano and a firework were exploding at the same time in your stomach, each of them resulting in a series of whimpers and moans at the overstimulation. Your lids were shut close already, yet, they kept fluttering over the invisible crimson touches left by both Todoroki and Bakugou.

Speaking over Todoroki, he was tasting you in such a different way as he started to get the grip of Bakugou’s mechanic. His mind kept roaming and roaming, he knew that just one mark on your neck was not quite enough and he needed to beat Bakugou at his own game- he positioned himself right over your right breast and blew a fit of fresh air, causing him to smile at himself for being the reason of such a reaction, and dug his teeth into your flesh. Motivated by the the way you kept tugging at his hair, he kept biting the same area over and over again until sucking your flesh just enough to create yet another love bite over your breast, such an intimate area, isn’t it? And now his whole name was written on it. 

“B-Bakugou... I can’t take it... Ahh! Anymore, please, please...” His fingers weren’t enough anymore, you were pleading his name, begging him to become one with you because you were unsure as to how you were going to keep the unleashed pressure within you ruin you. “So eager for my fucking cock, aren’t you?! You’re gonna count with me each inch entering your fucking cunt, got it?” You were willing to do anything at this point- Todoroki’s bites and his cold touch, Bakugou’s fingers and tongue, it made you fill dizzy but you knew, deep down, you were slowly approaching a pure state of bliss. “Yes... Yes I will.”

For his own purpose, Bakugou took his fingers off your core and flipped you on your stomach so you could be on all fours. You were giving him the view of worthy of a masterpiece: the crimson colored marks on your butt cheeks, the vivid rosy tone of your dripping core, oh he wanted all of you. “Love, don’t you forget that I’m here too, right? Open your pretty mouth for me.” You did as Todoroki preached, opening your mouth for him to stick his index in there. “Suck.” he commanded, to which you obliged by creating hollows in your cheeks and embrace his finger around your tongue, this feeling was beyond perfect, beyond the wildest fantasies his imagination had to offer. He could only let his subconsciousness roam about how his cock would feel around your perfectly pouted lips.

Bakugou’s hands gripped your hips tightly, his fingers turning white in the process while your flesh adopted a reddish tone in response. With the use of the pad of his thumb, he spread the pre-cum leaking all over his length, and so it began: the first inch. “One.”, it sounded more like an order than a statement, “...One.” you echoed, your response didn’t come quick enough to Bakugou’s liking, making you earn a harsh slap on your cheeks in return. Then another inch “Two.” , another faint sound coming from your lips “T-Two...”, yet another slap on your abused flesh. And so it went on, the process remained the same- another inch, another whisper escaping your mouth between sobs, another spank. 

On the other side of the bed, Todoroki was stroking his own length at the sight before him. You were on the brim of tears, and Bakugou didn’t show any mercy regarding your current state. “I’m sorry, her mouth is going to be full soon, she won’t have room to count out for you.” Bakugou grunted in response to Todoroki’s taunt. His strokes became gradually faster, like a crescendo if you will. His other hand, however, was placed right underneath your jaw to give you some support and your mouth was already open in anticipation for what was bound to happen. 

With his hand to keep your jaw steady, you welcomed Todoroki’s lenght into your mouth and he automatically let a groan as the tip of your tongue caressed his sensitive tip. You imagined how rewarding it must have felt for them to hear your own moans and whimpers because hearing Todoroki’s moan felt like a blessing to your eardrums.

Your tongue circled around his cock, your hand was pumping his length, and Todoroki wondered if this is what heaven looked and felt like. Your whimpers were hushed by the presence of his member in your mouth, but somehow, even these half silenced sounds of pleasure sounded even better to his ears. He felt his lids shut close under the miracle work of your tongue while his hand lingered in your hair to motivate you to keep going.

Bakugou, frustrated by this change of plans due to Todoroki’s own personal pleasure, slid the entirety of his phallus into you abruptly. The shock caused you to remove Shoto’s member from your mouth momentarily to catch your breath and release yet another whine before pleasuring Todoroki again. That came as a surprise to no one, not even Shoto himself, but Bakugou’s pace was rough and almost animalistic. 

The sound of his testicles clapping against your flesh testified of the pace and yet, it felt so enticing. Bakugou was not so vocal, but he did leave his fair share of grunts as he buried himself into you more and more until reaching your cervix. It was too much, your core was burning, hell your whole body was on fire. The tears that threatened to fall had put their threat to execution, you knew you were close, the overstimulation was getting the best of you leaving you in a whimpering, trembling mess. 

You continued to stroke Shoto’s length with your tongue, but his need to take control took over him. The same hand that rested in your hair suddenly took a firm grasp of your hair and he thrusted himself into your mouth and from there, his grunts became more repetitive. Truthfully, it was the only push he needed to bring him over the edge, the previous work of your tongue had put him under a spell. A spell he never wanted to wake up from. He knew what was coming, you felt it too but how the tip of his phallus was tickling your throat deeper and deeper. 

Shoto didn’t even notice the small flames making their apparition on the blades of his collarbone, meaning that it was finally time for him to cum. He set your mouth free and hinted his length towards your chest, letting the drips of cum color your skin, and allowed the most magical moan to leave his already parted lips in satisfaction. “Love, look what you fucking did to me. You’re so beautiful, so beautiful with my cum all over you.” Your first instinct was to fill your lungs with oxygen, something so common yet it was cruelly needed. You looked through your lashes at Shoto with pleading eyes while he looked at you with a glimpse of adoration in his. His digit was carefully wiping the excess of cum leaking down your chin to place it right into your mouth. He could only stare in awe at the sight of you tasting him. He felt so full, and fulfilled. He was finally at peace, soaking in pure bliss.  

The grasp Bakugou was holding over your hips became even harsher, which you though was impossible just a few seconds before. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” He grunted, trying to keep his volume at bay by digging his teeth into his lower lip but it was all too much to be contained. He knew his climax was close, so close that he could picture it if he closed his eyes just for a second. Bakugou’s name fell on your lips like a forbidden prayer, his name had turned into the only thing you were able to say. “I-...Ah! Inside, inside, fuck, please...”, you felt a wave of pleasure taking over your body, a pleasure so intense, no word could have done it justice. Oh well, that was the sole indication he needed to hear before digging his nails into your sides, causing you to arch your back and bite the sheets, already preventing the cascade of whimpers from echoing in the room. “Fucking hell... Cum with me, now.”

 With one last thrust, Bakugou came within you, his face was facing the ceiling as he came undone with you. His cum slid within you and in return, your body thanked him by letting your own juice flow all over his length. 

Silence invaded the room. No more grunts, no more moans, no more cries. Pure silence inhabited by the uneven breaths of three protagonists who had just touched heaven by the tip of their fingers. Three victims of passion.

Bakugou pulled out of you, earning a whimper in return at the sudden feeling of vacuity. Your legs were shaking, and you secretly thanked every God for allowing you to stay relatively steady on all fours for this long and be able to endure the bestial-like pace of Bakugou. Needless to say, you were panting, you mouth was agape and you were crying for air. Your body immediately crashed onto the mattress, the soft feeling of the sheets enveloping your skin after reaching heaven made you feel as if you were floating on a cloud.

Bakugou and Todoroki shared a look, a small grin even, before crashing down onto the mattress next to you. You were unable to move, your mind was comparable to a wild blur as a result of your orgasm. A rush of words flew through your air but absolutely none of them was powerful and meaningful enough to qualify how you were feeling. At peace? No, not strong enough. Full? Nope, did not carry enough meaning. It was a unique feeling, worthy of all the praises in the world. 

Todoroki draped an arm over your waist and left a trail of kisses upon the flesh of your shoulder, a silent way to thank you for allowing him to experience heaven in a rush. Bakugou, on the other one hand, was facing your back and allowed his index to draw invisible patterns on the skin of your back. Paradoxically enough, the silence carried more words and emotions than an actual speech. Until...

“So... Um, about the mission?”

[howdon-aldi-death-queue]

NEW SAM FENDER INTERVIEW FOR NME

THE BIG READ

Sam Fender: “This album is probably the best thing I’ve done in my life”

The hometown hero has distanced himself from the ‘Geordie Springsteen’ tag, but there’s no shortage of rites-of-passage yarns and colossal tunes on the upcoming ‘Seventeen Going Under’

“You can see the ghost of Thatcherism over there…” says Sam Fender, pointing across the water to a vacant shipyard, where once the shipbuilding industry was so healthy that vessels towered higher than the rows of houses on the shore. We’re on the waterfront in North Shields, just outside Newcastle, and our photographer is snapping away for Sam’s first NME cover shoot.

The singer-songwriter stares stonily into the lens as wafts of seaweed and fishing trawlers are carried by the northern coastal breeze. He’s already been stopped for a few pictures with fans, but remains eager to point out the impact that Tory leadership has had on his working-class town over the last few decades. “It’s been closed since the ’80s, from the ghost wasteland of the shipyards. You’ve got all the scars of Thatcherism from The Tyne all over to the pit villages in Durham.”

It’s as good an introduction as any to the outspoken musician, whose 2019 debut album ‘Hypersonic Missiles’ was a record for his sleepy hometown to be proud of – tackling themes that range from male suicide (the heartbreaking ‘Dead Boys’) to world tensions (and the “kids in Gaza” he eulogised on its soaring title track). He set weighty topics against blisteringly well-executed Americana with the fist-in-the-air euphoria of Bruce Springsteen’s colossal choruses and sax solos. Much like his hero, Sam smartly weaves his own political standpoint and personal circumstance into gripping anthems of a generation, which earned him the ‘Geordie Springsteen’ tag.

“I can’t exactly bat off those comparisons, can I?” he says back in his cosy recording studio nearby. “At the same time, I don’t feel worthy of that tag. The first time I heard it, I was like, ‘That’s fucking sick’, but you don’t want to be riding off the coattails of The Boss for the rest of your life. I can write my own songs, they’re different and my voice doesn’t sound anything like Springsteen’s. I don’t have his growl; I’m a little fairy when I sing.”

He may have toned down the Springsteen vibes slightly on his highly anticipated second album ‘Seventeen Going Under’, due later this year, but there are still plenty of chest-pounding anthems capable of making your hairs stand on end: “I much prefer Americana to the music we have in our country at the moment. I love the leftfield indie stuff like Fontaines D.C, Squid and Black Midi, but I love a chorus and melodic songs. I think the American alternative scene has that down with Pinegrove, Big Thief, The War On Drugs.”

‘Hypersonic Missiles’ thrummed with a small town frustration almost that every suburban teenager could surely relate to. This was most notable on ‘Leave Fast’, where he sang about the “boarded up windows on the promenade / The shells of old nightclubs” and “intoxicated people battling on the regular in a lazy Low Lights bar”, a reference to his beloved local. But album two sees him fully embrace North Shields, an ever-present backdrop to cherished memories and harrowing life events of his youth and surroundings.

It’s no coincidence that the 27-year-old has turned inwards and penned a record about his hometown while being stuck at home like the rest of the country: “I didn’t have anything to point at and I didn’t want to talk about the pandemic because nobody wants that – I never want to hear about it again. It was such a stagnant time that I had to go inwards and find something, because I was so uninspired by the lifetime we we’re living in.

“I’ve made my coming-of-age record and that was important for me – as I get older, these stories keep appearing; I’ve got so much to talk about. I wrote about growing up here. It’s about mental health and how things that happen as a child impact your self-esteem in later life. On the first record, I was pointing at stuff angrily, but the further I’ve gotten into my 20s, the more I’ve realised how little I know about anything. When you hit 25, you’re like: ‘I’m fucking clueless! I know nothing about the world.’ It was a humbling experience, growing up.”

Early last year, before the pandemic hit, Sam was set to jet off to New York pre-pandemic to record in the city’s infamous Electric Lady studios founded by Jimi Hendrix. “Looking back, I’m thankful that it happened,” he says. “If I went off to New York and did my second album there… it wouldn’t have been the same record. I will go and do the third one in NYC, come hell or high water – I’m fucking out of here!

“The forced return home really informed the direction [of the record]. I was on the crest of this insane wave; we’d sold out 84,000 tickets for the [‘Hypersonic Missiles] arena tour that we still haven’t played yet. I’m still waiting to hear when it’s going to be rescheduled. It’s incredibly frustrating; I’ve got loads of frustrated fans. That was all cancelled on the day of the lockdown. I thought it was only going to be a couple of months and that it would be another swine flu thing, but fool me – I was stuck in the house like everybody else.”

It’s not the first setback that Sam has dealt with in his career. In the summer of 2019, he was ready to make his Glastonbury Festival debut with a Friday afternoon set on the legendary John Peel Stage, a rite of passage for any emerging artist, but had to pull out due to a serious health issue with his vocal chords. The mood in the room shifts dramatically at the mention of this devastating period: “I don’t want to focus on that, to be honest, because it’s just negative news and it’s in the past.”

“The further I’ve gotten into my 20s, the more I’ve realised how little I know”

Looking back now, he says, it was a tough decision, but ultimately the right thing to do: “We were doing so much at the time and I just burnt out. If you damage your vocal cords, you can’t take it lightly. If something happens like that and you keep going, you’ll fucking lose your career forever. I never want to end up behind the knife; I just refuse to put myself in that situation.”

The fact that his 2019 breakthrough ground to a halt again in COVID-decimated 2020 “was frustrating as fuck”, he says, “but I took solace in the fact that everyone was stopped in their tracks that time; it wasn’t just me.” This was in stark contrast to the singer’s experience of pulling the biggest moment of his music career in order to rest his vocal cords: “I didn’t talk for three weeks; I had to be silent and just watch Glastonbury on the TV, going, ‘This is completely dogshit’. But you can’t even say that out loud – you’re just saying it over in your head like a psycho. I’d take a pandemic over that any day.”

There was a brief flash of light when he headlined the opening night at the world’s first socially distanced arena, Newcastle’s Virgin Money Unity venue, to an audience of 2,500. Yet Sam’s not in the mood to wax lyrical about that, either. “It was amazing,” he says, “but it didn’t happen again.” A local lockdown in the North East brought the following shows – which would have featured Kaiser Chiefs and Declan McKenna – to a premature end in September: “It was another false start. We thought everything was going to get moving again but then we were just sat around [again].”

As for this reaction to the Government’s handling of the pandemic? It perhaps says it all that he’s selling face masks emblazoned with the words ‘2020 Shit Show’ and ‘Dystopian Nightmare Festival’ on his website. “I think everyone has said enough haven’t they?” Sam suggests. “I never want to see Boris Johnson’s or Matt Hancock’s face ever again. As soon as they come on the TV, I just turn it off.”

Political tension bubbles through ‘Seventeen Going Under’. Its second half boasts tracks such as ‘Long Way Off’, a brooding but colossal festival anthem brimming with angst and unease. “Standing on the side I never was the silent type,” Fender roars, “I heard a hundred million voices / sound the same both left and right / we’re still alone we are.” It’s gripping stuff; a Gallagher-level anthem ripe for pyro and pints held aloft.

Sam says the song is about feeling stranded amid political divisiveness here and in the US, epitomised when Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in Washington back in January: “You’ve either got right-wing, racist idiots or you’ve got this elitist, upper-middle-class section of the left-wing, which completely alienates people like myself and people from my hometown.”

“The polarity between the left and the right has me feeling like I have no identity”

Closer to home, the last UK election, in 2019, saw the so-called ‘Red Wall’ crumble as working-class voters in the north defected from Labour to Tory. “The polarity between the left and the right has me feeling like I have no identity,” Sam says. “I’m obviously left-wing, but you lose hope don’t you? Left-wing politics has lost its main votership; it doesn’t look after working-class people the way that it used to. Blyth Valley voted Tory just north of here. Now, that is saying something! We’re in dire straits when a fucking shipbuilding town is voting for the Tories – it’s like foxes voting for the hunter.”

He’s even seen his own working-class friends peel to the blue side: “I’m like, ‘What the fuck is going on?’ I understand it, though. I’d never vote for the bastards because I fucking hate them and I know what they’re up to, but I get why people don’t feel any alliegiance to left-wing politics when they’re working-class.”

As ever though, Sam isn’t masquerading as an expert: “I’m not fucking Noam Chomsky, you know what I mean? I’m not going to dissect the whole political agenda of the Tories and figure it all out because I can’t. All I see is a big fucking shit sandwich – every day through my news feed – and it’s just, ‘Well: that’s what your dealing with.”

The singer is fond of describing North Shields as “a drinking town with a fishing problem”. Today he adds: “That’s been the backdrop of my life: all of these displaced working-class people. It’s a town that’s resilient that still has a strong sense of community. In a lot of big cities that’s dead. In London everything changes from postcode to postcode, but everything is quite uniform up here.”

When NME was awaiting Sam’s arrival outside the studio before the interview, a passerby clocked our photographer’s gear and asked, “Oh aye – are you waiting for Sam? We all know Sam – a good lad; very accommodating with nae airs or graces about him.” Another pointed to The Low Lights Tavern down the road, where Fender used to pull pints on the weekends: “He was a terrible barman, and he’ll be the first to tell you that. I think he got sacked about six times during his time there.”

Sam (who confesses of his bartending know-how: “He’s totally right!”) hit the local to celebrate when ‘Hypersonic Missiles’ won him a Critics’ Choice gong at the BRIT Awards in 2019, placing the trophy on the bar. “I owed The Low Lights one for being such a shit barman,” he says. “I wanted them to be proud of us because they fucking certainly wasn’t proud of us when I was around working there!”

“Celebrity stuff freaks me out. I’d rather just live my life”

He’s clearly a key member of the local community, then. How did he see the pandemic impact on his family and friends – especially when the North East faced the toughest Tier Four lockdown restrictions last December? Sam pauses before bluntly saying: “I lost more mates; there was suicides again. Mental health was the biggest thing. We lost friends who had drunk too much.”

A track on the new record, ‘The Dying Light‘, is an epic sequel to ‘Dead Boys’, with the poignant last line of the album ringing out “for all the ones who didn’t make the night”. Sam, unable to truly distance himself from The Boss after all, explains: “It’s very Springsteen. It’s my ‘Jungleland’ or ‘Thunder Road’ – it’s got that ‘Born To Run’ feel; there’s strings and brass [and] it’s fucking massive. It’s a celebration. It’s a triumph over adversity.”

He stresses that it was vital for him to be in regular contact with his friendship circle through that traumatic time: “It becomes important when you lose friends to suicide… You realise it’s always the unlikely folks. We lost a friend to suicide at the beginning of last year and it was someone you’d never expect. It really hits home; it’s important to check in on your mates.”

Sam has alluded in previous interviews to a health condition that he’s not yet ready to fully disclose, and tells NME that he spent three months shielding at the beginning of the pandemic: “I was alone for three months and that was very tough… When you’re completely alone and isolated, it’s impossible. I spent a lot of time drinking and not really looking after myself and eating shit food, but I wrote a lot of good lyrics.”

There’s a certain resulting bleakness to some of his new songs, but Sam also wanted light to shine through. “It’s a darker record, but it’s a celebration of surviving and coming out the other end,” he explains. “It’s upbeat but the lyrics can be quite honest. It’s the most honest thing I’ve done.”

You might expect a young hometown hero to rail at having been denied the chance to capitalise on his burgeoning fame in the last year or so, but Sam insists, “I still have imposter syndrome,” adding: “I don’t feel like it’s happened… I’m walking around the street and people ask for photos and it just feels bizarre. I’m like, really? I feel like I haven’t come out of my shell yet.”

Sam has rarely been one to court celebrity, and revealed in 2019 that he’d turned down the chance to appear in an Ariana Grande video. “It was an honour but I would have just been known as that guy in the video,” he tells NME. “All of my mates would have been flipping their heads off, but I don’t think she would really want an out-of-shape, pale Geordie. I’d rather just live my life, because all of this celebrity stuff freaks [me] out, you know?”

He might have to get used to it: things can only get bigger with the arrival of the new album. “As a record I think this one is leagues ahead [of ‘Hypersonic Missiles’],” he says, “I’m more proud of this than anything I’ve ever done. It’s probably the best thing I’ve done in my life. I just hope people love it as much as I do. With the first album, a lot of those songs were written when I was 19, so I was over half of it [by the time it was released]. Whereas this one is where I’m at now.”

“This is a dark record, but it’s a celebration of surviving and coming out the other end”

Still, he adds: “At the same time, this record is probably going to piss a lot of people off.” He’s referring to a line in one of the more political tracks, ‘Aye’, where he returns to his most enduring bugbear, divisiveness, and claims that “the woke kids are just dickheads”. Sam’s no less forthcoming in person: “They fucking are, though! Some 22-year-old kid from Goldsmiths University sitting on his fucking high horse arguing with some working-class person on some comments section calling them an ‘idiot’ and a ‘bigot’? Nobody engages each other in a normal discussion [online] without calling each other a ‘thick cunt’.”

He’s eager to make this statement, though, come what may: “I don’t fucking care any more. I’m not really sure how the reaction is going to be. People used to say things online about me and I used to get quite hurt about it, but now I’m like, ‘Well, they’re not coming to my house’… [But] I get so angry. In Newcastle we say ‘pet’ and someone was trying to tell me that was fucking offensive towards women. You’re not going to delete my fucking colloquial identity. It’s not even gender-specific; we say it to men and women. My Grandma calls me ‘pet’! That brand of liberalism is fucking destroying the country. We could be getting Boris Johnson and all them pricks out of office if we stopped sweating over shit like that”.

Sam might be outspoken, but he’s self-aware, too. When we were talking politics earlier, he said: “I didn’t want to start on ‘cancel culture’ because I don’t want to sound like Piers Morgan [and] I fucking hate that cunt. But there is a degree of it which lacks redemption; people fuck up. Everyone is a flawed character. If you’re not admitting that you have flaws, then you’re a fucking psychopath. The left-wing seem to be that way and the right-wing are fucking worse than they’ve ever been. Politically I have just lost my shit.”

In all of this uncertainty, though, it seems a sure thing that Sam Fender will take his rightful crown – as soon as the world lets him – with the colossal ‘Seventeen Going Under’. “It’s going to be a hell of a return,” he insists. “I know the fans are still there, you know? So I’m not really worried – I’m ready to go out there and do my thing. Finally!”

[bnhascribbles]

Jacket Thief (among other things)

Hawks x Reader

Fluff, Flirting, Humor, First kiss; I watched the BNHA movie. I love Hawks. I love his stupid face and his stupid voice. I’m so soft for one (1) bird man.

Words: 1.2K

Warnings: None

You’re not going to be giving his jacket back.

It’s a spur-of-the-moment decision. One you know is totally insane, lacking an ounce of anything even resembling common sense.  After all, this wasn’t the way dates were supposed to go. Definitely not dates with the number two top hero in Japan. Regardless, you don’t think you’ll be able to sleep tonight if you don’t follow through.

You aren't even cold anymore, but you still find yourself tugging the smooth leather tighter over your shoulders.

“You’re either delusional or in denial.” You say, fumbling to find your key fob in your mess of a bag. Your cheeks hurt from the stretch of your grin, an expression you’d been sporting nearly the entire night. “To think that you’d even suggest Endeavor could beat—“

“Not beat,” Keigo interjects, “I believe my exact words were ‘give him a run for his money.’”

You scoff as you press the bit of plastic to the reader and yank open the door.

“You’re acting like All Might wouldn’t absolutely cream him one-on-one. Think about that time they did that publicity match for J-TV! Endeavor didn’t even last 30 seconds before he was knocked flat on his ass.”

Keigo has to curl his wings tight against his sides in order to fit through the doorway. “You do know those things are fake, right?”

“No! You’re telling me the channel that airs ‘Villain Babes and Baddies’ is deceiving me? Say it ain’t so!” You let out an exaggerated wail. The chuckle that your drama earns from Keigo immediately makes the noise complaint you’ll receive from your middle-aged neighbors well worth it.

“Then why’d you bring it up?” He asks.

“Because even J-TV knows that All Might would win! Aren’t you smarter than J-TV?”

“Most days.”

You stop walking and turn to face Keigo, one eyebrow quirked up high and your lips pulled off to one side.

“Some days.” He amends, the edges of his mouth curling upward as he buries his hands in his pockets. “But lapses in judgment can open doors, ya’ know. Never know when a near-collision will lead to a date instead of a lawsuit.”

“Better not talk like that in front of your legal team.”

“They’re used to it.”

You reach your apartment too quickly. You don’t want to unlock your door yet, don’t want to say ‘goodnight’ and watch Keigo walk away. There’s a tense silence as you fiddle with your keys, pretending you can’t find the right one. It’s probably not too convincing, seeing as you only have two to choose from. Still, you’re not sure what other option you have.

“So,” you drawl, lifting your eyes for only a second, still playing your imaginary game of ‘how long can I draw this out for,’ “what’s on tap for mister Wing Hero tomorrow? Anything interesting you can let slip?”

Keigo’s laugh echoes through the dimly lit hallway. Another noise complaint. “Interested in my schedule, are we? Hoping to ‘accidentally’ bump into me on one of my patrols?”

“Or maybe I’m trying to sell your location to some bad guy for a quick buck.” You roll your eyes, leaning back against the plaster wall. “But you know what they say: potato potahto.”

“Ohhhhhhh,” he groans, stretching his arms up behind his head. It’s a struggle keeping yourself from staring at them, the way the muscles tense and relax. “Man, what is it with me and falling for villains.”

You shrug. “We’re pretty charming people if you can tolerate the occasional misdemeanor.”

Another uncomfortable silence cuts into your conversation when Keigo doesn’t say anything, just looks at you with that lopsided, stupidly-handsome grin of his. You wonder if he can hear it—the way your pulse thuds in your ears. Maybe that’s why he looks so self-assured; he knows the effect that something as simple as a smile has on you. As stupid as Hawks pretends to be, you know the truth, know how he notices everything from the twitching in your fingers to the way you shift your weight from foot to foot.

You’ve ambled for too long already. With a heavy sigh, you finally unlock the door.

“Now that my master plan has been foiled, I need time to think up something new.”

“A clever person like you doesn’t have a plan B ready to go?” Keigo quips back.

You turn to face him yet again, leaving the key in the lock. “Just because I have a plan doesn’t mean it’s good. That takes time.” Resting your back on the door, you reach over and put a hand on the handle. “And sleep. As fun as tonight has been, hero, we both have work in the morning.”

“True. You know, early birds catching worms and all that fun stuff.”

Before you can get out a final goodbye though, before you can so much as blink, he takes a step forward. There’s a wicked glint in his eye as he looms over you, so close that you can count the individual strands of hair falling into his face.

“I see you’re starting early,” Keigo says, the sound crawling up from somewhere deep in his chest. He reaches up and grabs the collar of your jacket—his jacket. “Last time I checked, this is mine.”

You’ve got nowhere to run; he’s too close, and you’re not about to send yourself flying backward in a getaway attempt. You wouldn’t want to anyway. It’s all too exciting—being so close after a whole night of jokes and teasing. Playing around was fun, but the fact is you’d been eyeballing each other for hours, waiting for the moment where you could finally be alone, away from prying eyes. You both know it.

“Yeah,” you tilt your chin upward, “and what are you gonna do about it?”

Keigo hesitates.

“What do you want me to do?”

A good question. One you know the answer to, even if the knot in your stomach keeps you from verbalizing it.

Thankfully, you don’t have to. Keigo inches forward and the rest kind of happens on its own. You barely register his fingers curling around your waist or your own hand weaving its way through his hair. There’s a warmth across your face, but you can’t be sure of the cause; was it the blood boiling beneath your skin or was it his breath, warm on your cheeks? It doesn’t matter. His lips, his smile pressed against yours erases any hope of forming a coherent thought. And you don’t care. You don’t care about anything else anymore.

It’s all over too soon. He pulls back and his eyes flutter open—warm like melted caramel, a lingering sunset. You inhale shakily. Keigo does the same.

Words. This was the part where you were supposed to say something endearing. Something to make him want to keep letting you ‘steal’ his jacket, keep him laughing with you like this, wracking up noise complaints like tickets at the world’s most generous arcade.

So many different words form and die on the tip of your tongue before you finally settle on saying “never thought I’d ever let an Endeavor fanboy kiss me.”

“Those are some strong words coming from a thief.” Keigo counters, chewing on his bottom lip. You find that you can’t watch him for too long; his eyes crinkle and he’s leaning in again, forehead pressing to yours. It’d be a crime not to let your eyes drift shut, not to savor it.

“I’m no thief.” You breathe. Keigo’s nose bumps against yours. “I haven’t stolen anything yet.”

“That’s still up for debate.” He huffs, bringing his other hand up and brushing a thumb across your cheek. Then he moves in again.

Even though it isn’t the first, this kiss tastes like the beginning of something extraordinary.

[dreamescapeswriting]

Whipped For You ~ MYG [TW] [Request]

↬↬↬Word Count: 2.3K

↬↬↬Genre: Angst with a little fluffy proud yoongi

↬↬↬Pairing: Min yoongi x reader

↬↬↬A/N: I hope this is alright for you love, I tried to keep the mentions of drug use and such to a minimum because I didn’t want it to be triggering for anybody.

↬↬↬WARNINGS: This fic contains the mentions of use of drugs, someone addicted to drugs and/or alcohol if you’re not comfortable with that please do not read the following piece of work.

As you stared down at the small portions of food that you and Yoongi were being served all that was on your mind was one thing, 

"I'm glad we made plans with the boys or I will be wasting away later." You whispered to your boyfriend as the waiter placed a glass of wine down in front of you, you thanked him and Yoongi smirked at you. He knew that this wasn't your idea of a fun night and yet he insisted you go along to it since it was in celebration of your latest promotion at work. Yoongi wanted to see who you worked with and show that he was proud of how far you had come in life, 

"Y/n! Have you told Yoongi where your office is yet?" It was your CEO that questioned you, this whole evening had been his idea since the start and you nervously shook your head while sipping on the white wine you'd been given,

"Not yet." You whispered. You hadn't told Yoongi much about the promotion since it had only happened yesterday morning and the details were still getting lost in your head.

"Ah! She has this wonderful view of Seoul right from her office. It's on the top floor, she's playing for the big dogs now." You looked down at your hands out of nerve you always hated when people gushed about you in a good way- in a bad way too, it always made you feel uneasy and on edge about everything.

"You'll have to take him up there one day, the view is to die for." Yoongi smiled at him and placed his hand on top of yours under the table he'd known you since you were kids and knew that you would get nervous about this kind of thing. He'd known you almost all of your life and he knew how to read you like a book and what the telltale signs of you getting anxious were.

"Go to the bathroom and cool off," He kissed your shoulder and without another word, you excused yourself from the table and headed in the direction of the posh bathrooms. The restaurant you were sitting in was one of the biggest ones in Seoul, Yoongi had only ever been here twice and it was with Bang PD and the boys to celebrate something, it was way too fancy for him and you. 

"You must be proud Yoongi, Y/n made her way up from being a basic receptionist to being one of the top-performing managers and now she's a CEO." Yoongi was more proud than he could ever express in front of anyone at work, they all knew the new you and not the you that you used to be. 

"She deserves it, she's a hard worker." He said to your boss who then began bosting about how hard a worker you were and how thankful he was to have you on his team. He began giving Yoongi stories he hadn't heard from you before and it only made his smile grow bigger. 

"What did I miss?" You questioned as you and Yoongi stepped into the elevator of the restaurant, his arm was linked with yours as the doors shut. 

"Your boss was just telling me how you slept your way to the top," Yoongi teased and you faked a gasp, 

"He promised me he'd keep it a secret, guess I'll have to tell his husband," Yoongi smirked kissing the top of your head as you joked along with him. He'd never fully expressed to you how proud he was of how far you'd come but he was. He thought about it all of the time, everything you went through in life and yet nothing held you back. You took it like water off a duck's back, as if it made you what you were, 'character development you called it now. 

"You alright?" You asked as you reached the ground floor, Yoongi had been staring at the door while thinking about all of the things you'd been through in your life, he rubbed your lower back and nodded.

"Thinking about life, our past and our future. The usual." You smiled at him softly and pulled him in the direction of the car, he was the driver since you'd had a drink that night. 

"Can you think and drive, I'm starving and we promised the boys take out at the dorms tonight." You reminded him, once you were inside of the car you took off the heels that felt like they were murdering your feet and then looked in the backseat. Your usual black vans were waiting on the seat along with some shorts and a baggy t-shirt you could slip into once Yoongi hit the motorway and you could change without being noticed.

"Why didn't you tell me about the view?" You looked at Yoongi from your side of the car and shrugged your shoulders, 

"It's me Yoongi, I don't brag about that kind of thing." He chuckled softly, he liked that you didn't brag about the things you had in your life. 

"You're acting weird tonight, what's up?" You questioned as you climbed into the back of his car to get changed, he focused on driving so he wouldn't kill either of you but he gripped onto the wheel. 

"Just thinking how far you've come, all you did to get away from that life-"

"Yoongi..." You whispered, you knew how much he hated the life you used to lead but it was in the past now. 

"No, I'm saying it's a good thing. You did so well to get out of it and you're still doing well now." You smiled at him as you climbed back to the front seat, he took your hand in his and held it over the gear stick so he could keep hold of you while he drove.

The meal at the dorms had been great, you were so stuffed you'd fallen asleep on the sofa with your head resting on Yoongi's lap. He was running his fingers up and down your arms while staring down at you. The others could tell by the look on his face he was proud of you and so were they, they knew a little about your past but they were still proud of you. 

"You look happy Hyung," Jungkook mentioned as he came back into the living room to look at you asleep with Yoongi, 

"I am, I'm happy for her...She went through so much trouble and it paid off." Yoongi knew you didn't mind the boys knowing your story since they already knew little bits. They had to know little details, the first time you came to Seoul you were in hiding and Yoongi took you in without hesitation because that's what best friends do. 

"She's so strong, to go and do what she did alone," Jimin whispered everyone looked over at Jimin waiting for answers. Jimin was the second one to know all of the stories, you'd told him one night when you got scared and Yoongi wasn't home to comfort you. You'd heard a huge crash in the dorms and ran straight to Jimin for help since he was the only one home at the time, and you couldn't hide it from him. 

"What happened...What did she do alone?"More curious than ever Jungkook wanted to know the full story,

"She didn't have it easy growing up..." Yoongi started as he stared down at you. 

You worked five jobs to support yourself, you'd worked five jobs since the moment you turned 16. You wanted to save up enough and get away from your family, the drugged obsessed family that used you for money or drugs runs because you looked like the innocent one. 

"One more run Y/n, one more run and we'll never ask you again." You brother stuttered as he stared down at you, you looked at him and shook your head. He was a mess, covered in bruises, cuts and needle marks from whatever new drug he was addicted to that week. You'd just turned 21 that week and no one had bothered to remember, no one except Min Yoongi who was in Seoul living his best life which is what you were trying to do. Trying to get out of the bad part of Daegu trying to make a good life for yourself instead of this one. You glanced over at the floorboard in your bedroom, you had enough money for the ticket to 2-hour journey to Seoul and you had enough evidence to get your family convicted on everything they'd been doing and growing over the years. 

"I'll do it," You told him trying not to seem overly enthusiastic about it since you didn't want to come across as suspicious. You'd always expressed your disgust for what they did as a family as far as you were concerned they weren't your family and hadn't been for a long time. Just drugged up people trying to get their latest fix, doing whatever they could to get it and not caring about anyone else in their way.

The sirens outside of your window sounded as though they were going to break the glass, you hadn’t expected it to be so loud, it was piercing your ear drums as you stared at the flashing lights as they came closer to your home - if you could even call it that. It wasn’t a home, it was a drug farm. Drugs stashed around every part of the house including the basement where they grew their own marijuana and sold it for profit making the whole entire house stink at one time.

"What the fuck?!" Your brother screamed from the living room his yell made you flinch, just the thought of him being mad put you on edge but you had to be calm about all of this, while they panicked racing around to hid everything in the house you calmly grabbed your getaway bag that was stashed by the door of your bedroom and the money which was stashed in a floorboard leaving through your bedroom window so you wouldn’t be seen by your family. A huge riot van was parked on the street and you looked around at the police for the regular one you'd been going to with all the evidence and information you had on your family. He was waiting for you near his car with a bag of his own, you’d come to an agreement with everything, if you gave him all the things he needed he would help you escape.

"That everything?" You nodded at his question and dropped the bag down in the car not wanting to look inside it any longer than you had been, inside was everything he would need to convict your entire family on drug charges. Pictures of them growing and using class A drugs, selling them, recordings of them asking you to go on drug runs and then to top it all off,

"The drugs are in my room, bottom floorboard to the left." You mumbled to him, the drug run your brother had planned to send you on that night had fallen through so the drugs were easily accessible to the police and he handed you a fake passport with a fake name on it.

"You use this only till you get to Seoul, do I make myself clear?" He handed you the passport along with some money, your brother screamed as he was dragged into the back of a van and you hide your face not wanting him to know it was you that had done this. 

"You did a good thing, get out of here." You walked around the back of your house and headed towards Daegu station with your head down, clutching your passport which was your ticket to freedom.

Yoongi held your arms as you stared down at the flames, he didn't question anything when you turned up and told him you had to burn the clothes you were wearing, the fake passport you had and the bag of items he didn't want to know what was. 

"I'm out. I'm out of that life, they're gone." You mumbled to him as he held you tighter, whatever was in the back made the flames bigger so he pulled you back. You were standing in the back garden of their dorms destroying every part of your life that was infested with your family. 

"What happened?" He whispered looking at you, he could tell already that you seemed better. The last time he'd seen you were right before he moved to Seoul, he knew about your family and he knew you were the exception to the drug-fueled family. 

"I snitched, so I need a place to hide...I'll find a hotel or something, I just needed to see you Yoongi." He turned you to face him and ran he hand over your cheek, 

"If you think I'm going to let you waste time in some dingy hotel you have another thing coming. No, you'll stay with me. I'll keep you safe and protected."

He had, he'd kept you protected even throughout your families trial where you were forced to take the stand and answer questions for a jury, he ran his hand over your cheek and you mumbled rolling over and opening your eyes to see all of the boys staring at you. 

"What happened? What did I miss?" You sat up and they all started laughing as you stared at Yoongi for answers, 

"You just missed Yoongi being totally whipped for you." Jungkook told you as he got up from the floor and went to his room, 

"What?" You asked with a nervous laugh, 

"Nothing, he's being an idiot. Let's get home, I'm tired." You nodded in agreement and got up from the sofa, saying a quick goodbye to the boys before heading out to the car with Yoongi.

Tagline: 

@writingdreamsnottragedies​ @yoongisdumplingcheeks​ @snowy-meowl​ @jooniesdarlingdimples​ @lynnthevirgo​ @fan-ati--c​ @lyoongx​ @mitzwinchester​ @callingmyangel​ @rjsmochii​ @btsiguess-kpop​ @taestannie​

[imagine-that-100]

Holiday | Part  18 |

Description of Part 1: Alex Turner x Reader (Female) | You’ve been friends with Alex Turner and the other boys from Arctic Monkeys since you were 13. You never for a second thought that Alex would release a song about you though. From late night phone calls and almost constant texting and teasing, you’ve managed to stay close with him over the years. When a pact is established and a holiday is arranged, life seems to be treating you very well. But a month in LA will either make or break you.

Word Count: 13.2K

Warnings: Mentions of Coronavirus, and a shit load of FLUFF!!!

A/N: So this is it. I can’t believe it. 18 weeks you have all stood by this fic and I can’t thank you all enough. You all literally make my Friday’s so much brighter because I get to see your reactions to this silly little story I’ve created. Thank you so so so so much for sticking by it. And thank you to the people who have edited for me many a time. I love you lots. I really hope everyone enjoys the last part, but I promise it’s not the last you’ll see of Alex fics on this account.

Thank you all a million for reading x

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

| MASTERLIST IN BIO | 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~*~*~*~ January 2020 ~*~*~*~

“Y/N Y/N Y/N YN!” You hear Alex yelling from upstairs.

You were in the kitchen preparing dinner, but hearing him yelling your name, you abandoned what you were doing to see if everything was okay.

“What’s wrong?” You ask worriedly as you turn the corner into the lounge.

When you do though, you see Alex running down the stairs with a massive smile on his face. So then, and only then, when you see he’s okay, do you relax.

He is completely beaming when he sees you and he runs straight to you, picking you up in the process, and then spinning you around several times in his arms. You squeal and throw your arms around his shoulders, so you feel more stable and giggle.

Moments like these were more uncommon than you may think.

Alex was rarely so excited about something. Especially to the point where he would be so overwhelmed by emotion that he just embraced you and was practically jumping for joy.    

“What’s happening?” You laugh as he slows his spinning down and returns you back to the ground.

“I’m freaking the fuck out” Alex laughs to himself before releasing you to run his hands though his now shorter hair.

He was still grinning at you as he looked at you dazed, as if something wasn’t real.

“Why? What?” You ask also with a smile.

You loved seeing him this happy. And it was obviously something really good for him to be this excited.

“Oh my god” Alex says more to himself in glee, his fingers trailing down to his jaw to give it a disbelieving scratch.

That was a habit he still hadn’t quite shifted since he’d shaved off his goatee. Something which still made you smile when he didn’t realise, he was doing it.

Alex begins to explain by asking you, “You know how you were excited for Catfish’s new album last year?”

“Yeah” You nod.

You were actually a psycho when they announced their new album last year. You booked every ticket you could to go and see them over here.

Since Y/B/F had moved over at the beginning of last year, you’d been doing everything together. And the fact that you both got to go and see one of your favourite bands together in California was amazing.

You both went to all 3 of their dates that they had over here. Two of the shows you were both in the pit for and one of them you got to watch from the side of the stage because Alex and Matt had gone with you.

Which both of the lads loved because they were both forced to listen to their music that often that they knew all the songs.

You were over the moon when Y/B/F came and moved over to LA. You knew she’d always wanted to do it. It was one of her things on her To Do list.

So, when things became serious between her and Matt, she decided to live her dream. And you loved it.

Breana was fine with their relationship and they both got on well with each other still. And both Y/B/F and Breana’s boyfriend really loved Amelia as well, so they ended up being a big happy family.

And you and Alex as godparents were happily there to support them when they needed it.

Alex then practically jumps in his spot saying, “Well picture that but ten times more intense”

You grin at him, loving his energy, “Why? Who’s releasing an album? You don’t like anyone that much who’s not on a hiatus”

“Unless it was one band in particular” Alex hints very heavily with his eyes as to who it might be.

“No” You gasp, a hand coming up to cover your mouth.

He nods his head frantically, “Yes”

“Oh my fucking god” You say now just as excited and jump into his arms.

You throw your arms around Alex’s neck and squeal. You couldn’t believe The Strokes were making a new album.

“I know” Alex said wrapping his arms around your back.

“Oh my god Alex, I’m so excited” You practically yell down his ear.

He laughs and squeeze you the tiniest bit tighter when you start practically jumping in his arms. He knew you’d be just as excited.

“This means new music and a tour” You say down his ear before releasing him so he can look at you and see the excitement on your face, “And oh my fucking god I’m so excited”

“How did you find out?” You ask, releasing him completely and feeling the need to sit on the settee.

Alex smiles as he watches you take a second to let the news sink in.

Then he begins to explain, “I just got off the phone with Julian. Was asking me something about Tranquility Base and then he told me they have just finished recording. He’s gunna send us a copy”

“You’re joking” You say not quite believing him.

He smiles and shakes his head at you.

“Alex, I’m going to cry” You say covering your mouth.

This news was unbelievable. You couldn’t wait, you were just too excited.

“You’re gunna cry Hun, this is my fucking dream” Alex said before joining you on the sofa and hugging you again.

You giggle when he does that and hug him back. He pushes you both down onto the settee, so you’re lay back on it trapped in a hug.  

“We can both cry together when it comes” You giggle.

Alex brings his head up to look at you smiles down at you softly telling you, “Y/N/N I’m so so so fucking excited”

“Same” You grin back.

You would definitely never get tired looking into those chocolate eyes. You trace your fingertip along his jaw and get lost in his features for a moment.

His fluffy brown hair flops down over his forehead and tickles your forehead. Your eyes dance across his smooth skin and the way he smiles at you, those pink lips pulled into a grin.

Your eyes trailed back up to his and you got lost in those for another second, until his lips met yours.

~*~*~*~ March 2020 ~*~*~*~

“Hey Y/N?” Alex asks you, walking into the lounge from the kitchen.

“Yeah?” You ask looking away from the worrying TV screen that showed things getting worse with the pandemic.

Alex comes and sits down next to you as he says, “Question that I want to ask you”

“Ooo okay, go on” You ask him, seeing that he’s got his phone in his hand.

He runs a hand through his hair, something that was a tell of his for when he was stressed or worried.

He begins to tell you, “The whole world is about to shut down with this Corona shit, and so it should because the government need to keep people safe”

“Yeah I know, Trump is a fucking moron shutting people down who are asking about it” You shake your head looking towards the TV.  

“Yeah” Alex agrees, “Which is the reason why I was wondering if you wanted to go back home?” He asks.

You weren’t quite expecting that, but you ask, “When?”

“Like tomorrow?” He suggests.

Now that did shock you.

“Until when?” You ask slightly wide eyed.

“At the very least until this all passes over. I think we’ll be safer back home than we are over here” Alex says taking your hand in his.

You think about it for a second and nod.

That was probably a good idea, “Now you mention it, that actually sounds like a good idea”

“Yeah and I can’t help but think, if someone in our families gets it and we can’t get a flight over there because they have introduced lockdown, for the very least socially distanced support, it would be a mistake” Alex says giving your hand a squeeze.

“Yeah, you’re right” You nod with a little smile.

“Do you want me to book the flight?” You ask him.

Alex smiles at your offer but then tells you, “Well, that’s why I’m asking now really… Carl wants to take his plane back home and I know we both don’t agree with private flying but if it gets us home safely and with minimal contact I’ll do it one more time. Rather have someone on it than no one on it if it’s gunna fly anyway”

Carl was a pilot of a private jet, from the UK, that the Monkeys had been on many a time, until the boys decided that they didn’t want to use private travel anymore. They didn’t want aid into the destruction of the environment, so they made the decision to fly on normal planes again.

You think it over for a second before agreeing, “Okay. I won’t hold it against anyone this time”

“Right, I’ll ring him now then” Alex says standing up and looking down at his phone again.

You stand too and say, “I’ll go start to pack. Anything you particularly want to take with you?”

Alex shakes his head not really knowing what he wanted to take, “Just as much as we can because I think we’re gunna be there for a while”

You nod and smile, even more so when a thought pops into your head, “Can we start making the house a bit homier when we get back?”

After Y/B/F decided that she wanted to move to LA, she wanted to sell the flat back home. Which was perfectly fine by you, but it meant that all your stuff in there had to be moved somewhere.

And because you and Alex had talked about moving back there in the future, you’d both decided to get a house over there to eventually move into and make your own. It was a lovely house and you’d yet to stay there so you were really excited at the thought of going back.

“We could go to B&Q and get stuff to decorate before they put us all in lockdown?” You grin at him

“I love that idea” Alex says pulling you into his body, arms wrapped around you as you stood looking up at his pretty face.

He continues sarcastically, “But are you gunna help me paint or make me do it all?”

You giggle a little before saying, “I might help you… If you’re nice to me”

Alex just laughs and kisses your nose.

~*~*~*~

You both ended up flying back the second week into March, which was great because work had practically stopped anyway as you’d all been instructed to work from home.

And because you’d informed them that you were going back to the UK to ‘be with family’, they had given you the option to transfer onto a team for the same company over in the UK. That was if you wanted to anyway.

And seeing as you’d currently nearly finished your last one back in the US you thought it would be a good idea, considering you didn’t know how long you were going to be back for. You were just thankful it was a very lenient company and treated its staff well.

When you got back the first thing you did was go and see your families, making sure to be extra careful and considerate around each other and keeping your distance from them when you could.

Both you and Alex, weren’t stupid. You knew your parents were in the age brackets that meant that if they contracted the virus it could be dangerous to them.

So, you were both extremely careful.  

You were also careful when you went around the shops to get colours so you could start decorating your house.

You’d both god a really lovely house in Sheffield. It was definitely a posh one for the area and was a bit out of the way, so you had the privacy you both desired.

But by god you loved it.

It was pretty much all open plan downstairs. A concept which you fell in love with since living in LA in the house over there.

The house was a detached one that from the outside looked a little dated but was completely modernised inside. It was like stepping into a time machine.

From the outside it looked like a country house with the old stone bricks, with bits of Ivy trailing up the side of the house, but when you entered you felt like you were completely up to date on all the modern technology. Something which mesmerised the both of you when you initially looked around it.  

You just remembered wondering around it with a really good feeling in your stomach the whole time. Everything about it you loved.

Especially when you went outside into the back garden as when you turned to look at the house from the back you wouldn’t even guess it was the same place. The stone bricks still covered the place except for the wall of bi-folding windows at the back which overlooked Sheffield, so you still got to see the twinkling lights of the city.

The garden was huge too, which meant that Zoe could run around it all she wanted. And being the age of 9 you could imagine she’d want to do that a lot, especially with her new little brother Lucas also starting to find his feet now.

Inside the house, there were five bedrooms, which both of you knew you wouldn’t need so you planned on turning one into an office and one of them maybe a home gym. It also had a loft conversation too, so Alex had already claimed that as his music room, which you had no complaints about.

But you couldn’t wait to decorate when you got back, as the house had been painted boring plain colours to try and make it more appealing to buyers.

And it was lucky that you both went shopping for the paint when you did too, because two weeks later the National Lockdown was introduced and the whole country basically stopped. You were furloughed from work because there were less things needing to be done and Alex was furloughed too because it wasn’t like he could meet up with the other lads and create an album with them.

It was a weird time the first few months of Lockdown. It did get to you sometimes when you thought about it. You wanted more than anything to give your Mum and Dad a hug but unfortunately you couldn’t.

But you were thankful you had Alex to keep you sane throughout everything. He always had a distraction for you when you needed one, and he liked to keep you busy.

Especially when it came to the painting.

One of the days about a week into lockdown, you were unpacking stuff that you’d had shipped over from the US and as you did that you were listening to Tranquility Base. The reason being that you found it quite relaxing to listen to when you were doing stuff around the house.

That and you loved Alex’s voice with the entirety of your heart.

She Looks Like Fun was playing into your AirPods and Alex could hear you singing along from in the hall where you’d got him painting. He could never get tired of you singing his songs.


He really liked that he had his biggest fan by his side through thick and thin.

He noticed that you stopped singing loudly when it came to the bridge of the song though. And then he heard you gasp.

Alex paid no attention too it though, just thinking that you’d found something you’d been looking for whilst unpacking. However, you’d found something a lot more interesting.

You walked out of the room you were in and Alex looked towards you as you ventured closer to him.

“Alex did you predict this fucking apocalypse?” You ask him with a smile.

He looks towards you and sees you in your baggy painting clothes, with your AirPods still in. You must have paused them because you heard him fine when he replied.

“What the fuck you on about now?” He chuckles.

“In She Looks Like Fun you literally sing, ‘No one’s on the streets, we moved it all online as of March’” You explain.

And it baffled you because that was exactly what had happened. Everyone was now getting their shopping online, a lot less people were out in the city and loads of people were staying at home, where the government had asked them to be.

“Shit. Maybe I did” Alex laughed recognising that his lyrics actually

“Why didn’t you warn us?” You chuckle before making him abandon his paint brush so he would hug you.

He looked so adorable. He had that fine paint splatter across his face and a little of it in his hair. Even when he wasn’t perfect, he still was. God you loved him.

“I did apparently… About two years ago” Alex cheekily grinned at you as he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you against him.


You pat his chest and smile back at the fluffy haired man.

“Congratulations, you’re a prophet” You quote Dr Strange in Infinity War and Alex picks up on it straight away.

He shakes his head at you before saying the next quote in a serious voice, “I’m a survivor”

You just giggle though at how nerdy you were both being, and sarcastically say, ruining it, “Yeah, you’re a survivor because we haven’t left the house in a week”

“And because we have a shit load of hand sanitiser” He grins at you and you laugh agreeing.

“Do you think Thanos snapped his fingers and that’s why we’re in this shit?” You wonder out loud.

“Maybe maybe” Alex ponders for a second before entertaining your theory, “Need the Avengers to come save us”

“I’ll have Chris Hemsworth come save me please” You say a little too fast, but Alex nods his head approvingly.

“As long as Chris Evans can save me. That man his built like a brick shit house” Alex says appreciating the Avengers physique in his mind.

“They both are” You laugh, and he nods down at you.

“But don’t think you’re doing so bad yourself” You say before bringing your hands up to the top of his arms and having a good squeeze.

Alex shakes his head at you, “My arms are nowhere near the size of theirs”

“Not saying they are, but you literally went from being pre-serum Steve Rogers to Captain America” You tell him.

It was true though, he used to be a lanky skinny boy, and now he’s got huge muscles and you really really liked looking at them.

Touching, kissing, biting and licking them too.

“Are you saying I’m Captain America?” Alex asked you with a cheeky smile and a raised eyebrow.

You giggle a little, “I’m saying I really like my own personal version of Captain America”

“I know you do” Alex grinned, and you couldn’t help yourself but to lean up and kiss him.

You tried to carry it on, but Alex was having none of it. He pulled away and said, “Come on. We can kiss and actually watch Captain America later on when we finish painting”

“Fine” You pout, and he leans down to kiss it away.

And you both continued to make your new house into a proper home.  

You couldn’t wait to live with him properly back here in Sheffield. The time you’d spent with him in your flat with him was amazing.

So, with even more space, in your own house, you just knew it would be 10 times better. And so far, it was proving to be.

But in your heart, you knew that it didn’t matter where in the world you were with him. It didn’t matter if there was a danger out there that tried to pry you both apart.

And you’d be forever grateful that you gone on holiday and realised the most important thing.

That as long as you had him by your side, you’d feel wanted and safe, because you were home.

Alex was your home.

~*~*~*~ July 2020 ~*~*~*~

You start giggling to yourself for a solid minute before asking Alex, “Al, have you seen this meme?

You’d just sat down on the floor and stopped painting the skirting boards in the living room.

You’d both been painting for hours. Today you’d both painted the large walls in your lounge, and it was a pain because of the number of coats that you had to do on it.

Thankfully you’d finished the last coat of paint on the walls and you’d started the glossing. But it was killing your back, so you decided a break was necessary.

You were both so lazy when it came to the decorating too. You’d go through one room at a time, first painting it, then ordering the things to furnish it, and then set everything up before you moved onto the next room.

And then you would have about two weeks break in between the rooms because your job was now staggering the furlough, and the working from home. So that was the reason why you were both still decorating 4 months after moving in properly.

That, and because you weren’t horrible enough to leave Alex doing it himself. So, whilst you were working in your office that was freshly decorated, you sent him upstairs to make music.

Something which he was doing so effortlessly, and you adored everything he showed you.

“Which meme?” Alex asks you as he continues to paint. “You tweet a lot of them”

“The one that says, ‘There will be a minor baby boom in nine months, and then one day in 2033, we shall witness the rise of the Quarenteens’” You laugh to yourself.

“Amazing” Alex says with a smile, abandoning his paintbrush to come and sit down opposite you.

“I know it made me giggle” You say as you continue scrolling through your phone as Alex picks up his cup of tea that’s probably gone cold.

He doesn’t seem bothered by the temperature though and downs the rest of it in one before abandoning the mug.

He sits cross-legged in front of you, both of you sat on the sheet that you were using to keep paint from spilling onto your carpet. Something which was going well so far but you had to be careful where you sat in your scruffy clothes, because you didn’t want to get paint on your new settee’s either.

“I have a question for you” Alex announces, grabbing your attention again.

You look up from your phone and smile, “Okay”

“So, I’ve been thinking…” Alex begins but your interrupt.

“Oh no. That’s never good” You grin as you lock your phone and out it down beside you.  

“Will you ever stop undermining me using that joke?” Alex shakes his head at you, trying to hide that he found you funny.  

“Al, you know I’m joking“ You say feeling a little bad.

But only a little.

“Mhhh” He hums at you in sarcastic disbelief.

“Yeah I know” He mumbles before leaning towards you to kiss you.  

“I love you” You say quickly before his mouth attached to yours.

You wanted to stay in his good books, despite knowing you were never out of them.

His lips catch yours as he mumbles against them, “I love you too”

Alex plants a good kiss onto your soft lips then and you smile up at him when he pulls away. He can’t quite get the smile off his face either.

You loved that you still had stupid banter with each other after 5 years together. It was one of the many things that kept your relationship alive and fun. You were just glad he still loved you whilst you looked like a tramp like you currently did.

You were wearing one of your very old baggy grey tops that had holes in it, along with some black leggings. Both were covered in various paint splatters of different colours and you were fairly certain your hair, that was in a messy bun, had some paint in it too.

Yet when you looked at Alex, who wore old joggers with holes in it and a plain black top that also had paint on it, you still thought he looked incredibly attractive. Even with the little bits of paint that were in his hair, he was still breath-taking.

Alex takes your paint splattered hands in his and you smile at each other for a good few seconds, before he asked you his question.

“Okay… So, you know how we talked about kids?” He asked you.  

You nodded, “Yeah?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to maybe start trying?” Alex softly smiled at you, whilst rubbing the back of your hand with his thumb.

“You’re very on topic aren’t you” You can’t help but smile and shuffle closer to him.

Alex laughs a little at that. “Well you know, when the opportunity arises…” He trails off looking into your Y/E/C eyes.

“What’s brought this on?” You ask him curiously.  

“Nothing” Alex shakes his head honestly, “I was just thinking… There’s no better time than a lockdown to start trying properly is there?”

“Well, you’re not wrong” You laugh.

You couldn’t lie, being stuck in the house together meant that you often found yourselves entangled with the other. You didn’t know whether it was the two of you just being constantly bored or horny.

Maybe it was both.

But he was right, now lockdown was less restrictive in the UK, trying to get pregnant didn’t feel as scary as it may have done a few months ago if it was brought up then.

Of course, you’d talked about it before now though. And you were both just waiting for the right moment to make the decision.

And you were happy it had just presented itself.

You needed to ask him though, “If we do get pregnant though, are you still okay with staying here permanently?”

When you’d talked about it before, you’d both come to the agreement that if and when you were planning to start a family, you would both move back home. But now you were already back here, you just wanted to double check that he was still alright with that.

Alex nods with a smile, “Of course… It’s time to stay home anyway. I think I’ve been away far too long”

“Yeah I think you have too” You giggle before kissing him.

He can’t quite get the grin off his face when he kisses you back. He was so happy you were on the same page as him.

Alex couldn’t wait to start a family with you.

“Thank you though” You smile brightly when you pull away, you keep your hands cupping his neck though to keep him close. “I just don’t think I could do it without my Mum and our families around to help”

“You’ll be a great Mum. You already look after me” Alex assures you which makes your heart swell.

“Yeah, to be honest, a baby would probably be easier to manage” You giggle as you twirl the hair at the nape of his neck.

He laughs at you then before leaning to kiss you once more. Something which in the 5 years with him still never got old.

“So maybe in like a few months, I’ll stop taking my pill then?” You suggest when you pull away.

You continue with, “Just because I don’t wanna get pregnant first go and then be stuck inside pregnant for months if they restrict lockdown again… I don’t think that would really be very clever or safe. For anyone. Especially a baby”

“Sounds good to me” Alex agrees “We’ll have this house ready and waiting for the housewarming by the time lockdowns over anyway”

“I still can’t believe you have two houses” You say looking around the stunning room you were in, and then out of the large windows that showed the sun setting over Sheffield.

Alex takes your attention again though, scorning you, “Y/N, it’s nearly been five years. We have two houses and this one is definitely yours”

Despite Alex suggesting that you were going to leave him to do the painting, you were actually the one who’d done most of it. You were also the one that had found most of the decor online and just asked Alex for his approval on them.

This house was truly yours. You thought something like the house in LA would be your dream, but no, something which both you and Alex created for yourselves was.

“You know what I mean” You smile before holding his hand again.

“I am so fucking lucky I married you in October… Or I think I’d have been so upset that it would have all been cancelled” Alex says giving your hand a squeeze, that adorned both your engagement and wedding ring.

“I told you Autumn weddings are cute” You grin at him.

And it was true. Your wedding was stunning.

You’d got married back over here Mid-October and you were both very lucky that the weather had been kind to you. Thankfully you could take your wedding pictures outside and you adored them all completely.

Although you think Alex adored them more, he started crying when the photographer sent them over and he had a picture of you in your dress as his Lockscreen and another one of just you as his Homescreen.

Never mind you being his biggest fan, he was definitely yours.

“You know I love the sun” He pouts at you.

“Alex we literally live, or I guess lived in LA. I’m sure coming back here for a few weeks didn’t hurt” You laugh a little at him sticking his bottom lip out.

He gives you that one.

“It was definitely lucky you convinced me to move it” He smiles.

You couldn’t think of anything worse than planning out a full wedding, only for it to be completely cancelled because of everything going on right now. You felt so sorry for the people going through it because you would have been devastated if your wedding had been cancelled.

“We’re definitely lucky” You smile, “That was one of the best days of my life”

You couldn’t help but smile at your memories of the day. You were just so thankful that Alex’s hair had grown back in time for the big day. Because you weren’t getting married to him with that bald head.

However nice he looked; you really wanted your man to have his lovely hair present for your wedding day.

“It was the best day of my life” Alex admits. “What’s top for you that our wedding doesn’t beat it?”

“2013 Glastonbury” You say without a second thought.

After a second though you realise what you’ve said and laugh at yourself. You were still the biggest fool.

“For fucks sake Y/N/N” Alex shakes his head at you chuckling a little.

“It’s not my fault it’s yours… I’ve just never felt happier in that moment where all I could hear was everyone singing along to Mardy Bum” You smile shyly.

It truly was such a magical experience for you. You would never get that moment again and it mean just as much.

Granted you didn’t think you would be getting married again but there was just something about that gig that held such a special place in your heart. And you’d rather not lie to your husband about what the best day of your life was.

“I was crying big time” You giggle a bit, trying to defend yourself.

“I know you were, and I’ve seen you cry at it since” Alex playfully teases you.  

“Thought our wedding might have topped it though” He admits but you just grin shaking your head back at him.

You mumble against his lips before kissing him once more, “It’s a very close second, I promise”

He laughs before kissing you back. His soft hands, which you had a feeling had a little bit of paint on, came up and cupped your cheek making sure you couldn’t escape him.

Not that you were planning too.

Alex’s kisses still caused butterflies in your stomach, which after 5 years, you had no clue how. His kisses really were second nature now, but when caught up in such a meaningful moment, he still made you so nervous.

Yet you wouldn’t have it any other way.

You hoped the butterflies would still be there when you were both old and grey.

Alex then pulled away and as you looked back into those brown eyes, he asked you once more, “So, you’re definitely up for it then?”

“Definitely” You confirm.

And the grin that then makes its way onto Alex’s face was something you hoped you never forgot. You tried to take a mental picture of it.  

After a second of admiring your husband you added, “We can just see what happens… There still no rush, so if it doesn’t happen straight away, that’s alright too. There definitely no harm in continuing to try for one”

Alex smirks at you when you say that.

“Of course not” He agrees.

“In fact…”

Alex trails off to lean towards you again to kiss you. Something which again makes you smile because of how cute the whole situation was. You kiss him back and your hand just automatically goes up into his soft hair.

You also can’t help but giggle when he pushes you back, so you’re forced to lie down on the floor whilst he still kisses you. He moves with you so he’s above you and he pulls away to hear your giggle continue.

You smile up at him as your giggle fades and you lean up to peck his lips.

“I love you Al”

You love the smile that breaks out on his face when you tell him that too.

But your smile grows twice the size when you hear him say back, “I love you too, Mrs Turner”

~*~*~*~ Christmas Eve ~ 2020 ~*~*~*~

“Oh my god I’ve missed you so much” Y/B/F throws her arms around you pulling you into a hug at your doorstep.

You giggle at her excitement and give he a squeeze as you say, “I’ve missed you too”

Oh my god we have so much to talk about” She grins as she releases you.

“We do” You laugh, and she goes to give Alex a hug.  

“Matt I’ve missed you so much” You turn towards him and open your arms.

He leans in and wraps his arms around you and coos, “Oh I’ve missed you too”

“How’s my best buddie doing?” You smile up at him when he releases you.

“Excuse me” Both Alex and Y/B/F say at the same time.

Both you and Matt turn to look at them and see their hands on their hips, looking at you like you’d just said something horrendously offensive.

“I meant my best boy friend” You correct yourself.

That seemed to satisfy your best friend and she wondered into your house, that she’d yet to see decorated. However, Alex still wasn’t too impressed.

“Are you joking?” He asks you with raised eyebrows.

“Jesus Alex, I’m married to you” You roll your eyes before closing the front door.

“I was your best boy friend for over a decade before I was your actual boyfriend” Alex says.

You don’t know why he felt the need to clarify it though, it wasn’t as if you or Matt were denying it.

“Yeah so stop being offended. You got bumped up the pecking order someone had to take your place” You grin as you hug Matt again and he rests his chin on top of your head hugging you back tightly

Alex decides to look to his best mate instead, asking, “Can you give me my wife back please?”

Matt chuckles before releasing you, and as you roll your eyes before scorning your husband, Matt goes and follows Y/B/F into the lounge.

“Alex” You laugh as you walk towards him and then cup his face and give him a quick kiss.

“I’m yours chill out” You assure him, and you smile feeling his hands come up and rest on your hips.

“Oh, I know you are” He says under his breath as he grins.

His thumbs rub over your lower stomach as he holds you and he whispers, correcting himself, “Both of you”

You can’t help but lean up to kiss him quickly before you follow Matt and Y/B/F’s lead and head into the lounge.

Alex goes and makes them both a cup of tea whilst you entertain the two, telling them where you found all the things that Y/B/F kept on pointing out. Thankfully by the end of August, the house was completely redone.

It was well and truly the Turner’s household and you loved each and every room.

However, you were both very aware now that one of the spare bedrooms now needed to be transformed into a nursery. Something which you would both take pleasure in doing when you were a bit further along than the 3 months you were now.

Alex come back into the room with everyone’s drinks in hand and you leave yours on the side for a minute because it was far too hot. It seemed that everyone else in the room had the same idea, so the drinks were abandoned for the time being.

Instead you started chatting for 10 minutes, all catching up properly in person as you hadn’t had the chance to do this yet because of Corona. Thankfully the world had adjusted itself to the new normal and Christmas could actually go ahead.

So, it was amazing that you and Y/B/F could have your Christmas ritual of having Christmas Eve together. Just an added bonus that Alex and Matt were involved now.

“Okay so we want to tell you something” Y/B/F announces from the other settee next to Matt.

You notice that she takes his hand and you smile; They were so fucking cute. You were so glad they got together. You couldn’t believe it had been 2 years.

You and Alex were on the other settee that was opposite theirs and you were already holding his hand. You weren’t usually this clingy but today had been an amazing day.

This morning you and Alex had gone and had your 12 weeks scan and the little baby growing in you was healthy and doing well. News which was much to yours and Alex’s relief.

You’d had some pretty bad morning sickness, so you were just glad everything was okay despite you not being 100% from time to time.

“Ooooo okay” You grin at the couple.

“I’m pregnant” Your best friend says with the biggest grin on her face.

Your jaw drops with massive smile on your face and you squeezed Alex’s hand without meaning to. You definitely weren’t expecting that.

And you doing think Alex expected it either, he asked excitedly with a smile, “Are you actually?”  

“Yeah” Matt nods with a grin.

And you leap out of your seat and dart towards your best friend to trap her into a hug whilst squealing, “Oh my god”

She can’t help but laugh as you wrap your arms around her and say, “Congratulations” down her ear.

Your best friend just giggles down yours before saying a, “Thank you”

You see that Matt gets up and you presume he’s giving Alex a hug from what you can hear, but you’re too invested in Y/B/F to check.

You release her so you don’t suffocate her, and you have to ask, “How far along are you?”

“Sixteen weeks” She tells you with a massive smile.

“Holy fuck” You whisper excitedly covering your mouth as if the baby could hear you. “I bet you’re over the moon”

“I really am. Didn’t really mean for it to happen but we were both excited when we found out after the initial shock of it wore off” Your best friend tells you and you could only imagine the shock for the both of them.

But you couldn’t wait to pry out more information from her, but right now you were too giddy.

“Ahhhhh I’m so so so happy for you” You say before giving her another huge hug.

She giggles in your arms and gives you a tight squeeze before you get yourself up to hug your other best mate.

“Matt come here right now” You say once Alex had finished hugging him.

Alex goes and hugs Y/B/F whilst you hug your Helders.

“Congratulations” You say once your arms are wrapped around him.

“Thank you, my love” Matt grins before kissing your cheek when he pulls away from your hug after a few more seconds.

You look at him, so happy in front of you and you can’t help but say, “I love you so goddamn much… I’m so happy for you”

“Thank you” He says going a little red.

You get all of the gossip from them and get to see their scan photo. You find that they were planning to actually give birth over here, but they will still be primarily living in LA, because of course Matt didn’t want to leave Amelia.

You were so so so happy for them it made you excited to start telling people.

You’d yet to tell anyone because you knew the scan was going to be today, on Christmas Eve, so you and Alex had both decided that you were going to tell your families tomorrow.

You were hosting Christmas in your new house this year and it was going to be your family, along with Alex’s Mum and Dad. And you were both so fucking excited for how you had it planned out to tell people.

You think Alex was currently feeling the same as you about being excited to tell people. You caught on because when you were sat in your original seats again every time, they told you something that the two of you had both been through, he gave your hand a squeeze.

When the couple across from you started asking about the two of you, you gave them the answers that you’d been giving people for the past few months.

But then Alex looked towards you and you share a look. He gave you a knowing smile and tilted his head towards Matt and Y/B/F. You raise your eyebrows ever so slightly asking with your eyes if he was meaning ‘tell them’.

Turns out he was, as he gave your hand a squeeze and smiled and nodded his head slightly. All discrete and not too obvious which meant that the unsuspecting couple across from you were about to get a nice surprise.

You look towards them and grab their attention with, “Hey Y/B/F, you know that thing that I’ve always wanted most in life?”

You smile a bit when you see her eyes widen at what you said. Matt, however, obviously has no fucking clue and makes a joke.

“You wanted something more than Alex?” Matt asks you and both you and your husband chuckle.

You set the record straight though, telling him honestly, “Oh yeah, a lot more than Alex”

“Are you trying to tell me something?” Y/B/F asks you with knowing eyes

She sees both you and Alex grin and her and when you nod your head she screams. She darts to you just like you did to her, but she wraps her arms around both you and Alex and gives you both a massive hug.

Both you and Alex can’t help but laugh and hug her back.

“I’m so fucking happy right now” She squeals down the both of your ears.

“So are we” You giggle back.

She lets you go and sits on Alex’s lap as she talks to the both of you. “So, I need to know everything” She looks at the both of you expectantly.

However, poor Matt is completely lost.

“Wait, what the fucks just happened?” Helders says looking dazzled.

“We’re pregnant too” Alex looks around Y/B/F’s body and grins as he spells it out for his best mate.

“Are you serious?” Matt asks, his face beaming with happiness and shock.

“I wouldn’t be joking about this” Alex chuckles.

Aw guys” Matt says before standing from his seat.

Alex gets up and Y/B/F sits down in his place and gives you a proper hug.

“How far are you?” She asks as her arms are tight around your neck.

“Twelve weeks” You tell her and once sheet you go you explain, “We literally had the first scan this morning, but we haven’t told anyone so don’t scream it from the rooftops just yet”

“We’re the first to know?” Matt asks overhearing what you were saying.

“Yeah” You smile up at him.

“What why?” Y/B/F asks you a little confused.  

“Because we weren’t expecting you to drop the news, but we couldn’t not when you told us… We’re telling the family tomorrow” Alex tells them.

“Me and Y/N need to chat about this. To save our mental states” Y/B/F says, getting herself comfy on the settee in Alex’s space.

You smile at her agreeing, before looking to the boys and saying, “Matt, you need to prep Alex for everything”

“I told you I’m going to be fine” Alex says at you and you just stick your tongue out at him.

“Yeah, that’s what we all think mate” Matt laughs a little before holding Alex’s shoulder and then patting it for some extra drama.  

Alex looks at his mate like he’s just grown another head. Fear very clearly seeping into his features and Matt has to back track.

“I’m joking don’t look so worried” He smiles. “Come on let’s grab a beer and we can chat”

And so, they do, the boys go and chat in the kitchen for a good 10 minutes whilst you and Y/B/F compare your pregnancies along with every minor detail of it. You were both just so buzzing.

She had just shown you her scan picture and you were so happy for her. Your heart was literally melting. You needed Alex to bring your picture in to show her.

“Al” You shout.  

A second later you hear, “Yeah”

“When you come back in, bring the scan picture in with you please?” You ask him nicely.

“Okay”

Not a minute later, Alex and Matt are walking back in and you can see that Alex has shown it Matt, as Helders is holding the picture.

“Y/N I’m so fucking happy for you” He grins at you before leaning down to give you a kiss on the cheek and another quick hug.

“I’m happy for you too Matt” You reiterate back to him, before Y/B/F plucks the photo from him.

Matt and Alex then go and sit on the other settee so you can still continue with your previous chats. Something which you all definitely needed yet you were so bloody excited about everything at the same time.

“Shit” Y/B/F turns to you practically mid conversation to say, “I just realised that yours and Alex baby is going to be fucking stunning”

You laugh at that. You wouldn’t even lie, you really hoped that with Alex’s genes the little one would come out looking good.

You couldn’t help but picture their baby though and you had to tell her, “Yours is going to be the most beautiful child ever”

Y/B/F has a look of disbelief, but you scorn her saying there's no reason why it wouldn’t be beautiful. She was stunning and Matt was fit so there’s no chance the child wouldn’t be.

“I think you’re both going to be having gorgeous babies stop bickering” Matt says, obviously hearing the silly chatter.

Y/B/F furrows her eyebrows at him, “I’m sorry you can’t lie to me and say that their baby won’t have the best genes in the entire world”

Alex shakes his head at her, “Yes Y/B/F but also you are just as stunning as my wife there” He nods towards you and then to his best mate, “and Matt’s also not too bad”

You all have a little laugh at that before you chip back in with, “I mean apart from the musical talent they possess, let’s just hope they take after us instead”

“Cheeky bitch” Matt chuckles a bit shaking his head at you.

You scoff and in jest add, “I’m pregnant, you can’t call me that”

“When are you due?” You then turn to Y/B/F and ask.

“Thirtieth of May” You best friend informs you.

You squeal a little, with a grin on your face, “As if”

“Why when are you due?” She asks.

“Thirtieth of June” You tell her with a big smile.

Your best friend grabs you hand and says, “Oh my god”

You giggle, “We are literally the same person”

“We actually are“

That being because hers and your birthdays were a month apart from each other. Meaning that it was almost poetic that your first babies were due one month apart.

Your best friend and Matt obviously stay for the evening and you have a lovely time with them. You show them around the decorated house, and they seem to love it just as much as you and Alex.

It was funny when you all came back into the lounge though that had the bi-folding windows in and Y/B/F said, “You’re going to be a pro window cleaner”

“I know it’s huge” You laughed.

But then she corrected herself so you understood, “No, I mean because when the baby arrives and they stay crawl they will be all over that. Messy handprints and everything”

“I’ll let that be Alex’s job then” You laugh.

“Thanks Hun” Alex shook his head at you.

You grin back, “You’re welcome baby”

After you’d all finished eating later on, you and your best friend were still sat with each other on the settee and you were practically cuddled together. You loved her so bloody much that the fact that you wouldn’t be living in the same country anymore just left you both needing a cuddle.

You both chatted about anything that came to mind and then your best friend seemed to have a brainwave.

“Oh my god right, so there’s this thing that I saw and it said something along the lines of ‘As days go by they mean nothing to your now, but one day it could be the day you get married or your child’s birthday’” She tells you.

You smile and say, “Yeah that’s so true”

“I know right, so I recon we look back though our Snapchat memories throughout the years and see what we were up to on our due date” She suggests.  

“That’s such a cute idea” You smile.

Your best friend smiles, “I know right”

“Okay let’s go” You said pulling your phone out of your pocket.

You both spent about 10 minutes on it and you’d just got to the date 5 years previous and you had to stop yourself. Your whole body just stopped as if someone had hit a pause button.

You can’t help yourself when your hormones get the better of you and your eyes start gathering tears. You look towards Y/B/F and she spots the tears straight away.

Your best friend looks at your phone then and takes it off you to see the picture.

“Awhhh Y/N that’s so cute” She smiles at you and you just break down in happy tears.

She throws her arm around you and you release a little sob craving the comfort.

“Aw don’t cry” She says before she kisses the side of your head.

“I can’t help it” You weep into your hands, hiding your face.

These last few months your emotions had been everywhere.

“Y/B/F what have you done to my wife?” You just about hear Alex ask over your crying.

“I’ve done nothing” She tells him with a smile and a little giggle.

You hear him get up and he asks you, “Y/N/N what’s wrong?” whilst Y/B/F lets go of you and you think she’s swapping seats with him.

She places your phone in your lap once she moves and you feel Alex arms go around you when he sits down.

He gives you a second before he tries to pry the information from you. You just look up at him and tell him though, stray tears still running down your face.

You look into his brown eyes and tell him, “Our baby’s due on the same date I came on holiday”

Alex seems a little confused as he probably would be. You’d been on holiday a lot, and many times with him. So, you let him off and just confirm what you meant, “You know the holiday… Our holiday”

“You’re joking” Alex says with a look of disbelief.  

“No” You cry a bit more before you throw your hands around his neck and hug him tightly.

“Hormones are a bitch. Why am I crying at everything?” You say through your tears and Alex laughs.

“It is pretty cute though darling” He says kissing your neck as he hugs you.

When you release him, you unlock your phone and show him the picture you found. It was of your plane ticket to LA and it said, ‘Here I come to ruin Al’s life’.

Alex laughs a little when he reads it before

“You didn’t ruin my life by the way. You made it infinitely better”

~*~*~*~ Christmas Day ~ 2020 ~*~*~*~

Christmas had been amazing. After such a shit year this was definitely a highlight of it.

And you had a feeling you were about to make things better.

It was about an hour before you were due to eat, and everything was prepped so you were just chilling out with your big family. Presents had been done a few hours earlier and you loved watching everyone interact.

Your Mum and Penny were chatting away over a glass of wine. David and your Dad were talking about the football match that was happening tomorrow and your brother was chipping in every now and again.

Your sister in law, Jess was primarily taking care of little Lucas who captured everyone’s attention in the room. He was now settling down for a nap though.

You were a little jealous of him.

But you knew that there was going to be a lot of excitement in the room in the next 15 minutes. So, when you saw Zoe sat in Alex’s lap, him still definitely being her favourite member of the family (traitor), you decided to put yours and Alex’s plan into action.

Alex catches your gaze and he raises his eyebrows at you, silently asking if now was the right time. You give a little nod before you say from across the room.

“Hey Zoe” You get her attention.

Her attention immediately finds you and she gives you a smile. A smile that gets bigger when you say, “I forgot about another present for you. Come with me a minute”

You both get up and head to the stairs. You give Alex a little smile before you both disappear off.  

When you reach your room you get out the wrapped up clothing, but before you give it her you say, “Okay so I’ve got something to tell you but I need you to keep it a secret for me for the next five minutes”

“Okay” She smiles at you, trying to keep her eyes averted from the wrapping paper to be polite.  

“Pinky promise me” You say with a smile.

She wraps her pinky around yours and you both take a seat on your bed.

“Okay, open that and it will tell you the surprise” You say handing her the most important part of this present.

You and Alex had got a top made for her. It was her favourite colour and on the front of it you’d had on it in bold writing 'No. 1 Cousin’

You watch as she quickly gets the wrapping paper off and hold back your smile when she unfolded the top to read it. It took her a second, but she gasped and then looked at you.

“Am I getting a cousin?” She asks, her jaw on the ground.

“You are” You giggle.

“Yay” She squeals before she leaps into your arms and gives you a massive hug around her neck.

“So, your pregnant?” Zoe confirms when she releases you.

“I am. and I was hoping you could help me tell everyone downstairs by wearing that?” You ask her.

Zoe excitedly nods, “Yes”

“I got you more clothes so you can hide it first so it will surprise everyone” You tell her, handing her the other stuff to unwrap.

You watch as she unwraps a leather jacket that you had sadly got the One For The Road logo printed on the back of it. You just couldn’t help yourself.

You also got her black wrapped jeans like the ones that you were wearing now. Along with some cute little ankle boots.

She would literally be a mini you.

As she looks at the One For The Road logo, you explain, “I had it made so you can be like me and have Uncle Alex’s song on the back”

You’d wore the One For The Road leather jacket many a time. And Zoe had said plenty of times that she loved it too.

“Is this the video with Jamie on the tractor?” Zoe asks curiously.

“Yes” You giggle.

You really had raised her well.

“I love it thank you” She tells you and say a quick ‘you’re welcome’.

Zoe asks you as she unwraps the other clothing “Are you wearing yours to go down in too?”

“If you want me too?” You smile at her.

She nods, “Yeah and then Uncle Alex can take a picture of us matching”

“That’s a good idea actually and then when he comes and stands next to me, if no one asks about your top then you can open the jacket up and show everyone yeah?” You plan out in your head and she nods excitedly at you.

“Okay, let’s get you dressed” You say excitedly.

After 5 minutes your back downstairs, you head into the lounge first as she waits just in the hallway so people can’t see her yet. Thankfully all the clothes fit her, and she truly looked like you.

It was amazing.

You’re wearing the comfy leather jacket as you enter the room and announce, “Okay, so she wants a photoshoot, so someone have a camera at the ready”

You watch as Alex says he’ll do it, giving you a little grin. He gets his phone out of his pocket and waits for her entrance.

“Alright Zo” You look to the hall and see her excited grin.

She asks you, “Does Uncle Alex have his camera ready for the photo?”

The room laughs a little at that and you just assure her giving her a nod, “He does”

She walks into the room in her new ripped black skinny jeans, her top expertly covered by the zip up leather jacket that she looked cool in.

“Spin for them” You instruct.

She does a twirl for everyone and you can tell she’s loving the attention.

“Oh amazing” You’re Mum says with a big smile.

“Lovely Zoe” Penny tells her and lots of other compliments are thrown her way too.  

“Auntie Y/N/N, picture, come on” She holds out her hand to you and has a hint of a knowing smile on her face.

You smile at her and take her hand before you stand beside her with almost the same clothes on and as you see the flash of the picture on the wall as you were both showing off what the jacket said to the camera.

You hear your brother ask Alex, “Does she still steal your clothes mate?”

“All the time” Alex laughs.

“It’s a cool jacket” You defend yourself against your brother. “Shut up”

“Yeah dad shut up” Zoe tells him sarcastically with a little giggle.

“Yeah” You chuckle along with her and the room laughs too.

“Al can I see the photo?” You ask him and he nods with a smile.

Both of you stand behind Zoe and you look at the phone for a second. Alex wraps his arm around you, so he’s holding your hip and you send him a little smile.

He grins back at you but then you both look to your niece who is still loving the limelight. And then someone asks the question you’d really hoped to hear.

“Did you get a new top too Zo” Jess asks.

“I did. I love it” Zoe nods.

“Show us then?” Your Mum asks her, and you feel Alex’s hold you against him the tiniest bit tighter.

Your heart was beating rapidly in your chest. You look up at him and give him a quick smile and he squeezes your hip a bit, so he doesn’t give anything away too early.

You both look down to Zoe who was just unzipping her jacket and then she opened it up and put her hands on her hips to keep it open.

The room went silent after that and that was when it hit Jess, your sister in law, first. A loud gasp escaped her mouth and you couldn’t really hold your smile back any longer.

“Are you being serious?” She asks you looking at both you and Alex, still seeming to be the only one to understand what was happening and you both nod back at her.

It was then that you heard your Mum gasp and a second later Alex’s mum. You both fully grinned at them as your Mums got themselves up and ran over to you tears already in her eyes.

“Is my baby finally having her own baby” Your Mum shouts as she traps you in a hug.

“She is” You giggle down your Mums ear.

She squeals for you and she won’t let you escape from the hug at all. Not that you really wanted too.

“I’m so so so happy for you darling” She tells you still squeezing you tightly.

“Thank you Mum. I love you” You say hugging her back just as tight.

She then releases you and gives you a big kiss. You wipe away the few stray tears running down her face.

Alex’s Mum, Penny, is already fully sobbing as both Mums swap which child they pour their new found emotions on to.

“Y/N darling, I love you so much” She almost sobs as she hugs you.

“I love you too” You assure her, giving her a squeeze.

Penny lets you go but then holds your arms, probably more to keep her mind completely sane and ensure her that the moment was real.

She tells you, “I’m so happy for you”

“Thank you” You grin at her. This was such a lovely feeling; You were so happy you could finally tell people.

“I can’t believe you kids are having a baby” She says looking between you and Alex, who is currently still being hugged by your Mum. “It feels like I was only at your parents evening a year or two ago”

You giggled at that, “At least we waited a while, so you didn’t have that to chat about in school”

Penny then laughed at that. That would have been

“Yes, thank you for not doing that to me whilst you were in school. I would have killed him” Penny tells you with a little giggle.

“Don’t worry I think my mum would have battered me too” You tell her honestly, with a little chuckle.  

You also add, “You’re finally going to be a Grandma or a Nana”

“I can’t believe you both made me wait five years for my first grandchild” Penny shakes her head.

“I’m sorry, I had to made sure he loved me properly first” You joke. 


“Hunny, he’s loved you since he was Fifteen” Penny assures you and you laugh.

“I know, he’s obsessed with me” You say giving Alex a little grin.

He just looked at you and gave you a little death stare.

But did he deny it…

No.

“My little girl who’s now pregnant with her own baby... don’t you make out like you weren’t drawing hearts with your and his name in it when you were Fourteen” Your Dad says as he stands by Penny’s side.

Penny giggles at your Dad dropping that truth bomb, along with Alex’s laughter as he hugs David.

“Dad” You whine, before you give him a hug.

His hug is tight and comforting, everything that you could want from a hug from your Dad.

He says softly, “Sweetie I love you, and I’m so happy and excited for you”

“Thank you Dad” You say hugging him tight before the hug is over all too soon.

Your Dad smiles at you when he lets you go before asking, “How far along are you?”

“Just over twelve weeks” You tell him with a smile.

“You’ve had your scan then?” Your Dad asks with hopeful eyes.

You can’t get the smile off your face as you say, “Yes… Do you want to see the picture?”

“I’d love too” You get it out from the jacket pocket and show him the first picture of his new grandchild.

Your Dad looks at it for a moment and you can see the smile on his face. He was completely beaming.

When he looked back up at you, you saw his eyes glistening with happy tears and your heart swelled at the sight.

He just about choked out, “Darling I’m so happy for the both of you”

“Thank you Dad. I love you” You say as you give him another big hug.

“I love you a million sweetie” He whispers down your ear as he hugs you back tightly.

Before you even released your Dad from your hug, the picture was snatched out of his hands by the soon to be grandmas to take a look at. The started crying again once they saw it.

Their reactions were just making you giggle.

When your Dad released you, David was then next in line for you to hug. And you couldn’t wait, David was always so lovely to you, you loved a good family hug.

“I’m beyond happy for the both of you” David says looking between you and Alex.

“Thank you… I’m excited for you though. You’re going to be a grandad” You say with a big smile before pulling him into a hug.

“Don’t. You’ll have me crying on you” David says with a little chuckle.

“Don’t worry, your son’s been crying on me the last few months… I can handle tears” You tell him.

Alex had been so adorable with you. When you both found out he started crying tears of joy.

Both of you were just so over the moon. It was amazing.

You were glad you weren’t the only emotional one in the house.

“I love you both so much. And I can’t wait to meet the little one” David says smiling between the two of you before looking down to your stomach that just had the tiniest little bump.

But you couldn’t see it, as you were wearing a loose top.

“Neither can we” Alex grins before kissing the side of your head.

Your brother then runs up to you, pulls you away from Alex before lifting you into the air by giving you the biggest hug in the world. And when he spends you around, you start giggling like a little girl.  

“I’m so happy for you” He yells

You can’t help but giggle a, “Thank you”

Once your back on the ground, your brother gives you another proper hug before letting you go, saying, “I’m going to shout at your husband though”

“Oi Alex. How dare you get my little sister pregnant” Your brother fakes anger as his wife releases Alex form a hug.

“I’m sorry, she just kept asking me to put a baby in her” Alex sighs and then points at you, all with a cheeky smile on his face.

You smile back at him, but you say, “I think you’ll find it was him who brought it up so you can batter him if you want… Just leave his pretty face alone. I have to live with it”

“Hey” Alex scoffs offended, before your brother wraps him up in a big hug.

You giggle to yourself before you hug Jess, “Thank you so much for actually understanding what was going on then”

She laughs, “It’s okay. I just couldn’t believe your family was being so slow”

“Zoe literally got it after a second. I was thinking ‘surely this can’t be that hard to understand’” You tell her smiling to yourself.

“No, it really wasn’t, I got it straight away and then I saw your smile and couldn’t hold in a gasp” Jess giggles.

You chuckle, “Well thank you… They seemed to get it after you did”

“It’s alright” She says before she lets go of you.

“I do have a number two cousin top upstairs for Lucas too” You smile, and she says thanks again.

You little nephew now back to sleep in his car seat just across the room. He was just too adorable.

You both look towards the No 1 cousin though and see that she’s already giving Alex a hug. He then held Zoe at your level by sitting her on his hip like she was still 4 years old.  

And that was when you tuned into their conversation.  

“Thank you for helping us tell everyone” Alex gave her a toothy grin.

“It’s alright” Zoe assured him, “I think everyone is buzzing”

“I think they are” Alex laughed.

He added an, “Are you buzzing?”

She nodded at him and you had to cut into their conversation at that point.

“I should hope you are” You remind the little one, “You’ve been wanting a cousin since you were six”

“I’m proper buzzin’” She said in a very northern accent that made you both laugh.

~*~*~*~

The rest of the day was spent in such high spirits.

Your Christmas dinner was amazing, and you think you and Alex smashed it for your first time doing it. You were such a good team and you could only get stronger at this point.

Well if he wasn’t petty and still tried to get out of doing the cooking claiming that because Christmas was on a Friday this year, that he didn’t have to cook because it was your day.

But all jokes aside you had never been happier with him and you loved him so much.

He’d made your life so much better in every single way he possibly could. He’d given you his love and he was giving you a family.

Something that you’d always wanted.

So, when you both got to your bedroom once everyone had gone back home, you were both tired and emotional.

You lay yourself down on your bed, still fully clothed, and just thought over the past few days.

You’d had your scan, heard your baby’s heartbeat. Matt and Y/B/F told you they were pregnant too, you found out that your baby is due the day you went on holiday to LA and your life hadn’t been the same since. And you’d told your family you were expecting.

Life couldn’t be any better.

So, when Alex sat down on his side of the bed, you just couldn’t help but express yourself to the man that owned your entire heart.

“Thank you” You whisper to your husband.

Alex looks to you then curiously, a smile pulling his lips up when he asks, “What for?”

You start tearing up a big just feeling a bit emotional about everything.

“Just… Thank you for making me happy” You say, wiping away a stray tear away as you looked into those eyes you could forever get lost in.

Alex softly smiled at you when you said that, and crawls across the bed to give you a kiss which you really appreciated. You still weren’t tired of those soft lips meeting your own.


And you were fairly certain at this point that you never would be.

“I love you so much” You say with a big smile.

He was truly your world.  

Alex smiles back, pecking your lips once more before saying, “I love you too baby”

“Your baby is there” You tell him, putting a hand over your stomach.  

“How could I forget?” Alex grins at you but then his gaze moves down your body.

He lies himself down across the bed, so his head is at your stomach and he looks to you as he lifts the bottom of your top. A silent question comes from him, asking if he can lift your top up.

You grin at him and nod.

That was the first and probably only time he’d ever asked if he could take your top off.

He brushed the bottom of your top up to just under your boobs and then he started trailing is fingertips across your stomach.

You laid back and watched as you husband started thinking out loud and it was the cutest thing.

“Okay then…” Alex trails off, looking at your smooth skin.

“So, you listen here you, hiding away in there” Alex softly says as his fingers trace over your tiny bump.

It was barely noticeable to anyone else, but Alex knew your body like the back of his hand. He could tell the little bump was there.  

“You’ve gotta be good for your Mummy for the next six months because we don’t want her poorly like she was a few weeks back”

Alex continues his adorable one-sided conversation, and says to your tummy, “You can crave whatever food you want, and I’ll go and get it for you… But your Mummy doesn’t like throwing up, so just take it easy on her, yeah?”

You couldn’t help but smile at that. You started playing with the hair on the back of his head, which was growing back to how it used it be.

You’d never get used to him being cute. But this was a whole different level.

He carries on after he kisses your stomach, and says against your skin, “We can’t wait to meet you sweetheart”

You couldn’t contain your grin then, “You think we’re having a girl?”

Alex presses his lips down onto your stomach before he nods before giving you more kisses.

“What makes you think that?” You ask him.

You didn’t really want to interrupt his train of thought but you just needed to ask this once.

Alex smiles at you and says, “I don’t know. I just have a feeling”

You smile at him then and keep running your fingers though his hair as he continues talking your tiny bump.

“I can’t wait for you to arrive and we have the best time all three of us together” Alex smiles looking at your skin, resting his hand on top of it for a moment.

“Your Mummy makes me so happy anyway, but I can’t wait until I can walk into a room and see the two of you together” He says, and the thought makes your heart melt.

Especially when he continues on to say,  “I can just imagine when your older that I’ll come home one day and see the both of you sat at the piano, because your Mum will definitely insist on teaching it to you when your big enough”

Alex carries on thinking scenarios up in his head, “I can’t wait to help get your ready for school and I can put plaits in your hair and for your Mum to teach me how to do that because I’m useless”

He then starts tracing random lines on your stomach again and he giggles when he adds, “She’ll have to let me practice on her hair like she practiced on mine the other year”

You had to try not to chuckle at that because you didn’t want to bring him out of his thoughts by your stomach moving up and down from you laughing. But yes, when he had his long hair you plaited it many a time.

“I can’t wait to meet you because I’m not going to leave you alone” Alex says to your stomach once more. “You’re already the best thing that’s ever happened to me…”

He then brings his other hand up to cover his mouth so you couldn’t see his lips moving. But you still heard him whisper, “But don’t tell your Mum because she thinks it’s still me and her getting together after loving each other from a distance for ten years”

You both share a little laugh then.

But Alex isn’t quite finished.

Your husband continues with, “I love you so so much, and I can’t wait for you to start this family off properly… We will get you loads of brothers and sisters though don’t worry. You won’t be lonely”

Your eyes widen at that and you feel the need to just quickly interrupt with, “That is only if Mummy can handle you. But the deal is, your Daddy has to make an album in between each sibling you have”

Alex chuckles again at that before kissing your stomach.

“Wow that’s a lot more music for me to write” He says with wide eyes.

“Like you’ll ever stop making it” You say raising your eyebrows at him.

“Alright alright” He shakes his head, knowing he’s been caught out. “Can I get back to my chat now?”

“All yours” You say gesturing to your stomach so he can continue.

“Right before I was so rudely interrupted” Alex playfully rolls his eyes.

You giggle a little but listen to him as he carries on, “Okay so, I know your Mum’s going to love you to the moon and back like I will, but I’m going to steal you away from her so we can go and do fun things”

“I can’t wait to teach you how to ride a bike and I can’t wait to teach you how to play guitar because that’s better than piano but don’t tell your mummy that either”

You just smile at that.

“I can’t wait to hear you speak; I’m going to put in an early request for your first word to be ‘Dad’ please… That’ll make your Mum really jealous”

The giggle that falls from your lips is music to Alex’s ears. He loves your laugh so much.

“Thank you for making us both so happy already. And for all the happy times we’re going to have” Alex finishes of with before he looks towards you.

“And thank you for being amazing… And for carrying our baby… And for marrying me… And for being my best friend” He tells you.

Alex picks up your hand and kisses the back of it, then says, “I genuinely don’t know what I’d do without you”

“You don’t have to find out, don’t worry” You assure him.

You were here for good.

He couldn’t get rid of you now, even if he wanted to.  

“Just thank you… For everything” He says once again, and you can hear how genuine he’s being.

“I love you Alex” You tell him before leaning forward to press your lips against his.

And Alex manages to say against your lips, “I love you too”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

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how you get the girl

(Harry/Ginny, meet-cute, muggle AU)

the ice-skating ring is full of fumbling people, but Ginny finds one person in extra need of help

Hot Dad is back again, Ginny texts Demelza.

Putting down her phone, she sells a round of tickets to a loud group of teenagers, passing them off to Stephanie to get them set up with skates. Their cheeks are all red with the cold evening air, the sun having just dipped behind the buildings. Mariah Carey is crooning about Christmas over the slightly staticky speakers. It’s all perfectly cheery and lovely, and even Ginny can’t help but smile at it, this season long having been a favorite of hers, no matter how old she gets.

Which probably explains how after working full days, she still lets herself get dragged into volunteering at the seasonal outdoor ice-skating rink set up in the old city center as a way to earn money for various local charities. She’s an easy mark, which her friend running the event never fails to capitalize on.

The obvious first-date skaters are the best in the evenings, the romanticism of the idea wearing off real quick the first time one of them knocks the other down and their asses get real familiar with the unforgiving ice. Ginny likes the look on their faces when she offers them one of the walkers little kids use sometimes.

Her phone buzzes with Demelza’s response.

Okay either bang him or stop texting me because this is pathetic and you know it.

Ginny sighs. I imagine his exceptionally beautiful wife would have a problem with that.

The wife you have no idea if exists or not? Seriously, I don’t have time for this. You’re cut off talking about this.

I need a new friend.

Ha! Good luck with that.

Ginny tosses her phone down in disgust. The worst part is that Demelza is right. This is beneath her dignity. But Hot Dad has been here with his son the last four nights straight, and selling tickets and collecting used equipment isn’t all that engrossing, especially considering Ginny is one of dozens of volunteers. Meaning she has a lot of time to stare and let her imagination get away with her. And her imagination’s favorite subject these days is Hot Dad. Once again here tormenting her as he wobbles around the rink with his son. 

She can’t really tell how old he is, a knit beanie always pulled low over his head and a beard covering his face. He’s got glasses too. None of which makes it hard to see how attractive he is. (One time he forgot his scarf and she nearly had to take a break when he laughed at his son and the tendons in his neck stood out as he threw his head back and she thought how lick-able it looked.) He’s on the lanky side, which on skates occasionally makes him look like a newborn wobbly-legged foal, and even that is somehow charming.

Or Ginny is just really hard up and needs to get a life. Which is what Demelza loves to say. Also that Ginny is a workaholic. And sure, it’s been a hot minute since her last date. She just has a lot going on right now. Besides, this guy is definitely more than likely married.

So instead, she is going to happily, harmlessly ogle Hot Dad while he stumbles around the rink with his son, who has shown little to no improvement over the last week. In fact, if possible, they both seem to be getting worse.

Fifteen minutes later, Hot Dad nearly takes out a pair of teenaged girls, blocking the entire flow of skaters as he stops to thoroughly apologize while his son stands nearby and nearly laughs himself down onto the ice. And then actually goes down onto the ice.

Jesus.

Talk about the blind leading the blind. They’re going to cause a pile-up, she tells herself. It’s the only reason she grabs a pair of skates and heads over to help.

Really.

“Excuse me,” she says as she approaches.

He looks up and, shit, his eyes are like the most intense green she’s ever seen, and also, he’s definitely younger than she first thought, closer to her own age. But also young enough that he must have been Hot Young Teen Dad when his kid was born. But still just as hot as she imagined him to be.

Dammit.

“Not that I don’t admire your persistence,” she says, helping the kid to his feet, “but you two are rapidly becoming a hazard.”

Hot Dad straightens his glasses, looking sheepish. “We definitely are. But it’s an emergency, I’m afraid.”

“An emergency?” Ginny asks, trying to ignore the thrill of finally hearing his voice for the first time. And what a nice voice it is.

He grins. “Ted’s trying to impress a girl.”

“Harry!” the kid shrieks, looking mortified.

Ginny blinks, both cataloging Hot Dad’s name—Harry—and noticing the strange use of it by his son. Maybe he’s in that rebellious teenage phase where he calls his parents by their first names?

He’s still wearing gloves, dammit. Not that it matters. She doesn’t have time for Hot Maybe Married Dad right now.

Really.

“And you’re somehow supposed to help with that?” she shoots back before she can think better of it.

But rather than looking offended, Hot Dad—Harry—just grins back at her. “A hopeless case, I suppose.”

“Depends on how this is meant to impress a girl.”

“He’s going to ask her out for the first time,” Harry says, smiling at his son as Ted looks even more mortified.

“To go ice skating,” Ginny surmises. “Have you considered the movies, or frozen yogurt or, I dunno, anything not on ice?”

Ted shakes his head, looking earnest in the way only a young teen can. “It has to be ice skating.”

Ginny sighs. “I suppose I could give you some pointers. At least keep you from being a total disgrace.”

The kid gives her a dubious look. “You think you could?”

Oh, now it’s on. “You doubt me?” she asks, pushing back on her skates. Without another word, she does a quick tick around the circle, doing the second half backwards. With a quick spin, she comes to stop in front of them at the last possible moment in a showy shower of ice shavings.

Harry looks impressed, eyebrows lifted. “Were you a skater?”

“Hockey,” she says succinctly, used to people making assumptions. Then again, she’s hardly a delicate thing to be twirling around in tutus. Not that she couldn’t if she wanted to, thank you very much. But she’s more into smacking people with sticks than doing toe loops.

“I think this is your best hope, Ted,” Harry says. “The ice angels have smiled down on you.”

Ginny bites back the urge to clarify that she is in no way an angel and would be happy to prove it to him. Instead, she focuses on the kid, who she can’t look down on all that much considering he’s nearly at her height already.

“What do you say?”

Ted lets out a breath. “Please.”

She smiles. “Okay. But before we start, I need to know one thing. This girl you’re asking out. What are you going to do if she says no?”

His eyes widen, giving Harry a panicked look. “Oh, god. Is she going to say no?”

He pats his shoulder. “I think she’s more trying to make sure you aren’t going to use her powers for evil.”

“Pretty much,” Ginny says.

“I don’t understand,” Ted says, brow furrowed.

Ah, the innocence of youth.

“For example.” Harry turns towards Ginny. “I don’t think I got your name?”

“Ginny,” she says, trying to ignore the quiver she feels as his gaze falls intently on her.

He smiles, holding out his hand. She slips her gloved hand into his, shaking firmly. “Nice to meet you, Ginny. I’m Harry.”

“Hello, Harry,” she says, their hands still clasped between them.

He places his other hand on the back of hers, the gesture somehow endearing even as it’s terribly old-fashioned. “Would you go to dinner with me?”

She nearly blurts out a yes before remembering that they are playacting. And he’s probably married. And they’re standing in front of his son. “Sorry,” she says. “Dating customers is against the rules.”

Harry smiles at her—fuck, that is not okay. “Okay,” he says, letting go of her hand. “Sorry if I bothered you. I hope you have a great day.”

“You, too,” she says.

Harry turns back to his son. “There you go.”

“But that wasn’t a no,” Teddy points out.

“Yeah,” Harry says. “It was. If someone wants to go out with us, they’ll say yes. She doesn’t have to explain why or justify it. Plus, do you really want to go out with someone you had to convince?”

Okay, and now Ginny is not just lusting after him, but a little bit in love with the asshole too.

“No,” Ted says, frowning. “I guess not. But what would you do now?”

Harry puts a hand to his chest like he’s nursing a painful wound. “We slink back to our caves like men, feel sorry for ourselves for a little bit, and then pretend it never happened. And definitely don’t ask again.”

“But she’s at my school! I’ll see her every day. Won’t that be weird?”

Ginny expects a pep talk, don’t worry, of course she’ll say yes, but instead Harry slings an arm over Ted’s shoulders. “It might be weird for a while, I admit. But don’t be a pain in the ass and you’ll both get over it. Of course, she might also say yes. Is the potential weirdness and embarrassment worth the chance that she might say yes?”

A look of determination crosses his features. “Yeah,” he says, nodding. “It’s worth her maybe saying no, if it means she might also say yes.”

“Well then, I think you have your answer.”

And now Ginny is pretty much fully in love with him. Ugh, her life is the worst.

“Come on,” she says, gesturing for Ted to come closer. “Let’s try a few rounds.”

She spends the next fifteen minutes giving him a few key pointers, enough that he’s not a complete hazard, but he’s still a long way from dating form. For one, the kid appears to have two left feet. Which, once he warms up to her a bit (and informs her that he much prefers to go by Teddy), his clumsiness pales in comparison to his general politeness and wicked sense of humor. She’s not sure what he’d say if she said those were going to go a lot further for him than his ice-skating skills.

They eventually come back to a stop next to Harry where he waits against the wall off to one side. They’ve just made it when Teddy careens over and nearly face plants into the ice. Harry reaches out for him, only to almost lose his own footing.

What a pair, Ginny thinks, not even bothering to hold back her laughter.

“Your son seems to have inherited your clumsiness,” she says once they are all steadily on their feet again.

Harry laughs, beaming at Teddy, but the kid just lets out a dismissive sound. “He’s not my dad. As if.”

“You could only be so lucky,” Harry says, ruffling the kid’s hair. “Remus may be smarter than me, but I am far better at pretty much anything requiring coordination.”

“That remains to be seen,” Ginny says, Teddy letting out an appreciative laugh.

Harry lifts an eyebrow, like maybe she’s twinged his ego. “Ice is not my natural environment.”

“Really,” she drawls. “Then what is your natural environment?”

“Pretty much anything but ice. I’m not picky,” he says, and somehow the unspoken arrogance is attractive. 

Ginny tilts her head to the side. “I think I’d need proof to be able to judge that adequately.”

“Would you,” he says, voice lowering.

Fuck, the ice should be melting in here.

They hold each other’s gazes a bit longer than is probably proper, Teddy looking between them.

Ginny gives herself a little shake, turning back to the kid. “So, Teddy. I have some bad news and some good news.”

“Okay,” he says, looking wary.

“The bad news is that winter is likely to end before you master ice skating. I mean, you can keep trying. You’ll get better just through practice. But it’s going to take a while.”

He sighs, apparently not horribly surprised to hear it. “And the good news?”

“Well, why do you want to take this girl ice skating?”

“Because she loves ice skating.”

“Is she good?”

He nods. “She’s really good.”

“There’s your good news. And because I like you, I’ll let you in on a little secret. Tell her you’d like to take her ice skating because you know she likes it so much. And then tell her that you aren’t very good, but you’re willing to try and you’d appreciate it if she’d help you. Basically, what I am saying is don’t try to hide that you aren’t great at this yet. Just focus on enjoying being there with her. Honest is so much better than cool.”

She expects him to fight that, but instead he looks thoughtful, eventually nodding. “Okay.” He turns to Harry. “Can we be done now? My butt is so cold I can’t feel it anymore.”

Harry ruffles his hair again. “Yeah. I’ll take you home.”

Teddy heads off towards the exit, and he has improved at least a little bit, Ginny notices as she follows slightly behind. Harry keeps pace with her, even as he wobbles his way along, never more than an arm’s length from the edge.

“That was some good advice,” he says. 

“Well,” Ginny says, “what’s the point of suffering through all that teenage angst if not to try to save the younger generation from repeating your mistakes?”

Harry laughs. “I hear that.”

They sit on the benches, pulling off their skates.

“I can take your skates here,” she says, stepping back behind the counter, ignoring the person already waiting to run this part of the booth.

He hands the skates up over the counter. His gloves are off now and she can see his perfectly naked fingers. Interesting.

“Thanks,” Teddy says.

“Good luck!” she calls out after him.

He waves, heading for the exit.

Harry lingers another moment, pulling his beanie off and revealing dark hair in complete disarray. “I’m realizing I’ve backed myself into a corner,” he says, leaning against the counter.

“How exactly?” she asks.

He drags a hand through his hair. “Because I can’t very well ask you out again without being a hypocrite.”

“Hmm,” she says, nodding solemnly at him. “That is a tricky spot you’ve put yourself in. I suppose sometimes it’s hard to live by our principles.”

He gives her a sad, lopsided smile. “You have no idea.” He pushes back from the counter. “It was nice meeting you, Ginny.”

“You, too, Harry,” she says.

He turns and walks away. Ginny eyes his ass, and, god, it really is a thing of beauty. He doesn’t even look back, and he’s going to do it. He’s really just going to leave her alone.

Amazing.

She counts three long beats before coming around to the other side of the counter and calling out after him. “Harry.”

He stops, turning back to look at her, waiting for her to catch up.

“For the record,” she says, “dinner never would have worked.”

“Sure,” he says, hands in his pockets.

“I already ate, and I’m stuck here until nine,” she says. “How about I buy you a drink instead?”

“You sure?” he says, voice slightly teasing. “Because I’d hate to have a date who had to be convinced.”

“Oh, believe me,” Ginny says. “You don’t need to do any convincing.”

He looks delighted, a smile lighting up his face, and Ginny is still having a hard time believing he’s real. “I’ll swing back around at nine them.”

She nods. “Looking forward to seeing you in your natural environment,” she drawls, giving him a wink.

He almost immediately nearly bumps into a trash can.

She lifts an eyebrow at him, but he just shakes his head. “Still shaking off the ice-skating legs.”

“Of course,” she says.

“Harry!” Teddy shouts from the exit.

“Coming!” Harry yells back. He looks at her. “Nine.”

She nods. “Nine.”

Giving her one last lingering look, he turns, giving her a great view as he walks away. Once out on the sidewalk, she can see Harry wrap his arm around Teddy’s neck, giving him a playful noogie as the kid fights him off.

Ginny smiles, watching them disappear before heading back to her station.

Back behind the counter, she picks up her phone, pulling up her conversation with Demelza.

Hot dad is not a dad at all, is gloriously single, and I am seeing him at nine tonight.

Get it, girl.

[seb-owns-these-tatas]

Witcher Of The Night (Chapter 10)

THIS IS MODERN ERA READER WHO WOKE UP IN THE DIMENSION OF THE WITCHER.

WITCHER OF THE NIGHT MASTERLIST

CHAPTER 9

Characters: Geralt of Rivia x small!Naive!Reader

Summary: Geralt has found a djinn as your ticket for your way home. Though, some conditions doomed his fate. Your confession for the witcher got him climbing down towards the goal of sending you away; reconsidering what could happen when you stay for a week or maybe more. Howbeit, your panic-stricken confession lead into unlocking the Djinn out of its confinement and thus, leading you into becoming one possessed human and giving Geralt factual reasons as to why he was destined to you.

Warnings: Possessed reader. A gushing reader who managed to accidentally confess her feelings for the witcher. Upset Cirilla. Weird shit going on. Soft, hardheaded but smiley and frustrated Geralt all at once. A VERY MUCH NOT accurate words of Elder speech. AHONHONHON. I’m sorry in advance. Mention of blood. LOTS of Geralt Gif’s because…why not?

Words: 5.9k

A/N: You’ll have tension on the next chapters. When I mean tension, I mean sexual tension. I can hear y'all screaming and waiting for this moment to shine. HAHAHHAHAHA. I hope the wait is worth it.

TAGLIST IS STILL OPEN FOR THIS ONE! Heehee! Don’t forget to REBLOG, COMMENT OR GIVE FEEDBACK IF YOU DID LOVE THIS CHAPTER! IT’LL MAKE ME SMILE!

Disclaimer: PNG’s used in edits are not mine even the GIF’s too. However, the edits and oneshots are definitely from moi. Characters, places and said monsters aren’t from moi as well. GIF’s INCLUDED ARE CREDITED TO THOSE WHO MADE THEM! I DO NOT OWN THEM!

MY WORKS ARE NOT NOT NOT NOT NOOOOOOT TO BE POSTED ON ANY OTHER WEBSITES. My official username in Wattpad is “TATATHEPOTATO” and that’s the only other site I have for writing aside from Tumblr. Thank you, Tater tots!

You understood everything now. Very perfectly. Geralt was acting weirdly soft to you because he was finally throwing you away.

That was a more reasonable explanation to his sudden supple treatment towards you as you remembered how he was avoiding you the day before you were captured by those asshats. Though, it stopped there. He saved you and that was it. That was the only thing you remembered aside from the blurry image of you confessing something heartfelt to the witcher as he carried you to send you off to some healer.

You didn’t tell him anything ridiculous, didn’t you?

Those cheeky, dashing smiles he tries to give whenever he catches you staring made you narrow your eyes once you timidly avoided his beams like a blushing baby.

He was probably just happy that you were going to be out of his majestic hair once you wish for a genie to take you back home. It hurts to know that the witcher was happy and basically twerking inside his head about shooing you away.

Truly, your heart was feeling heavy because of it. The heavy feeling being brought as you had your steady hike with his family. Those lips that were jutted out in a pout was ineradicable even till the moment you’ve arrived at a tranquil looking lake.

Geralt took notice of your vexatious pout that was permanently carved as he threw the fishnet out in the lake. Dismissing your attitude with a faint shake of his head at the wonder why you were looking downright dejected when it was finally the time you could go home and leave the havoc that you were in.

“So, a Djinn is a fish? Since you’re using a fish net…” he’d heard you question the bard that was leaning on a dead tree, arms crossed like an executive in some company as he watched Geralt trawl for your Djinn. The witcher tugged on the rope of the fishnet and pulled; seeing no pitcher yet that had a Djinn and only an empty bottle of wine that was thrown out in the lake. He frustratingly exhaled a breath and ceaselessly tossed the fishnet back in the water.

Cirilla and Kolby were crouching down beside the swamp as they were playing with the water in their hands. Patiently waiting for whatever you were finding.

“Haven’t you heard of genies?” Jaskier bellowed, making your eyebrows twist together in ire for his attitude. You crossed your arm and gave yourself a second before a loud cajole left your lips, “—The mystical creatures that grant you three wishes?”

Your frowning self promptly turned the opposite as you remembered a movie that you’ve loved back in your laptop, “Oh! The one from Aladdin! Will the Genie come out of it? Is it a smoke of blue?!”

The bard let out a perceptible loud sigh, eyes focused at the witcher who was mindlessly cussing to himself for finding his Djinnie-Djinn-Djinn that took three hours already. He gave you a look that consisted of abounding judgement.

You shrugged to yourself; dusting off his sarcasm, “I suppose not,”

“—The last time it came out, it attacked my throat and gave me the ill-fate of having no voice to talk nor sing. I’ve been brought to a healer—thanks to Geralt and his selfless virtue, and been brought to an orgy which eventually; Yennefer–” Jaskier’s chatters were ceased by Geralt’s stern tone that echoed a meter away as he was hauling over his fishnet, audibly groaning as he felt something heavy that has been caught.

He hoped it was no monster or anything.

“That’s enough, Bard.”

Jaskier leaned off the dead tree, hands on either side of his hips as he looked offended by always being cut-off in the middle of his chitter-chatters with you, “Why do you always cut me off when it’s about the mage from Vengerberg?” a teasing pause. “—It’s like you don’t want me mentioning about her because the small rat is around,”

The witcher gave no response other than a displeased hum, not giving his amber eyes while the fish net dripped as he dragged it out to see some type of vase that had a peculiar seal, “Hmm.”

He’d heard a clap and it was from the bard, “Oh, a pitcher! It’s the Djinn!” before his voice suddenly upturned into a softer tone like he was avoiding something. The leaves crumpled beneath his shoe as you felt Jaskier discreetly side stepped away from you or everyone like a frog in the mud, “I’m just going to…give you space and peace like you hoped for,”

The message was for Geralt as he slowly but surely hid behind a tree where Cirilla and Kolby was. A distance which is still coherent for him to hear you both from a distance. You’ve eyed him like he was going loco when he gave a thumbs up behind the tree and peeked with only his head showing to the both of you, a beam on show.

“Don’t forget to make three wishes when the harsh wind hits you! Also, make it fast so it doesn’t thwack you in the neck!”

Geralt held onto the pitcher, inspecting a different seal in his hands. Much more different than the one they had decades ago. It was an eight figure hand clustered in a circle with random stars all over.

“Are you sure this wouldn’t be a snake in the grass, Geralt?” the witcher heard the bard speak from behind the tree, loud enough for you to hear his question thrown. There was a moment of silence as Geralt studied the pitcher a lot more closely, trying to understand and remember what the seal meant.

He’d finally taken the chance to voice out to the bard in a gruff tone, “As long as she doesn’t wish for anything that would mutilate anyone,”

You gave them looks; back and forth as they went on to their talk like you weren’t there with them. It’s not like you could understand whatever magic or terms they were even talking about. This was the problem for living in a world that you weren’t familiar with; not a single thing that you were used to besides the cooking. Other than that, their world was living in history that you somehow didn’t wish to have lived in.

With magic even involved in their lives like it was a normal thing.

“What if this backfires, Geralt? You know..like it would give her a tumor in the neck and then you’ll go find a healer again and—” Jaskier cut his sentence in haste when the witcher gave him a scolding glare. He’d shut his mouth, contemplating on what his next words would be.

“—You sure it’ll give her what she wants?”

“It can grant the most far-fetched wishes,”

“So, when you wished for peace prior to that day; giving me tumor is the best idea for your Djinn?”

Geralt gave him a mocking smile, one that consists that his patience was wearing thin again for the talkative bard who asks too much questions like he was the person who came from another world and not you, “But, it quite helped, didn’t it?”

The bard rolled his eyes back at him, puffing out a breath as he emerged behind the tree and leaned his shoulders on the dry wood; his face contorting in anxiety as he saw Kolby crouched in front who was giving him those puppy eyes.

You were too engrossed from their talk and didn’t notice Geralt who was now in front of you; handing over the pitcher where a Djinn was kept.

“As long as she’s the master, the Djinn won’t hurt her.” he reassured for you; feeling your agitation take over as you were realizing that there was a risk that their genie could hurt you. Though, those glowing eyes of his that resting on you; giving an unfamiliar tenderness of his gaze was simply telling you that it won’t happen.

But, the stingy feeling inside your heart wasn’t helping those warmth within his eyes.

“Make your wish, Midget.” he simply said, dropping his gaze for a second before returning back on your glum filled eyes, “—Once unbarred and has three of your wishes, the djinn is set free,”

You loosely held onto the pitcher like you were hesitant. It was there now. Your way for home. One of the options that can get you coming back from where you came from. Away from their chaotic world that had too many fremd explanations about their way of living other than earth where having a stable job was the only problem you had.

Not for the fear of monsters and people selling you off to some duke or king.

“—and…you are also..” the witcher drawled out his words, seeming to be in deep thought as his features turned stony and inexplainable, “—free. Back to where you came from,”

He sounded like he was choking when the witcher continued his speech; or maybe it was just you who wanted to think he actually didn’t want you leaving?

Shocking to say, you actually didn’t want to. His family was extraordinaire and caring. The type where they wouldn’t blink just to save you from danger even if it would involve them bleeding to death.

Geralt’s family was one of a kind. Thus, you realize how much of a family you had back in earth. A family who let you work overseas to help them in their lives as you work your ass off so they could pay their bills. It’s not that you weren’t thankful that they’ve taken care of you when you were a kid and even paid for your college fees, but sometimes working abroad can be depressing when you have no one around.

No one to hold and share your sadness with.

“What if I…” Wish to stay? your thoughts were in a mess. You trailed off and anxiously bit the insides of your cheeks as Geralt waited for you to finish your sentence. Yet, you clicked your tongue and changed what you wanted to say instead, “—What if it hurts me? As much as how it did to Jaskier?”

Geralt’s shook his head, frowning as he does so, “I won’t let that happen, midget.”

The way he said it; soft and reassuring like he promised that this option you had involves no pain. Leading you into yearning for something that seemed to be unreachable and utterly fantastical for it to happen in reality. That is; if their world was really your reality.

Nevertheless, you could feel every sorts of emotions and feelings. It was frustrating you to the point of being unreasonable by wanting to stay.

Jaskier faintly smiled as the bard realized what you were already holding. This was it. The last time to have you around. He was indecisive about it despite of him not wanting to welcome you warmly on the first day since you were hunted by an Alghoul. However, it seems like the latter had a change of heart and actually began to appreciate your annoying, little presence. Definitely like a cute rat that he probably feeds when nobody is looking.

“Should I bid you a goodbye right now?” he solemnly muttered as he fidgeted with his fingers. An action he does when he was anxious or thinking about something. You gave him back a gloomy smile and felt your chest feel even more heavier than it ever did.

The princess had her nose scrunched to its extent. Eyebrows furrowed in total bewilderment as she was trying to understand what was happening behind her back. “Why do we need to say farewell? To whom?”

Jaskier mustered up the courage to tell her, expecting for another set of her tantrums because of the sudden decision that Geralt has made for you, “—To Y/N.”

With just two words, it was enough for the princess to squeak and protest, completely objecting at the plan ahead as she gave the witcher a furious glare. “What? Geralt!”

She’d hopped forward against the muddy ground, hissing as she does so while Jaskier tried to catch her but she was too quick for him to slide away from. Geralt heard her heavy marches, closing his eyes in fatigue and stress as he murmured, “I shouldn’t have brought you both with me,”

It took five seconds for Cirilla’s steam to blow like a train; throwing angered protests at the witcher that was bound to protect her till the day she dies, “How dare you not tell me this?! I demand for her not to leave!”

“Princess.” Geralt firmly stated, a sigh leaving his lips as he does so and continued, “She doesn’t belong here,”

“I don’t want her to leave!”

“She belongs to her rightful dimension,”

Cirilla gave out a frustrated huff of her breath, snobbishly crossing her arms before the witcher as she gave him a scowl, “Don’t act like I didn’t see you both together in your bed last night, hugging her to sleep!”

Jaskier blinked repeatedly at that; giving the witcher a double take and also making you narrow your eyes at them from what they were pointing out.

The princess knew. She knew what she saw when she wanted to check if you were already awake yet and saw Geralt sleeping like a baby. Beside you with an arm surrounding you close as his palms rested along the middle of your back; intentionally avoiding the wounds before it could even open up itself.

It was the first time she ever saw the witcher having to sleep like a deadbeat without waking up due to his heightened senses because she tried to peek. He was completely vulnerable and seemed like to be in deep slumber; cuddling another person in his arms like it was his comfort.

“Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon.” Geralt snarled, giving her the sharp eyes as and a tone that tells her to stop before he doesn’t talk to her for weeks end. He’d used her full name for the first time in forever and simply to say; Geralt was pissed.

Cirilla’s voice wavered, feeling her throat run dry and eyes seem to appear cloudy as she took in Geralt’s hostility towards the truth that has been said. He was always like this, pushing people away when he seemed to feel like they were finally having a connection; fearing for being attached and for what outcomes it may bring.

“You are certainly an idiot, Geralt.”

The witcher’s nose flared in discontent, her narks immediately went straight to his head as he wore a nasty scowl; letting the irritation straight out of his mouth as he starts spitting ire at everyone who seemed to make his life a little more difficult, “Are you done talking shit now?”

The princess went on with her glares, peering up at the witcher with a piercing glint of her eyes, “You never fail to disappoint me,”

“Thank you, Princess. I always do plan to disappoint people. Comes in becoming a witcher,” was the only sarcastic remark that the witcher managed to reply with a rough grouse and an obvious roll of his eyes.

In between their heated argument, Jaskier even had the guts to butt in like what he always do; his face sketched in opposition for the sudden decision at hand like Geralt wanted it done in haste, “Do you really need to go back? I mean, I’ve talked to Geralt about it last night! He’s just one stubborn witcher and trying to push you away because he’s scared of being attached! We can always keep your Djinnie-Djinn-Djinn and just use it when you feel like going home—”

The latter was harshly cut off by a gruff sputter of Geralt’s warning, “Bard.” his nose flared even more, “—Will you fucking shut up? Even just for a minute?”

You didn’t know what to do. Everyone was telling you not to do it yet, even your heart as well. It was crazy, to even choose between living in a dimension that was full of peril or a world where it keeps you depressed because something was hugely missing in your life back in earth.

There was someone intensely staring at your face and you knew it was the angered witcher, no doubt because he seemed like he wanted you away already, “Wish for what your heart desires, midget.” he lowly hissed and gave a nasty grimace to the two pair of people who was strongly ceasing the progression of you going home to where you belong.

Everybody didn’t dare to make any form of noise except for the Hirikka who was looking at you in curiosity; never knowing what was going on. Jaskier shook his head in disappointment at the witcher, giving him a look that was pure of dissatisfaction and it was the first time that the bard ever did. He was trying to make Geralt feel guilty for his decisions or whatsoever.

“Final words for us before you go, small rat?”

Your heart was downright heavy as you began to send off your final messages to the people who did nothing but be kind enough for letting you stay despite of not knowing who you are. You gave Cirilla a look full of warmth, faintly smiling back at the princess who was now sobbing because the only person whom she felt a different type of connection was now leaving. The idea of not being able to see you again because you didn’t belong to their world was giving her distraught as you were the only person she connected with that involved with a woman’s touch.

“To Cirilla,” you choked in your own words, feeling the hesitance in your throat as you evidently swallowed. “—Hey, don’t cry. You’re going to be the strongest and bravest woman I can ever know. With a witcher by your side, he’ll mold you into becoming a better person as well,”

Your voice was faltering like a thin sheet of paper. Silently, the witcher stared; feeling the heat of his gaze grazing on the side of your face as you continued to bid your goodbyes.

“Jaskier,” an acknowledge that made the bard scoff with a forced grin, trying to make the situation lighter for everyone, “I know you’re utterly enamoured by my singing, small rat. Now is the perfect time for your confession!”

You managed to roll your eyes a him, “Keep annoying everyone. I hope Kolby bites you in your sleep,”

“I shall die a brokenhearted man!”

Last but not the least, a message for the witcher who has always been saving you like a knight in shining armor. An expected knight in your fantasies.

Never even expecting to like him in a way that you wondered how it would be like to be his lover. Nonetheless, the thought was a blur because he wasn’t just a mere human. He was a mutated one and a person who takes his job very seriously as a monster-slayer.

Maybe being his other half would be pretty much an adventure.

“Geralt,” you turned your heel to face him, considering the distance that he was an arm away from you. He’d given you an apathetic gaze, masking in whatever he was feeling right now as you couldn’t see right through him as of the moment, “—I’ve seen this in the movies too much and I understand why you’re handling everything in silence,”

He was just that type of person. You knew because there has been lots of people you’ve encountered who had his type of personality and you understood his character completely.

Hence, the type of person he was needed care because they weren’t used to people caring for them. He needed the conciliatory affection because he craves for it even though he hardly says he don’t; and even when he does receives it, the brightest way to do it is to push that person away because he knew he didn’t deserve the tender care.

“You’re no monster for me,” you genuinely spoke with all your heart. Geralt’s stoic expression seeming to waver as you’ve given him a look of appreciation for everything he did for you, “—You’ll never be because I know you have a good heart,”

He gazed at you even longer than he should, eyebrows in a pained twist that created a frown etched on his face. What were you even saying? Your mind was literally a ball of yarn right now as you stand in front of him; thoughts flying elsewhere as you started to panic because you wanted something off your chest before you go. Permanently.

Therefore, your mind thought it was the right moment to confess such feelings that you knew it wouldn’t ever be said once you go back, you snapped your head away as you cringed for your stupidity, “—andthatIlikeyoubutnobodyneedstoknowthatbecauseIneverconfessedtoanymanever! Like really really like you. My heart is just–just pounding like a drum whenever you’re around—”

It was fast. A mere whisper of your heart being a YOLO little bitch by speaking out your feelings like a crazed woman offering some type of sacrifice as you were citing spells to your own; that type of fast talking that won’t get any normal person to understand the heck you wanted to comprehend.

You were idiotic enough to forget that he wasn’t any type of normal.

Geralt’s hum seem to stop your panicking mental state. His hum sounded perplexed and utterly…amused.

You swallowed the nervous jitters down your throat before opening an eye to see him cocking his head to the side, judging your embarrassed self and probably judging you from even confessing despite knowing it would be a one-sided affection from the witcher.

“Midget.” you’ve heard your conscience speaking to you, his tone somewhat quieter but still in that gruff voice of his that made your insides tingle. Your eyes was squinted shut as you looked away, avoiding his stares and went on with your audible monologue, “Oh my God, I should’ve wished first before confessing like a lovestruck high school girl,”

Geralt couldn’t help but subtly clear his throat. You always never fail to amaze him in terms of your panicking, clumsy gestures. He raised a surprised brow, thoroughly understanding what has happened prior to your rants.

“Midget.”

“You didn’t hear anything!” you squealed and held onto the handle of the Djinn, furiously tapping it with your index finger in sheer embarrassment for the failed confession. The witcher clicked his tongue, shifting on his own burly weight and keeping his teeth together as he tried to think of an answer to your sudden confession.

“Hmm.”

“What do you mean hmm? IT WAS JUST A WHISPER!?”

Jaskier had his forehead furrowed in utter curiosity, just hearing the soft mumbles and your yelping kept his curiosity at bay. Yet, he’d heard you screaming, “Small rat, don’t you know that witchers have heightened senses and he understood you a lot? Probably even hear your heart pounding fast every time you’re—”

You’ve snapped your eyes open, realizing you were covering your face away from the witcher who was faintly smirking down at you with an unfathomable twinkle in his eyes that weirded you out. However, Jaskier’s words seeming to whack you in the head for being stupid and not asking more for what the witcher’s abilities consists of.

“Wait, what? He can even hear my—I SHOULDN’T HAVE SAID THAT!” His super hearing caught you off-guard. You didn’t expect that he had that kind of skill because all you knew was that he was strong and exceptionally good at using his swords.

Well, the news definitely shocked you to the core. You were mouthing words at Jaskier as the bard narrowed his eyes back, not understanding a thing from your silent mouthing of words as you wanted the ground to eat you alive. “WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME, THEN?!”

Your hostile reactions was surely bewildering the bard, “Why? What did you tell him, Y/N?”

“Midget.”

You’ve heard Geralt’s stern baritone pitch of his, thus igniting a fast shake of your head as you could feel the heat travelling up in your face like a jet plane, ignoring the witcher who stood tall before you, “NOTHING, Jaskier! I’m so stupid!”

“Your reaction doesn’t mean nothing…”

The discomfort was making you deal with a lot of things. Rejection, anxiety and being a butter finger. Your eyes caught the Djinn wrapped around your fingers as you tried to cover your face from the witcher. So, you’ve did the inevitable and ungracefully held onto the seal before giving Geralt a once over.

Hence, you didn’t know what he was thinking when he suddenly ceased your wrists from doing so.

His bright amber eyes looked at you in warning, meeting yours in a reluctant shadow of his emotions when you’ve held onto the seal looking like he had a change of heart and didn’t want it to happen.

Maybe, it wasn’t too bad to let you stay for a little more while. Just a week or maybe more. His consciousness spoke at the back of his Ivory head. He wanted to make sure of something; if it was really destiny trying to play with his emotions for whatever bullcrap he was feeling when he’d heard your confession.

“Midget!” roughly scolded Geralt as he’d realized you already had opened the seal before he even stopped you. Jaskier had Cirilla and Kolby behind a far end tree as they watched you both struggle from trying to open the Djinn prior to your confession.

Both of you held onto the seal. Eyes locked onto each other; his in utmost dismay and worry as the pitcher was ajar from the seal, currently unimpeded from its body. Then, there was a strong ripple of the brisk wind clawing down your feet, crawling up the curves of your bodice in a way that could frighten you because it was not any normal.

The whistle of the wind came in with hushed voices that you couldn’t understand nor recognized. An invisible phantom of cold fingers reaching your head like it wanted to crush your skull as the voices whispered louder; like a spell that you couldn’t comprehend.

Your knees were giving up from the pain it wanted to bestow. Those eyelids of yours fluttering shut as the spirit was trying to suck on the energy you only had. But, you didn’t flop on the ground as you could feel tangible warmth surrounding your body; not letting you fall nor letting go.

The cluster of wind became stronger. You’ve heard him yell back, keeping you as close as he can and felt strong, calloused fingers grab onto the side of your face; shaking you awake as he kept you standing still, “Make your wish!” he loudly demanded amongst the rustle of everything.

The pitcher loosely lost its touch from you as it fell to the ground. A wish. You needed to make wishes. Your eyes drooped, blinking in a daze as your vision caught the only thing in your fore sight.

A medallion. His medallion. A witcher’s medallion that was currently vibrating on his chest like something alarming was happening or was nearby.

“I-I wish…” you whispered more so to yourself, hearing the witcher groan out loud as he tried hard to keep you still. The force trying to keep you both apart but Geralt wasn’t backing down nor did he plan on letting go.

Jaskier, Cirilla and Kolby had their palms over their ears from the harsh wind encircling them. Keeping still behind the huge Oak tree. Then, the winds abruptly ceased as they were crouched behind for cover.

You were unconscious for one second; your whole weight given to the witcher as he had an arm on the small of your back, your face tightly smothered on his hairy chest that you awfully find endearing and pleasing. You’ve inhaled a long breath like you weren’t given oxygen, batting your eyelashes up at the witcher who was supporting all your weight with his strength.

A listless look for the witcher was all it took for him to narrow his eyes back at you, checking for any signs that you weren’t you. Though, none. You were okay and…you were still there with them.

The bard peeked his head out, checking what happened when he seen you with complete limbs and being hugged by the witcher himself. Jaskier shrugged to whatever the hell happened and hollered, “Well, that was pretty much an anticlimax for the second time.”

Gently, the witcher pulled you away from him. His strong fingers clasped upon your shoulders as he eyed you very seriously. The sudden shift of the wind keeping him uneasy as he didn’t trusted the harmless process of having your wishes. “What did you wish for, Midget?”

You shook your head from the delicate pain in your head; sighing as you wearily told him, trying to give him a smile that appeared thoroughly forced because you kept on wincing and holding onto your temples, “Don’t wishes shouldn’t be told? Because it never comes true when it does? Especially when you wish upon the stars? I’m not telling it—”

Your words were cut short by a shrilling scream that made Jaskier, Cirilla and Kolby jumped from behind their tree; hastily striding to where you were. “Stay back!” the latter ceased them from coming any closer as you fell on the ground, back flat and your back arched in a horrifying way.

The veins in your throat was throbbing as you felt pain in the valley of your breast. A part that was scorching hot like you were being burnt alive. You painfully whimpered as your body felt fluid, desperately grasping onto your chest to relieve the pain or try to take off whatever causes it but there was none.

You yelped another loud scream; feeling it boring holes inside your body and in your heart. Geralt hurriedly knelt in panic, the panic suddenly crashing him like a freight train as his face was stern in confusion. He’d held onto the side if your neck, his thumb stroking your jaw which got you hissing as the pain incredibly added another; like a gas to the flames as you’ve moaned from the intolerable pain.

“Cáerme,” You’ve suddenly hushed, hearing the unfamiliar voices violently ruining your peace; making everything hurt as you whispered it out loud.

The witcher couldn’t help but stare you down in ponder and utter worry. He heard you. A word that sounded familiar but he didn’t quite understand as it only took a person who was an expertise in it that could interpret the words you started to say.

“Saov,” Geralt’s breath hitched, golden eyes agape and his expression in thorough shock as he tried shaking your body to wake you up from whatever is trying to possess you.

It was like fighting for something you could never see.

“Y/N!”

Amber eyes. Chalky white hair. A distinguishable face was the only image in your head as you could hear Geralt’s angered voice screaming ‘no!’ in the background; a blurry image sketched inside your head as he was fighting knights and unfamiliar people surrounding his family who came with him.

Including you.

With Jaskier and Cirilla who had blood staining their clothes as the night swallows her loud cries.

“Raenn,”

Despite of the witcher’s warning, the bard scooted off to where you were; dragging Cirilla with him as Kolby trailed like a pup. Howling at the same time as you screamed once more, “Geralt, what’s happening?!”

You’ve suddenly snapped your eyes opened as you threw your head back, the color of your eyes giving Jaskier a fright as he also knelt before you, his eyes bulging out of his eye sockets as he saw black. Raven black.

“Certainly not the small rat!” the bard shrieked before pulling away from peering down at you, falling onto his back as he gave Geralt a once over.

His brawny physique was crouched beside you, his wild, disheveled hair framing his face as he loudly groaned out loud like he was also in deep pain, seeming to hold onto his chest like he was having a toxic heart attack.

“Aep.”

Your words. It was used for magic and spells. Next thing Geralt knows is that he was suddenly pushed off the ground, his back hitting the ground with a loud thud as he felt phantom fingers keeping him steady and still. He harshly breathed through his nose, struggling with the force that was keeping him down.

Though, to no use; he couldn’t. It was some sort of potent spirit.

“Yn.”

Every word you say was filling vile inside his chest. It hurt as much as you did. But, he could withstand the pain more than you do as he was roughly growling beneath his chest.

“Geralt?!” Jaskier and Cirilla yelled out in chorus when they’ve seen him get hauled back by some unforeseen creature. Their focal point on Geralt that they didn’t notice you hurriedly crawling towards the witcher like a possessed woman.

You sat on his shredded, prominent torso once you’ve reached the witcher, tilting your head to the side as your eyes were completely pitch black. His eyelids fell shut once he was dragged down; Geralt was unconscious. You’ve held a palm in front of his face before uttering one last speech that certainly didn’t come from yourself. It was a bedevilled version of you that had no control over your system.

“Vatt'ghern.”

With that, you’ve leaned down very closely to his face. Warm breath hitting his face as you were tilting your head like a single strand of string can only be passed onto both of your lips together. The witcher sighed as he does so, face in a peaceful state as an unpredictable line of dark smoke escaped your lips, streaming down his ajar lips of the witcher who was down and unconscious.

Jaskier and Cirilla couldn’t move. They were dumbstruck at the scene that unfolded before them. All of your energy was taken from you as the possession has started and so, you’ve dropped dead on the ground. Closely beside Geralt as a blurry vision of you dropping on the rocky ground in the night sky ended your consciousness.

It was a blurry image that had you seeing Geralt run over for you, his face covered in grime and blood as he appeared to be on the verge of crying.

As your head fell on the ground with a soft thud; without warning, the witcher snapped his eyes open. Thick, robust fingers grasping onto his medallion that laid on his sturdy, bewhiskered chest. His eyelids drooping in total weary as he remembered a short event that concluded when he’d shortly fallen off in unconsciousness; giving him a dream as to why you were bound to him; destined to be with him forever.

The witcher saw a future with you. It wasn’t just any ordinary dream that he had because this time; he was euphoric in it. Utterly happy and smiling with you in the picture.

Destiny really never fails to fuck him hard for the second damn time.

YES. THIS IS ANOTHER ONE OF MY FAVE CHAPTERS THAT I’VE WRITTEN. Guess what midget wished for? 

Taglist: @alyxkbrl​​ @himarisolace​​ @barkingbullfrog​​ @ayamenimthiriel​​ @hellodevilslittlesister​​ @vania-marie​​ @spookypeachx​ @grungelovebug @fangirl-inthe-us​ @nympeth​ @amirahiddleston​ @gabethelobster​ @dreaming-about-starfleet​ @uncoolcloudyhead​ @melaninstylezz​ @psychosupernatural​ @missjenniferb @dance-dreamer​​​​ @marvelousell​​​​ @kingniazx​​​​ @angelias134​​​​ @tapismyforte​​ @chook007

[logan-is-noggin]

Stone Cold

summary: Virgil and Logan are in a relationship, Virgil falls hard, Logan falls for another.

word count: 1269

warnings: unrequited love, heartbreak, mention of suicide

Song: Stone cold by Demi Lovato 

Virgil Hale wasn't always the way people see him today wearing dark clothes, emo makeup, and a sometimes hostile attitude., he was a normal boy. He was happy with his relationship with Logan Mitchell. He'd like to think of him as his boyfriend, though Logan never liked to put labels on anything. In fact, Logan always tried and convince Virgil that he didn't have feelings at all. So their relationship was strictly physical.At first, Virgil was all on board with the heated make-out sessions after school or staying up past midnight talking about everything and anything. But Virgil slowly began to change his view of Logan. He admired the little things that no one would care to notice, how he would mutter to himself while working out a particularly tough equation, or biting his lower lip as he read. Little things that Virgil loved.And so Virgil fell.But it wasn't a graceful fall, where the landing is soft into a pile of petals of acceptance. It was like falling into a deep hole he didn't know if it would end.He loved Logan, Logan claimed he didn't love. Of course, Logan liked Virgil. He sought out his company before. Requesting to spend the evening with him when he could easily have spent them alone.So Virgil wanted to come up with a plan to express how he felt. Of course, he wouldn't just blurt it out randomly for fear of scaring him away completely.

Prom. It was a month away but the cheerleaders were already selling tickets in the cafeteria. He bought two. Maybe if he asked Logan it would hint at the fact that he wanted more than a physical relationship.Two weeks later, Virgil sat at a table at lunch, anxious for Logan to arrive so he could ask him to prom.He gripped the two tickets in his pocket as he spotted Logan approach, but oddly, he didn't have food with him, just a bottle of water. " aren't you going to eat with me?" Virgil asked." I'm sorry, my lab partner has asked me to assist him in researching a subject for a history report, but I wanted to come to tell you something first." He sat down. Virgil started to worry." I've been dating Patton for three weeks now. I know we've had our relationship for a while but something inside me just feels very strongly for him.He asked me to be his prom date and I've accepted.” Virgil was very still as to not give Logan any reaction

“Several couples are renting a limousine to attend prom too. You're more than welcome to join us if you're interested." He said as he stood. Along with Virgil's heart, he crumpled up the tickets." I'm not much of a dancing guy. I didn't think you'd be either."Logan nodded " well, people change. I just wanted to make sure you'll be okay." Virgil swallowed the lump forming in his throat " no I'll be fine. You two have fun, say hi to Patton for me" he said looking away. " I shall. Goodbye Virgil."Then he left.Virgil ended up getting refunds for his extra ticket, it being too expensive to just throw away. The younger student at the table took pity on his story.//////

The night of prom though, Virgil wore a purple dress shirt with jeans and a black-tie loosely tied around his neck. He arrived early and waited at a table in the corner so he wouldn't be easily noticed. He put his earbuds in and pressed shuffle not really listening to the songs.He watched as he saw Logan arrive with a group of students. He always wore a tie and a black button-down shirt. But tonight he wore a navy blue blazer over the ensemble. Standing next to him constantly must have been Patton. He never was officially introduced but from how upbeat and happy he seemed, maybe it was for the best. Virgil didn't realize he was glaring as he and Logan danced to the first slow song. Patton's head leaning on Logan's shoulder as they swayed back in forth among the sea of dancers. Virgil knew Logan hated dancing. He knew if they were here together, he probably would have given an excuse for why he couldn't or wouldn't dance with Virgil. Not that Virgil would have wanted to. A new song clicked on his phone and he stood up and quickly left the room, having seen enough of his ex's happiness

Stone cold, stone cold,

You see me standing but I'm dying on the floor.

Stone cold, stone cold. 

Maybe if I don't cry I won't feel anymore

Virgil searched the halls, the lights mostly turned off the further he walked from the gym. He found an open classroom, took a piece of paper and a pen and started to write." Logan. I felt the need to tell you the truth. Lately, I had fallen for you. I wanted to tell you but, you claim to not have feelings. But then you go and dump me for Patton out of nowhere. That gave me a lot of feelings. Hurt, anger, confusion. I decided not to waste anymore time on sad.Long story short, don't bother trying to talk to me if you see me."

God knows I try to feel happy for you,

 know that I am.

 Even if I don't understand.

I wish I could mean this, so here's my goodbye.

I'm happy for you

- Virgil"

He folded it three times, more out of the building frustration and found Logan's locker, he pushed it through the slots.He left through the closest side door and got to his car and drove away

If happiness hurts,

 if happiness hurts- I'm happy for you

Monday morning, Logan set his backpack on the ground as he dialed his locker combination and opened the door. A small piece of paper flipped out onto his shoe. Logan kept his locker immaculately clean, so he figured someone else must have pushed it through. He opened the paper and smoothed it out before reading. By every line, Logan got more and more concerned. He thrusted his bag into his locker and shut it, forgetting to retrieve the books for his morning classes and raced to homeroom, which he and Virgil had together. But as the bell rang and morning announcements played over the speakers, Virgil didn't show.He had second period with Patton- science. He explained the dilemma and Patton comforted his boyfriend as best he could.Virgil wasn't in fourth period either. Their only other class together. By lunch time Logan was considering going to the principal to see if he could go check on him, when an unfamiliar kid walked by and sat at the table Virgil always ate at. Logan stood and appraised his outfit- ripped black jeans, a faded purple shirt and a black checkered hoodie. He also seemed to be wearing eye-shadow under his eyes. Could that be?He approached the table " Virgil? Is that you?"Without bothering to look away from his food he replied " Logan,"Relief flooded his body and new tears began to fall. " I was so worried about you. When I read the note I thought something awful had happened" Virgil rolled his eyes before finally meeting Logan's. " no, I did not kill myself just because we broke up and I also said in the letter for you not to talk about it." "But Virgil, you could have said something, we could have talked about it." "Nope, but you were right. Feelings are worthless Logan. From now on, I'm stone cold."

[bnhaficsforthesoul]

BNHA College AU - Bakugou

Major: Culinary Arts

Minor: Sports Management

Sports: Basketball

Clubs: Nope

So overall cooking is really katsu’s main passion, even though he’s been told multiple times by people that it’s a waste for someone as smart as him to go into something as simple as cooking - but he went ‘fuck them I’ll do what I want’ and it’s worked out so far

He’s not too sure what he wants to do with cooking though, of course working in a restaurant is the most likely choice but he’s not sure if he wants to try opening his own or wants to just work at a top notch one

Him being such a god at cooking makes him the official cook for the bakusquad, he doesn’t like them eating too much take out or microwaved food anyways, so he just cooks for them most of the time

Meaning theyre always usually in his and eijirou’s room, which annoys the RA lol

Along with cooking, katsu’s always been big in sports - he’s done soccer, baseball, swimming, and even some karate, but basketball is the one that stuck with him

And even in college he joined the basketball team, and he’s really good at it

That’s what made him choose sports management as a minor, since he didn’t really have anything else he cared about but he still felt like he should have a minor

You work for the sport teams in general, selling tickets and concessions for the games, which allows you to watch the games for free

In this, of course you’ve seen Katsuki play, and you had to admit the cocky blonde was pretty cute, but you never tried talking to him because you’ve heard about how rude he can be - and you didn’t feel like getting caught up in that

But then as luck would have it, after a game one day you were walking back into the stadium after having walked your friends out so that you could help clean, and you were busy reading a text so you didn’t notice him walking towards you

He was talking over his shoulder to eijirou, so he didn’t see you either, and then you bumped into each other

You stumbled backwards, almost falling, and Katsu stood there with a scowl on his face, going “Watch where the fuck you’re going, dumbass!” as if he had any right to say that, but you didn’t know that, so you muttered out a “sorry” before walking past him

Eijirou gave you an apologetic smile, knowing it wasn’t fully your fault but not wanting to take up your time

After that you were convinced that katsu really was an asshole, but you were pretty sure you wouldn’t have any more interactions with him anyways so you weren’t too upset about it

But a while later, they have another game - this one didn’t go so well, and Katsu’s obviously very upset about it as he stays in the stadium after everyone other than the people cleaning have left, basically just yelling to himself and kicking the benches

As mean as he was to you last time, and as annoying as he was being now, you felt kinda bad for him. So, deciding to be nice, you cautiously walked over to him with a water bottle in your hand, and even though you’ve seen it a thousand times you checked the back of his jersey to make sure you got his name right

“Hey, Bakugou?” 

Having those red eyes shoot daggers at you was kinda scary, you couldn’t lie, but no - you’re gonna be a good person right now, so you held out the water bottle to him

He eyed it for a few seconds, debating telling you to fuck off, but he was tired so he yanked it out of your hand, whispering a thanks that you weren’t even sure if he actually said it

“I’m sorry this game didn’t go so well, but I know you’re amazing at basketball, your whole team is, it was just a bad day. I’m sure next time you’ll win easy.”

Normally katsu would hate for someone, especially some random person, to pity him, but he strangely felt a bit better just from you trying to help him out, so he sat down on the bench and started drinking his water

You weren’t too sure if you should just leave it at that or try to talk to him more, but he did seem to be more calm and you didn’t want to piss him off more, so you were about to say bye before he spoke up

“Sorry for yelling at you the other day…”

Wow, turns out he can be nice

“Don’t worry about it”

Surprisingly, he kept talking to you. It was mainly a way for him to avoid going back to his dorm, because that meant he would have to study and he wasn’t in the mood for that, so he stayed with you

You still had to do your job, but he followed you around while you picked up trash and swept and everything. You didn’t mind, it was nice to have someone to talk to while doing this, even though it made the whole process take a lot longer than it usually did, it was still fun

After that though, you didn’t expect it to happen again. You two separated at the entrance to the stadium, and you barely even thought that you two might have another conversation

However, after the next game, you were doing your job when suddenly someone sat on the benches next to you, and you looked to see Katsu again

“Bakugou? Is there something you need?”

He scoffed, not wanting to tell you that he came back because he wanted to talk to you more, “No - I’ve just got nothing better to do, and I thought I might as well grace you with my presence” 

You rolled your eyes at his smirk at the end of his sentence, but you were happy he had decided to come back 

Eventually, you came to learn that under his rough exterior, Katsu was actually pretty sweet -and you even hang out after youre done working sometimes, usually just to a convenience store so that he can pretend he’s not hanging out with you because he wants to

And him being sweet only made you like him even more, he really had to go and be cute and have a soft side - the audacity

One night, he walked you back to your dorm, and you were just gonna say bye to him and that you’d text him tomorrow or something, but when you looked at him he was kinda just staring at you, not saying anything

Before you could ask what was up, he suddenly cupped your face and leaned forward, almost kissing you. It shocked you, but you were waiting for him to move in all the way

But he didn’t, he waited, staring into your eyes, and you finally grasped that he wanted to make sure you were okay with him kissing you, so you tilted your head to make your lips connect

For a first kiss, he sure kissed rough, but you really didn’t mind - and you wrapped your arms around his neck to pull him closer 

“You know, I’ve been waiting for you to do that for a while now.”

Katsu glared to you, but you just laughed

“Shut up, at least I did it.”

Neither of you really ever officially said that you were together, but after that, you were together

The bakusquad teases the everliving hell out of Katsu once they find out you’re dating, not in front of you (other than comments about how cute you two are), but denki will go “oh my god you actually got someone to date you? Did you bribe them with food??” and katsu gets annoyed and threatens not to make them food anymore

Okay but - you cheering for him at his games, him flashing you that smirk and you almost dying on spot because damn your boyfriend is hot? What a life

He deems you his good luck charm now, if youre there theres no way he can lose a game. If he’s allowed to, he’ll bring you to practice sometimes too just to show off even more

He loves cooking for you, being it showing you new recipes he learned in class or your favorite foods, it’s such a nice feeling to see your eyes light up at his cooking

You supporting him in cooking too, telling him how he should open up his own restaurant because he’s so amazing at it, now you and the whole bakusquad is telling him he should and you’ve convinced him. He’s gonna open his own restaurant someday.

[westallenfun]

A Most Unexpected Love, Chapter 3

WestAllen secret santa gift  

From: @jade4813

For: @sophisticatedloserchick

Author Notes: For the lovely @sophisticatedloserchick from @jade4813! Merry Christmas, and I hope you like my first fic after a long hiatus!

Title: A Most Unexpected Love

Rating: PG

Synopsis: Iris has loved Eddie Thawne Allen her entire life. When she returns home just before Christmas, it looks like she might finally have a chance to catch his eye…unless an accident puts his older brother, Barry, directly in her path. Story inspired by Sabrina (with some quotes lifted more or less directly from the source material).

Chapters: 3/7

Chapter Three

“You can’t do this.” Barry’s voice over his shoulder caused Eddie to freeze and prompted a groan of frustration.

“Don’t start—”

“You’re engaged! Did you forget that? What is Patty going to think if she finds out that you’re spending your evening trying to seduce another woman in mom’s solarium?”

“It’s a dance!” he huffed irritably. “Don’t you think you’re overreacting just a little? It’s just a dance!”

Barry wasn’t ready to let it go. “It’s never just a dance with you. Or did you forget I’ve seen you do this a hundred times.”

“Not a hundred—“ he began.

“Eddie,” Barry growled.

“Have you forgotten you’re my brother? You’re not mom, and you’re certainly not dad. I don’t know what makes you think you have any say in my love life—”

“Okay, I’m not mom or dad, but she’s also not like all the other girls you’ve flirted with. She’s Iris. Joe’s daughter. Remember? You can’t just flirt with her and then send her away with a pair of diamond earrings when you get bored with her and want to move on.”

Eddie’s expression darkened. “How dare you talk about Iris like that!”

“I’m not talking about her. I’m talking about you. Iris is amazing. She always has been. You are fickle.”

His eyes growing wide, Eddie tried to turn the tables on him. “Wait, I know what’s going on here! You have a crush on her, don’t you?”

Barry sighed in exasperation. Rolling his eyes, he said firmly, “No. I don’t have a crush on her. This isn’t about that.”

“I was going to say. She deserves someone…”

“What, better?” he prompted when his brother’s voice trailed off.

Eddie shook his head. “No. You’re a great guy – that isn’t your problem. But she deserves someone more exciting.”

“Maybe,” he conceded. “But she also deserves someone who isn’t engaged, don’t you think?”

Sliding two champagne flutes into the back pockets of his pants, Eddie grabbed a bottle of Dom Perignon from a passing waiter and pointed out, “That wasn’t my choice, you know. You were the one who pushed me into it. Was it really worth selling your own brother out for the sake of a merger?”

“Selling you out?” he spluttered in indignation. “You’re acting like I twisted your arm! Do I need to remind you that all I did was introduce the two of you and encourage you to ask her out on a date. One date.” Eddie seemed eager to wave away this statement of fact, so he pressed, “You were the one who continued to see her. You were the one who decided to propose.”

“Actually, she asked me,” Eddie interjected.

“And you said yes,” Barry shot back. “So don’t blame me for seeing good business sense in a decision you made.”

He grunted, pushing past Barry to head towards the solarium. “Either way, having Iris back has made me realize that I may have made a terrible mistake. I mean, Patty’s great, but Iris…” His voice trailed off with a wistful smile. “She’s amazing. She’s exciting and funny and beautiful…”

“And you didn’t even realize that we basically grew up with her,” Barry pointed out in a dry tone.

“Look, I know you’re skeptical, but you don’t understand!” Eddie protested, striding purposefully toward the solarium. “There’s just…there’s something about her. She’s amazing.”

“So you’ve said,” he pointed out, rolling his eyes all the while, only to be ignored.

“I’m think…no, I know I’m falling in love with her!”

“Oh my god,” Barry muttered, running a hand down his face as he followed in Eddie’s wake. Grabbing his brother by the arm, he all but forcefully dragged him into the first open door they came across, bringing them both into the library. “Can you just…can we be reasonable about this? You can’t be falling in love with her. You don’t even know her!”

“You’re the one who pointed out we basically grew up together,” Eddie pointed out as he paced back and forth across the library carpet.

Barry fixed him with a sardonic look. “A fact which clearly made an impression, since you needed me to tell you about it. I mean, can you even tell me what you find so amazing about her?” When a shadow passed over his brother’s face and the younger man opened his mouth to argue, he clarified, “Again, this is about you. Not her. I mean, I know why I think she’s amazing, but you didn’t even remember her until five minutes ago!”

Eddie threw him an obstinate look, his jaw set in a mulish line. “I can’t explain it. She’s just different,” he grumbled angrily.

Realizing he was approaching this entirely the wrong way, Barry took a deep breath held up his hands in a placating gesture until the two of them had calmed down a little. When he tried again, he even tried to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. “Okay, so Iris is different. She makes you feel things you’ve never felt before. You can’t picture a future without her. But.”

Eddie crossed his arms across his chest, but he didn’t interject, allowing Barry to continue. “Remember who we’re talking about. This is Iris. She grew up watching you. She’s seen every trick in your playbook. She knows it’ll start with dancing in the solarium. Then you’ll sweep her off her feet to a romantic weekend in a cottage on Martha’s Vineyard. You’ll get tickets to some sold-out show on Broadway and romance her with a carriage ride in the park. Dinner and drinks and a kiss under the stars on some rooftop overlooking the city. And then – and then – you’ll get bored with her as you always do, and it’ll be diamond earrings hand-delivered to her doorstep. Maybe an accompanying bracelet if you’re feeling particularly sentimental. And that’ll be it. That’s goodbye. You may think she deserves better than me, and you’re probably right. But don’t you think she also deserves better than that?”

“That isn’t fair! Okay, maybe that’s what I’ve done before, but this is different! She’s different! I lo-aaargh!” Eddie’s protestations broke off with a shriek of pain as he threw himself dramatically onto the sofa nearby, forgetting about the champagne flutes in his back pockets. They shattered with an audible crunch, the broken glass tearing through the fine fabric of his slacks and embedding itself into his skin.

“Oh my god, are you okay?” Barry asked in concern, rushing to his brother’s side.

“The glasses! I forgot the glasses!” his brother yelped, trying to rise to his feet but stopping when his movement only caused the glass to ground deeper into his flesh.

He held up a hand in a halting gesture, backing toward the door. “It’s going to be okay. Just…stay there. Dr. Harrison is at the party. I’ll find him and send him in.”

Eddie’s voice was desperate when he cried, “Wait! Iris…she’s waiting for me. I can’t just leave her like this! It’ll break her heart!”

Barry sighed. “I’ll take care of it. Just…don’t move.”

It took a few minutes to locate the doctor and discretely direct him to the library, following behind in case anything else was needed. Unsurprisingly, Eddie’s injuries would require several stitches, so he was dispatched to the emergency room with quiet efficiency, leaving Barry to break the news to Iris.

He was going to head to the solarium straight away when, on second thought, he decided to swing by the caterer to get a bottle of champagne and two glasses. She would be heartbroken enough to see him and not his brother. No reason not to try to soften the blow.

As he approached the solarium, he saw Iris through the thick glass windows. Her head was thrown back as she gazed up at the twinkling lights, a smile bright enough to rival the heavens themselves upon her face. She looked so happy, he almost hated to walk through the door and ruin it. But the alternative was for her to be stood up, returning home confused and brokenhearted Eddie failed to ever show.

So, mustering a smile, he let himself into the solarium and felt his heart twist in his chest when her beaming smile fell at the sight of him. “Sorry. Just me,” he murmured apologetically as he walked toward her. “Eddie…he isn’t going to be able to make it.”

“Oh. I see,” she murmured, looking crestfallen.

Unable to bear her disappointment, he rushed to explain, “He wanted to be here. It’s just…on the way here, he had a little accident. He – ah – he sat on a champagne flute.”

Her eyes went wide with alarm. “On a champagne flute?” she repeated, as though she wasn’t entirely certain whether to believe him. “How does that even happen?”

“Ah…it’s apparently an occupational hazard?” he offered, not really sure himself why his brother had thought carrying glass flutes in his back pocket was a good idea.

Clearly still trying to process the nature of the injury, she offered tentatively, “Okay, well…where is he? Should I go see him?”

“He’s in the ER, but the doctor assured me he’ll be fine. He’s just getting a few stitches,” Barry reassured her, focusing on uncorking the champagne and pouring two glasses. “But he did want me to send his apologies. You can see him tomorrow, if you want.”

Iris’s mouth twisted and her gaze fell as she accepted the flute he held out to her. “Well…thank you for telling me. I suppose it’s getting late, anyway. I should probably turn in…”

“I’m a poor replacement, I know,” he acknowledged with a wry smile, causing her to gasp.

“Oh, it isn’t that! It’s…” She broke off, scraping her lower lip with her teeth. “Okay, it isn’t that precisely,” she acknowledged, her voice slightly apologetic. “He’s just so…so…perfect. You know?”

“Yup,” he agreed flatly. “That’s my brother. Mister Perfect.” He threw back the champagne in one gulp and then set his glass aside, holding his arms out to her. “Anyway, it sems a shame for you to cut your evening short. How about a dance?” She hesitated, so he said encouragingly, “Come on; we’re here anyway. We might as well.”

Iris’s smile grew sheepish. “Oh, all right,” she capitulated, not entirely with good grace.

It reminded him so much of the time a younger, injured Iris grudgingly agreed to let him carry her home, he almost laughed and pointed out the similarity in response. In the end, he held his tongue, afraid that doing so would cause her to end the evening early. Or, worse, hurt her feelings. Instead, he waited as she took his hand. She stepped into the frame created by his arms as they began to dance to the music filtering through the glass windows.

He didn’t want to remind her of the last time she’d compared him to his brother and found him wanting, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t tease her just a little. Just enough to hopefully make her smile. “Careful, Miss West. You’re in danger of sweeping me straight off my feet,” he joked lightly, noting her answering blush.

“I don’t mean to be rude.”

“I know,” he reassured her in a soft voice. And suddenly, he didn’t want to talk about Eddie anymore. He didn’t want to think about the inevitable future she would face if she continued down this path. He didn’t want to imagine how brokenhearted she would be, after loving his brother for so long. So instead, he spun with her in his arms, tightening his hold on her hand and spinning her away from him, giving her an extra twirl. The music faded outside the windows as the song came to an end, but he pretended not to notice, twirling her again.

Her laughter filled the room and warmed his soul, bouncing off the windows that surrounded them. In her joy, she threw back her head to look at the lights twinkling overhead. Following her gaze, he noted that they shone like stars. He twirled her over and over until she collapsed against him, struggling to breathe through her ragged gasps of laughter.

Sliding one arm around her waist, he pulled her close, smiling when he felt her head fall against his chest. Drawing her hand in, he trapped their hands between their bodies, slowing the dance until they were swaying gently back and forth. As Iris’s mirth subsided, music from the party drifted through the windows once more.

“Maybe it’s much too early in the game. Ah, but I thought I’d ask you just the same. What are you doing New Year’s, New Year’s Eve?” Iris lifted her head off his chest, her eyes meeting his. Their faces were inches apart, and her laughter died in her throat. “Wonder whose arms will hold you good and tight, when it’s exactly twelve o'clock that night. Welcoming in the New Year, New Year’s Eve.”

“Bartholomew,” she breathed.

“Barry. Please,” he corrected her.

Nodding slightly, she whispered, “Barry,” and he realized in that moment that they had stopped dancing entirely. Flushing, she cleared her throat and tried more forcefully, “We – maybe we shouldn’t be doing this. I should – I should turn in.”

“But we haven’t finished our dance,” he murmured, beginning to sway once more.

“Maybe I’m crazy to suppose I’d ever be the one you chose. Out of the thousand invitations you received.”

He liked having her in his arms, he realized. More than he’d anticipated. He should be thinking solely of nipping this problem with his brother in the bud. He should be thinking of sparing Iris her future heartache. But he realized now that he hadn’t asked her to dance because he wanted to distract her from thoughts of Eddie or to delay the inevitable. He’d asked her to dance because, simply speaking, he wanted to. He wanted to hold her in his arms, to twirl her around and dance with her under lights that shone like twinkling stars.

“Ah, but in case I stand one little chance, here comes the jackpot question in advance. What are you doing New Year’s, New Year’s Eve? Oh, what are you doing New Year’s, New Year’s Eve?”

“The song’s over,” she pointed out in an undertone.

“I know,” he agreed, though he didn’t let her go, and she didn’t move away.

Their bodies were so close that he could feel the rise and fall of her chest when she sucked in a deep breath. “Eddie’s…I’ve loved him for as long as I can remember. I thought I was over it. Over him. But…”

“But you’re not,” he finished for her, his words a statement and not a question.

“Are you,” she hesitated and swallowed heavily before continuing, “are you here to deal with me?” At his confused look, she disentangled herself from his arms, walking away and keeping her back to him as she explained, “I know how it works. I’ve seen it before. I grew up in this world, remember?” Throwing a look at him over her shoulder, she continued, “On the outskirts of it, at least. Eddie attaches himself to a deeply unsuitable girl – like the daughter of an employee – and she gets offered a generous cash settlement if she only agrees to bow out quietly.”

“You think I’m fooling myself that you could be bought? How much were you thinking I planned to offer? A million? Two?”

Lifting her chin, she said firmly, “I’d never accept it, you know.”

He lifted his shoulders in a shrug, looking around for the bottle to refill the champagne. “I’d never offer it.”

“Even though I’m deeply unsuitable?” she prodded dubiously.

He laughed, offering her a flute once more. “You? Unsuitable? Look at you. You’re incredible.”

Sipping champagne, she swallowed heavily and admitted, “I wanted it to be me, you know? Just once.” Though he didn’t need her to explain, she did anyway. “I know he brings all the girls here, to drink champagne and dance in his arms. I just – I wanted it to be me.”

“I know,” he said in a voice almost too soft to be heard.

With forced lightness, she held out her flute for him to refill once more, saying, “You know, in all the years I’ve lived here, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you dance. I’ve certainly never seen you come out here with champagne to ask a girl to dance with you.”

He smiled slightly, acknowledging the point. “That’s because I’ve never done it,” he explained.

“You’ve never had to, you mean,” alluding once again to her suspicion his actions were a ploy.

“Is it so hard to believe I’d want to share a drink and a dance with the most beautiful woman at the party?”

She laughed derisively, the sound echoing off the solarium windows and breaking his heart. “I’m sorry, but yes. That is hard to believe.”

Barry put his champagne flute aside. “Then I guess you don’t really know me at all. Anyway, I shouldn’t take up any more of your time. You can see Eddie tomorrow.”

Whatever she saw in his face or heard in his voice seemed to make her second-guess herself, because her forced broke off as he started to leave, and she reached out to grab his arm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

Pulling his mouth into a tight smile, he reassured her, “You didn’t. Good night, Iris.”

“Good night, Barry,” she whispered as he strode through the solarium door and into the cold night air.

[samiii-p]

miss temptation (I don’t think you know) 1/?

aka The Maryan Roommate AU no one asked for 🙃 ao3

“You need a home address by next week or I’m writing you up.”

Fuck

Scratching an 'X' over another available apartment listing in the newspaper, Ryan grunts, blacking it out in her frustration. This one was her last true option within her price range and it was about the size of a walk-in closet with a communal bathroom to boot.

And no, just no. God no.

At least the last one had a view. It was a brick wall of the neighboring apartment but one nonetheless.

“You know for someone who needed this job, you sure don’t look the part.”

Sucking her teeth, Ryan glances up from her troubles, spots Luke in his custom three piece suit, grumbles and glances back at the paper where the only options left cost an arm and a leg to stay. Gotham wasn’t cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but selling her organs on a monthly basis just to get by didn’t seem all that appealing either.

“What do you want, Luke?”

“Can’t a guy just stop by?”

“Sure.” Ryan says, flipping the newspaper to the next page, maybe she could find something outside of town. The commute would be hell, but at least she’d have an address and her parole officer would finally get off her back. “I take it that’s not what you’re here for though.”

She hears him harrumph and nothing else. He does it a second later, again … and again.

“Okay, how can I help you?” She asks, sliding her current issues down the counter. Another 18 months in jail won’t hurt, let alone leaving the city in shambles when Batwoman disappears again .

Luke tilts his chin, hard line forming between his brows, a look Ryan has grown accustomed to over the past few weeks. Even though he’s apologized and promised to give her a chance until Kate’s return, there's still a tiny bit of friction lying beneath the surface no matter how much they both try to ignore it.

Reaching into his breast pocket he unearths a photo and slides it across the bar into Ryan’s line of vision. A picture of a black mask, outlined like a skeleton, stares up at her with cold hard eyes. In the corner a coiled snake is drawn with Luke’s handwriting underneath.

Snakebite - fear toxin/mushrooms

“Um, who or what am I looking at?”

He thumps the photo twice. “I was hoping you could tell me. You said you run in similar circles-”

“- ran.”

“As Victor Zsasz, I was hoping you could tell me a little about our friend here.”

“Sorry to tell you this but, no.” She pushes off the bar with a huff, nodding at the photo. “Whoever this person is, is new in town. At least to me.”

“Yeah, well his snakebite is hitting the streets like a plague and no one knows its source. There’s only this photo as a possible supplier but there’s no name, no facial recognition, no origin or leaks, no nothing.”

“So what do we do?”

“You suit up.”

Heat signature enabled, Ryan takes a look around the abandoned building noting two low level street hands Luke identifies as TJ Pillar: 1 to 3 strike for armed robbery and Curtis Armstrong: out on parole for possession.

“Come on, dude.”

She totally gets how uneasy it is to get back on your feet after spending a little over a year incarcerated but at least try to do better.

“What?” Luke asks through the coms, Ryan ignores him, scouting more of the building. It’s been over an hour and nothing. They wouldn’t be here if no one was coming but it’s growing closer to midnight and she has to be back at work at nine.

“Can’t I just bring them in? It’s late.”

“I mean you could, but it’ll be a waste of time. The guys on the street don’t know anything except to wait for the drop here.”

“And we couldn’t call in Gotham PD or the Crows for surveillance because..?”

“Hey, you wanted the job, this is what it entails.”

Behind the mask, Ryan’s eyes roll, mocking this is what the job entails meh meh, like she's a child grounded for the night, which, all things considered…

“Besides, it’s not like you have anything better to do.”

“Okay! Okay!” Over the coms, Ryan hears hushed voices arguing, a muffled ‘no’ then the sound of chairs being switched, Luke’s voice replaced by Mary’s, “heeey, girl. How ya’ doing?”

She smirks, attitude vanishing the moment the heiress speaks. Call it a general preference to all things sans-Luke based but she’d one hundred present rather talk to Mary until the butt crack of dawn instead of Mr. Kate would do it like this and Kate would do it like that. For starters Mary’s a lot nicer. Calmer. Funnier, I mean the girl’s one liners are top tier, bone tickling funny.

And well, she was a hell of a lot prettier too.

“Oh, you know, just pulling an all-nighter right before my day shift.”

A hiss sounds dramatically over the intercoms, the image of Mary’s twisted face pops up and Ryan can almost see the apple of her cheeks bunching and her eyes closing in that cute ass scrunchy face she makes when she’s thinking hard or embarrassed clear as day.

“Don’t worry about it, you can always come in later.”

“You enable her by making exceptions.”

“Luke!”

“What!?”

More muffled noises, a bang and yelp later Mary comes back on. “What I was getting at is that if you want to come in a little bit late, it’s totally fine or we can even change your schedule to mid-day, as your boss and fellow bat accomplice, I would totally understand.”

The corner of Ryan lips quirks up, “you don’t have to do that.”

“I do. We don’t know for sure how long you’ll be out tonight. Coming in afterwards is going to be draining-”

“It’ll be draining for all of us.” Luke yells.

“Shh!”

Unfortunately, Luke has a point. It's not fair on the team if she’s the only one taking the easy way out when they all have lives and responsibilities outside of the cave to adhere to, and a mid-day shift would never work anyway. Mid-day is Officer Steven’s favorite time of day to intrude on Ryan’s life.

“No that’s okay,” Ryan says, “Luke’s right. I have to put on my big girl panties and suck it up like everyone else, besides, I’m going to be too busy selling body parts for an overpriced cardboard box in the foreseeable future or it's a one way ticket back to Black Gate-”

“Wait, what-?”

“Oh, hold up.” An engine alerts Ryan to an incoming vehicle speeding into the warehouse disrupting their conversation. “We got action.”

Censors pick up on a lone body inside, facial recognition scanners kick on and work to identify the driver’s profile as well as the car’s make, model design, vehicle number and license plate number are all shot over to home base for further analysis. She twitches them off once complete just in time to see a window roll down and a hand throw two duffle bags out the window before speeding off.

“Did we get anything?”

A beat passes before Mary’s back on, “Not yet. Gotham PD and the Crows database has no facial identification, Luke’s expanding the search but the car is unmarked, plates false, even the tires vin numbers have been scrubbed. Whoever this person is, really doesn’t want to be found.”

From Ryan’s personal experience, news like that is never good. Someone that deep undercover either has a checkbook large enough to make themselves disappear or an iron grip so ruthless the utter mention of their name is probable cause for permanent removal. This was going to be harder than any of them expected.

“Keep me posted.”

Kicking off the beam she leaps down sticking another perfect grand entrance; hoping the acclaimed symbol printed on her chest will be enough to scare off the bad guys for once.

She is really tired after all.

Unfortunately, Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dumb both reach for guns, shooting before she can warn them to stand down. And there goes her ‘early’ night. Figures.

“Ya’ll know I’m fucking bullet proof, right?”

Another bullet ricochets off the suit as she takes a step forward. Idiots. Surprisingly they keep at it until the clip clinks, empty, and Ryan comes face to face with Curtis who tries throwing a punch she easily ducks, coming back up to head butt him so hard his knees crumple. His coworker steps up and he’s a bit more of a challenge throwing blow for blow with her until she ducks up under him and comes back with a roundhouse kick to his Adams apple. He clutches his windpipe, now down on one knee she delivers the final blow to the bridge of his nose.

She picks up the bags and hightails it out of there, latching onto a high beam for an easy escape, and heads towards G.C.P.D where she drops the contraband with a note attached of where they can find the assailants tied up and ready for arrest.

“Why didn’t you tell me you’re homeless!?”

Ryan wonders if disrupting her day as a civilian was going to become normal protocol for Luke and Mary going forward and on a recurring basis.

“I wouldn’t say homeless.”

“How else would you classify living out of your van down by the docks?”

“Surviving on wheels – ow!” Ryan giggles, rubbing her shoulder and doesn’t know whether to cower or soothe the frustrating scowl rapidly spreading across her friend’s face. “How’d you find out?”

“I had Luke track you after you left last night.”

“Wow, talk about invasion of privacy.”

“And for good reason, why didn’t you say anything?”

Ryan flips an empty glass, dries it out before placing it on the rack and considers how to move the conversation forward, possibly far, far away from this topic all together. The best she comes up with is, “it’s handled.”

Handled ends up being a 200 square feet one room apartment Mary demands to see. The bedroom, kitchen and living room are all one in the same but at least she has her own bathroom. The walls are paper thin, she’s pretty certain the constant dripping sound is coming from the kitchen, one she can easily fix after a YouTube tutorial or two, and a hotter than hell furnace the landlord warns her not to touch when the temperature is anywhere over 60 F unless she enjoys suffocating.

She watches Mary take in the room, the petite brunette moving in a slow swirl on her heels, lip turned down and Ryan just knows it’s not good when they make eye contact.

“Nu-uh.”

“What do you mean nu-uh?” Confused, Ryan watches Mary storm past her and out the door. “Mary! Mary, what does that mean? Mary!?”

Mary breaks her housing contract. When Ryan tries to object she quickly learns that all 5’2 of Mary Hamilton-Kane is nothing to play against and a powerhouse forced to be reckoned with.

… It kind of gets Ryan hot under the collar watching Mary tell her landlord exactly what’s about to happen, and cutting a check like it's nothing in the process.

Assertive has always kinda been her type.

“You’ll be staying here.”

Mary says, showing Ryan around her penthouse in the upper echelon of Gotham City. The apartment is just shy the size of a department store, the lounge being big enough to take up most of the square footage, built in with four bedrooms, one now officially hers, one for guests and another used for office space and three huge bathrooms big enough to house a football team.

“Jesus,” the name slips under her breath as she takes it all in. This place is – is. It’s too much. “I can’t afford this.”

The carpet under her feet probably cost more money than she'll ever see in her lifetime.

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m not asking you to pay anything.” Ryan quickly gets shut down as Mary carries on, “until you can save enough money to get back on your feet. It’s the least I can do. Being this city’s vigilante is hard work. The last thing you need to worry about is where you’re going to lay your head at night.”

It makes sense, but still. “I’m not comfortable asking you - I won’t use you.”

“You’re not.” The med student emphasizes. Mary takes the box out of her hands and places it on a dresser. “My home is yours now, bestie. Stay as long as you want to.” And before Ryan can prepare herself, Mary’s arms are snug around her waist and her cover girl smile is beaming up at her.

This is going to be terrible.

It’s worse.

Far worse than Ryan could have ever predicted. Not only is Mary super considerate of her new roommate, but she makes her resources Ryan’s own. She’s never slept so good, ate so well or drank water so delicious for that matter. Until recently she thought water was just water but Mary’s fridge is full of this alkaline stuff straight from the mountains, and Ryan swears she can never look back.

“You want pickles?”

Ryan visibly gulps, sitting on the couch, eyes focused on anything other than Mary prancing around the kitchen in her underwear. Mary’s always been super comfortable in her skin but especially at home when she’s surrounded by her things in her place of peace and why shouldn’t she be, this is her home. Ryan wants her to go about as she normally would, actually prefers if Mary pretended Ryan wasn't there altogether. The last thing she wants is to intrude or take up space but she can only take so much. It’s been nearly a month of coming home to Mary asking how her day was, waking up to Mary smiling at her over homemade breakfast or passing out on the couch cuddled together after another failed movie night. There’s only so much she can take.

What they’re doing is borderline domestic. And Ryan’s too gay for this.

“…pickles?”

“Hmm – what?”

“I asked if you want pickles on your sandwich?”

"Uh, sure."

Handing her a plate, Mary plops down on the couch leaving no space between the two and licks the pad of her thumb, humming pleasantly at the taste.

Ryan bites the inside of her cheek. “So, what are we watching?”

Hopefully something gory, and bloody staring a cis-het white male. Anything to take Ryan’s mind off of Mary Hamilton.

Mary chooses Its Okay Not to be Okay on Netflix and by the end of episode 2 both girls are huddled together, simping hard for all the three leading actors. Mary is obsessed with Kim Soo-Hyun's entire face and Ryan’s pretty sure if Seo Ye-Ji stomped on her in six inch heels and dragged her through the mud, she’d thank her.

At least they can agree Oh Jung-se is a freaking king and is killing his role as Moon Sang Tae.

It's nearly midnight before they start to turn in, cleaning up the little mess they made, Ryan shuts off the lights and walks Mary to her room; the first door to the right.

“Night.”

It kind of feels like a date, which is absurd. She knows. But can you blame her when pillow soft lips press against her cheek and Mary breathes, “sleep tight, Ryan” in her ear. Its stupid. She’s being stupid, and seeing things that arent there. Or maybe she needs to get laid. Whatever she needs to do, Mary can’t be a part of it.

After weeks of failed interrogations the team finally manages to catch a break. A source looking to get out and start over leaks the warehouse location where a scheduled supply of ingredients are due to be shipped in at any day now. Niko of course makes Batwoman promise to protect him at all cost and that means working with the Crows.

“Where’s the shipment being dropped?” Sophie asks.

“Unimportant.”

The lieutenant cocks her head to the side, unsurprised at how this conversation is going. The Bat has never worked well with authority in this town, no matter who dons the emblem.

“The only thing I need is for you to make sure Niko is somewhere safe, undetected.”

“Is he at least willing to stand trial in the event you manage to catch this guy?”

“I think that all depends on if your team can keep him alive. Crow.”

The alley is dark, damp and the chill fogs Sophie’s breath as she sighs. “You're going to get yourself killed. I know you have something against my badge and everything it stands for, but it can do some good if you let it. Now, tell me where the shipment is and I can have my team there as back up in seconds. We can get this drug and these thugs off the street.”

That word makes Ryan's jaw tingle. Thug. Of course a Crow wouldn't understand that sometimes people do bad things to make ends meet, but it doesn't make them bad people. To a Crow they’re all the same and need to be locked away never to see the light of day again. Including her.

“Focus on our informant. If I need you for anything else I know how to find you.” And she’s gone, vanished in a cloud of fog.

“Nice job pissing off potential allies.” Ryan switches her coms off.

The warehouse is guarded heavily by six men up top, double the number at the bottom not including the others unloading trucks full of supplies. Photo analysis identifies them and sends the information to Gotham P.D. before she strikes.

“Hope you’re ready for this. If we’re lucky this can all be over tonight.”

“Don’t I know it.”

Taking it as his cue, Luke hits the lights covering the warehouse in complete darkness. Motion sensors switch on and Batwoman moves into action. The training her team insists she go through pans out as she’s able to take out four guys twice her size in fast compact moves. One guy goes over the railing after she cracks him in the nuts with the steel toe of her boot. His strangled whimper is heard all the way down, but hey, no one ever said this was going to be a fair fight.

The team at the bottom catches on and gun fire immediately follows, running across the bridge Ryan spreads her arms and flies through the air, her red and black cape bellows behind her as she sticks another perfect superhero landing. All at once it seems like twenty people are coming at her from all different angles but as always she's quick on her feet tying a handful of them up by their ankles and running through the rest with a non lethal taser, just enough to subdue until she can contain everyone before she starts asking questions.

“We ain’t telling you shit!”

Another guy spits on her shoe, the red of his blood splattering against her boot and she rolls her eyes. There’s no need to be nasty.

“Look, I’m trying to help you guys out here.” Spotting a pair of boobs in the corner, she course corrects, “and girls - theys? Whatever! I’m trying to help you all out here. This thing,” she holds up a box of snakebite, “is killing the community and while it may bring you all brief satisfaction, financially, what’s it going to do for your futures when you get caught, to your families?”

“Who knew the new edition of the Bat came with such a bleeding heart?”

“Well, she does. So if anyone here is willing to tell me anything that’ll point me in the right direction of your boss, I promise I can protect you, get you somewhere safe.”

From the little the authorities have been able to dig up about this gang, anyone willing to betray their leader either winds up dead or living their last days in a vegetative state. That’s why it’s so important to have Niko, no matter the length it takes to protect him, it was for the sake of Gotham.

“I said-!”

“I heard you the first time,” Ryan says, cutting him off, “And I don’t know what you’re used to but I’m only going to tell you how this is played once. I ask the questions and you give me the answers, if you don’t, have fun rotting in jail or better yet … I can let the little I do know out onto the streets.” She bends down right in front of the man and lifts his rabbit mask, exposing his face. In seconds she knows his name. “I’m sure your boss would love to know who’s ratting him out, huh, Robert Michael Humprey?”

The terror in his eyes says it all.

[sunshinesukuna]

ferris wheel jives and unlived lives

pairing: farmer turned soldier!iwaizumi x f!reader

warnings: war, slight gore

summary: promises are always a one way road to regret. 

haikyuucreations0720 prompt: summer carnival!

words: 5.1k

i was gonna make a banner but onLINE SCHOOL. when i find the motivation i’ll make one for y’all but for now enjoy this fic in its rawest state. 

big thankies to @vventure and @tsukkiscookies for beta-ing this <3333

Hands thick from a lifetime of holding shovels and axes pick up the leather-bound book on the table. Iwaizumi Hajime, 1944, is engraved in rusted metal on the cover. He flips to the calendar at the front of the page. Circled in a thick fountain pen is today’s date, with “(Y/N)” scrawled underneath. 

Iwaizumi runs his finger over the lipstick stain at the bottom corner of the page. Had it been anyone else, he would have gotten a shovel from the shed and lopped their head off at the defiling of his precious journal. But not if it was you. Never for you.

He takes a deep breath before gathering all his belongings in his pocket. Not much, just his wallet with saved up money from his time serving and last month’s potato sales. Iwaizumi’s reflection glances at him from the rotary phone but he decides against calling you, lest your maid, or worse, your parents, pick up the phone. He adjusts his army cap and sweeps the dust off his shoulders before walking out the door.

You already know what time to come out anyways. Iwaizumi practically drilled it into your head the last time you saw him after you were 15 minutes late to your previous rendezvous. 

Cornfields turn into suburbs and the stretch of country land morphs into that of the city. He’s never really liked the city, preferring the clean air of the long extent of his farm compared to the smog. But it’s a small price to pay to see you. 

Some people give him odd looks on his way. In their defense, they do have a reason. Iwaizumi’s a scruffy farmer turned soldier riding a rickety car that groans and moans louder than the old men haggling over the price of a sack of corn Iwaizumi’s just trying to sell. He’s a black sheep among the delicate edges of the perfectly manicured lawns and pristine white paint of the government houses that all seem to wag their finger at him.

He finally stops in an empty field — he doesn’t dare park in front of your house, lest your parents see. The mayor would throw a fit if he ever saw his daughter walking around with someone the likes of Iwaizumi.

So he walks. Iwaizumi crouches by the massive oak tree that hides him from view. From his vantage point, he has clear sight of your curtained window. The glass is dented after so many pebbles flung its way. Iwaizumi saves his guilt for later and picks a small, innocuous one. 

He throws another one. 

The curtains crack open ever so slightly, and he catches a glimpse of an eye in between. Iwaizumi makes himself known. You open the curtains ever so widely, framing your face in between the cloth and shooting him a silly expression from atop your window. He shakes his head and beckons you to come down. 

No amount of military training could have ever prepared him for all of your descents down. He can’t help but flinch every time you put your dainty foot down on a branch that looks like it’s breaking point is way overdue. Thank heavens, you make it down,  your skirt slightly rustled and a leaf in your hair, but the mischievous glow in your eyes nullifying all other flaws. You hold his hands to steady yourself. They smell like iron. 

"Your father?" he asks.

"Out negotiating with the city next door."

"Your mother?"

"With my father.” You snake your hands around his waist until they meet his own that are clasped behind him. Slowly, you pry them apart until you have both hands in yours. He presses a tender kiss to your knuckles. “They say there's going to be a dance after all the diplomatic issues are done with. They won't be back until midnight."

"The maid?"

"Asleep."

"You?"

"Missing you as always." Iwaizumi scoffs, but he does nothing to hide the growing smile on his face.  

“Come on now, before the neighbors see us.” You grab his hand and make your way towards where you know he has his car parked, with no consideration towards anyone watching! In your defense, there isn’t anyone. Probably all in their own backyards, enjoying the luxuries that come with being part of the upper class, away from the trouble and toil of war efforts right now.

You wince a little at the loud squealing of the car opening. No one seems to have noticed, so you pull up a pastel shoe clad foot up into the dirty metal of the car. 

“Where are we going today?” you ask.

“You’ll see.” He revs the engine up. You pout.

“I don’t like surprises.”

“I’ll teach you to like them, then.”

You talk for most of the ride, mostly some of the gossip you hear here and there as the mayor’s daughter. Stolen kisses between the maid and next door’s chauffeur, plans to build a new shopping center once the war’s over.

The honking tires of the city are replaced by children’s music as more and more people file into the empty lot. Some are armed with picnic baskets and blankets, others with cones of ice cream and cotton candy bigger than your head. You observe your new surroundings.

“The carnival?” you ask. Iwaizumi shrugs and holds the steering wheel closer.

“I stumbled on them when I went out. And… you said that you wanted to go, so I— (Y/N)!” Iwaizumi’s windpipe is almost crushed by the pair of arms that wrap around his neck. He doesn’t try to remove them, instead settling for a hand on the small of your back. 

“I love you a thousand times!” 

“H-hey,” he chokes out in his best imitation of his “army” voice. “We’re still on the road. People could see us.” You shrug and pull back anyways.

The car finally comes to a stop at a large field where other cars park. You don’t even wait for Iwaizumi to come to a full stop before you leap out the door, stumbling a little when your feet hit the warm asphalt. The air is clear and sweet in your lungs as you take in the feel of the fresh new atmosphere. 

Iwaizumi’s just getting out, but you’re already walking to the other side and yanking his hand out, running as fast as you can to the opening gates. Carnival music blares through the air, mingling with people shouting at other people to come try out various games and food. So much was happening at the same time. When was the last time you went out like this without being stopped at the door by either of your parents? Second grade, probably, under the watchful eye of your nanny that tore you away from the other kids at the playground.

“Where do you want to go first?”

“Umm....” Your newly-found curiosity takes the best of you. There’s so much to see and do, and you’re not sure what should come first. From where you’re standing, you spot a large circle turning lazily in the sky. The line isn’t too long, and the view looks like it would be fantastic at this time. 

“The ferris wheel, maybe?” you suggest. 

“All right. You go line up and I’ll go get the tickets,” Iwaziumi says. You join the line that is steadily growing while your lover goes to buy some tickets.

Iwaizumi has just taken ten steps from you when an unwanted guest creeps up on you. Some people grumble from behind you at the appearance of this new tyrant that cuts in line so leisurely. He leans lazily on the divider right behind you and makes eyes you would rather he not make at you. The golden watch on his wrist clanks and tinkles on the metal divider. His hair is slicked back in imitation of the handsome actors on the screen, though the same can’t be said about him. 

The man behind you clears his throat a few times, each getting progressively louder and louder. He really isn’t going to stop is he? What if he knows dad?

The thought crosses in your mind, and without second guessing, you turn back. Your eyes lock with him for a few seconds longer than “accidental” could pass for. Turning back without acknowledging him would be what your parent considered impolite. And you were certainly not going to attend one of your father’s weekly lectures on attitude again. 

“Would you like a handkerchief?” you offered. You fished out the green cloth from the small bag you carried with you. The man accepts it with a cocky smile and a fake cough. You’re about to turn back when you feel a tap on your back.

“You know, I’m set to take over my dad’s company when he kicks the bucket. I could get a pretty girl like you all the pretty dresses and pearl necklaces you want,” he says. He slings your poor handkerchief over his finger like a dishrag. 

“That’s very nice of you,” you remark politely before trying to turn away. The tap on your shoulder keeps you from breaking eye contact with him. You’re already standing a little too close to the gate for your liking, but the sudden arm on your right side inches away from your waist keeps you from going anywhere.

“What does a cute gal like you prefer? Tiffany? Swarovski? Cartier?” 

“I’m quite alright, actually.” You look to the ground. Surely just buying two tickets shouldn’t take this long?

“Awh, come on. ‘Gal like you fancy a man who rides a red or white Cadillac?”

“Well, I don’t know. Men who can actually take care of their ladies instead of throwing wads of cash at them are quite popular nowadays,” you retort.

“Like me?” someone’s familiar timbre asks from behind you. You catch his reflection in the Ferris wheel door and can’t help but giggle a little bit at his sudden cockiness in the face of a new adversary.

Iwaizumi looms protectively over you, a hand on your shoulder. He’s not doing anything to the unwanted visitor in front of you, but you still enjoy his face whitening in fear. You take the chance and look up at your lover. 

The sunlight hits his face perfectly like he’s the chosen child of Helios; the shadows and light bending to his will and accentuating the harsh lines of his face. You swear you can hear the man whimper. 

The operator barks out for the next group of people to come inside.

“Of course!” you reply. “Now if you’ll excuse us, we have a ride to catch.”

The man hangs with his jaw open as he tries to form  coherent words. You balance between your heels and tip toes as the operator opens the capsule doors. Like the courteous gentleman he is, Hajime offers you a calloused hand up the carriage. The capsule ascends with an unceremonious squeal.

The capsules are cramped, but one look outside has you swooning. The view of your small town, accompanied by the man’s aggravated grunt, and a warm hand squeezing your own makes you feel drunk and sober, wasted yet clear-headed at the same time. A voice breaks you out of your stupor.

“He wasn’t bothering you, right?” Iwaizumi asks. 

“A little.”

His hands instinctively reach out to stroke your shoulders and hair. The intimacy of the capsule has made him more touchy. Instead of shy brushes on your forearms, he’s now melted into you, foreheads touching and breaths on your neck.

“Are you okay doll? Nothing wrong?” 

“The only thing that’s wrong is how long you left me just to get some tickets for us.” You pull away. ”I missed you, you know.” 

“Y-y-you did?” 

Iwaizumi’s flustered. Charmingly so.

“No, I missed your friend from the army that you brought over to your house when I was there that time. What was his name? Otsubo? O’Connel? Ogawa?” Iwaizumi sighs, memories of the brown-haired delinquent he was paired up with plaguing his thoughts.

“Oikawa.” His eyes glaze over as he stares into the window behind you. You click your tongue. This airhead. 

Without thinking, you press a kiss to his lips. It lingers, trapped in the confines of space, time, and your slowly waning self control. It’s nothing special, but maybe that’s what makes it all the better to remember. Who has time to remember grandiose scenes of kissing in the rain or in a fit of passion when mundane ones like these are the ones they experience the most? Quantity over quality for this one, shall we say? It’s your run-of-the-mill kiss shared by countless other actors and actresses and seen by thousands of other loyal viewers, but only truly felt by the two of you.

You finally find the will to pull back after a good 30 seconds. Residue lipstick stains his plump lips, almost camouflaging them amongst Iwaizumi’s burning crimson blush.

“Did you really think that I would miss someone other than you?” you asked. 

“Well, you looked like you did.” You put a hand to his cheek.

“You’ll always be my number one, Hajime.”

The ferris wheel turns for a few more times, hushed cuddles and silent declarations of love happening inside it’s capsules, you and Iwaizumi being the main culprits. He’s alone with you, with a perfect view. What more could he want? A thought pulls on the back of his mind like an impatient child.

What is he? A mere farmer who got drafted into the war, possibly to never return. And you? The mayor’s daughter. The difference between you two is larger than that of the distance between this quaint little town in the middle of nowhere and the sea. Iwaizumi imagines his future — not necessarily bleak, but definitely filled with dirt and toil, not one he would ever want to give you.

Perhaps it’s better for you if he doesn’t come back. 

You would grieve and cry for however long you pleased, but it would be the best for you. A new man would come and sweep you off your feet, like Iwaizumi once did. He would make time for you, like Iwaizumi once did. Maybe some money would be involved, and that’s where Iwaizumi can’t compete any longer. The altercation just now was proof of that.

The operator barks at the two of you to get out once your time is up. Iwaizumi hops off with ease, helping you with the strict confines of your skirt. He’s so enamoured in his thoughts, that he doesn’t realize that you’re shoving a cone of ice cream into his face. 

“Hajime,” you call. Your voice, the product of years of being taught how to speak softly like the ladies of your class, a far cry from the gruff barks of the farmers where he’s from, rings in his ear like a gong.

“What are you thinking about, Iwaizumi Hajime?” 

“Nothing,” he says stoically. Even though you see the postman more than you see Iwaizumi in person, you see through your lover in an instant. 

“Let me guess.... You’re thinking about....” You tap your finger on your lips in mock thinking. “Me! You’re thinking about me! Aren’t you?”

“What makes you think that?” he asks, but the flush on his face is definitely not from the carnival lights.

“You’re staring at my neck like I’m the one who stole those tomatoes from your garden bed last night,” you quip. Iwaizumi does nothing except pinch your cheek, to which you respond with a squeal and a nuzzle on his neck. Before you know it, there are fingers dancing on your midriff and torso, tickling the living daylights out of you.

“Stop, Hajime!” you plead relentlessly, but he has no mercy on you. Like a good soldier, he leaves no place unchecked. Your arms, your neck, your ribs. Iwaizumi takes no prisoners. By the time he does manage to pull away, you’re panting as you lean on him. 

“You could have made me spill my ice cream!” you complain as you hand one to Iwaizumi. The smile on his face is wiped away by a look of uncertainty. 

“You should’ve let me pay for that, (Y/N),” he says quietly. 

“Oh, please.” Your voice drops to a quiet hush as well, the smile shrinking away from your face until it’s only visible to the Iwaizumi and the sky. 

“It’s my treat for you. For taking me here.” 

The both of you eat your ice cream in silence. The only thing that could connect the two of you as a couple was a small patch of skin where your smaller hand touched his elbow, strong and hard from years of both farming and training.

He really should count his blessings someday. He’s alive, breathing, and healthy, for one. Iwaizumi isn’t rich, not as rich as you anyways, but he has a roof over his head and enough to make a meal for himself at least twice a day. The heavens could have stopped there, but no. They decided to send down an angel straight from their ranks to him. One with a glowing smile he would pay millions more to see just for another second, 

Yeah, right, find a new husband. Hell would freeze over before Iwaizumi would ever allow that to happen. 

But, like most things in his life, it’s shattered to pieces. 

Literally.

The sweet summer air turns into clouds of smoke at the pull of a trigger. Iwaizumi looks up. From the clouds, fall large blocks of metal that he recognizes all too well as rocket artillery. It hangs in the air for a hot minute, like a ballerina staying in the air just before she lands from her jump. Everyone holds their breath as the first shell makes its descent.

Sirens finally break the silence. Recorded laughter melts into shrill screaming as people rush to take cover. Civilians and members of the military alike take off to who knows where — parents seeking their children, civilian lovers holding on tight, a group of friends breaking apart because two of them bear a soldier’s cap a little too proudly.

Someone screams from the other side 

“A civilian attack?”

“Women and children to safety! At once!”

“Soldiers, report to the north gate at once! 

And it finally happens. A symphony of thundering cracks that shakes the ground under your very feet like a seesaw. The trills and hums of falling buildings and structures soon join it, bringing an eerie soundtrack to the scene of fire and blazes that unfold before your eyes. But the star soloist in the show is perhaps the screaming. It doesn’t discriminate. Everyone screams. Old men trying to survive another five years doing so hoarsely as the hang on to what’s left of the burnt wick that they call life. Teen girls doing so, trying to huddle together with their friends under what they think is a safe spot. It’s deafening.

A pack of soldiers run past you, some carrying first-aid kits and stretchers. Iwaizumi gives them a knowing glance and a nod, before finally looking to you.

You’re the mayor’s daughter. Of all people in this town your age, you know best that during times like these, duty comes first. But what is duty when the people left to carry it out are slaves to love? 

“Hajime!” you choke out. You don’t know whether the iron grip on his wrist is to keep him from going or to keep him from staying any longer with you. But you keep holding him anyways. 

“Go with them,” he says. His voice is calm and steady, interpolated by the crackling of fires and the occasional thundering of what must be more bombs coming from the air.

“You—”

“I’ll meet up with you later. At your front door, next time.”

His hands moved to cup your face. Fire and explosions are reflected in the tears that start to roll down your face. Sticky residue ice cream lingers on your hand, some of it getting caught in your face as you wipe down the tears that flow so ungracefully down the side of your face.

“At my front door?”  you ask.

The front door with the bronze plaque, serving as the golden gate for people of your class, but a barbed fence to those of Iwaizumi’s. The front door with a hole near the doorknob that your father never noticed, from when Iwaziumi used to sneak letters he wrote in school for you seven years ago. Maybe you would share a kiss, only to scurry back in the blueberry bushes behind your house because you saw the glint of your mother’s car in the driveway? Or maybe share a lazy nap in the sun because your father had guests from halfway around the world and the nanny was sick, and the circumstances and situation all just perfect.

Too perfect.

“Of course. If your father says anything about us, I’ll make him eat his own words.” Something bites at the back of his throat, but Iwaizumi coughs it back under the guise of ash. The last thing he needed or wanted was you getting scared.

“That’s a promise?” you ask.

“We don’t make promises in this household, doll.” 

You want to say something, but another bang cuts you off, followed closely another crowd of soldiers directing people off to the side. Iwaizumi takes a long whiff of your perfume— one nicked from your mother’s shelves, yet worn countless times. You smell good. 

Iwaizumi gives you a kiss on your forehead — a rather mundane one — before joining the crowd of marching soldiers. 

Everything is piercing. 

There’s something about the smell that invades his nose that makes him want to retch, yet fall asleep at the same time. It reminds him of the rubbing alcohol that they give the new trainee that bleeds first during hand-to-hand back at his base. Iwaizumi wrinkles his nose instinctively, but finds that the longer he smells it, the clearer his head becomes.

And the lights are just too bright. They’re a blinding white, unlike the yellow lighting he’s accustomed to. The white tiles and white sheets that wrap around him securely make it even worse. It reminds him of the showers back at boot camp, where blood and other bodily fluids contrasted proudly with the white tiles. He blinks several times as he gets his eyes to adjust to the new lighting. 

A machine whirrs and buzzes behind him. Iwaizumi has never prided himself on knowing lots about military technology, but in all his years training at the military, he’s fairly sure he’s never seen anything like this before. From where he’s laying down, he makes out a valve connected to his fingers.

“Mr. Iwaizumi,” someone asks. He makes out a silhouette leaning over him. Something pounds in his heart as he hopes that it’s you that’s come to see him, but an adjustment of the light quickly kills all of them. A woman with red lipstick and dressed like a nurse from the neighborhood hospital helps him up.

“Where am I?” he manages to croak out. 

“You’re at the hospital. There was an attack and you were ushered to safety when—” 

It’s like someone turned a light switch in him. One minute he’s drowsy and fatigued, the next he’s up and alert, ready to pounce at anyone. Iwaizumi sits up straight, eager to hear this new information that is to be delivered. 

“The others?” he asks. 

“They…” The nurse trails off. She looks down apologetically, the blinding lights reflecting off the sheen of sweat on her hands. Her figure shrinks a bit. The silence is enough to fill in the blanks. 

“You left the others out there to die?”

“Sir, we tried—”

The ground is cold and hard on his bare feet. Iwaizumi’s shoulders sag with the feelings of ten sacks of wheat on his shoulders. He’s getting very good at ignoring, what with people screaming around him and sirens that block out any other form of conscious thought. All he knows, hears, and wants is to run. 

So he does.

He makes it down an uncountable amount of flights of stairs, until his knees ache and his calves are on fire. The metal is cold, hard, and unforgiving. The light of the tunnel keeps on dipping lower and lower until he finally drops down onto the floor. It seems to be deserted. Iwaizumi puts his hands on his knees and breathes like the drill sergeant instructed him back at camp. It seems that he won’t have much time to rest, though.

“Rouge patient!” someone barks from the other side of the room. 

Iwaizumi curses under his breath. Every step he takes is a spike up his thigh. But he runs. He runs and runs and runs until he finally sees a glass door at the end of it all. The door seems to be protected by a set of numbers, like those on a calculator sitting next to it. Footsteps thunder behind him and Iwaizumi can hear people opening their office doors in hopes of intercepting him, only to have the rogue patient run past them. It’s now or never. 

The door squeals as Iwaizumi puts all his body weight into the front part of his body. There’s a change in the air. The previously dingy atmosphere from inside the building is now replaced with a fresh breeze. Iwaizumi can’t stop to admire the flowers though. Without a moment’s thought, he rushes through the streets, weaving blindly through vehicles until he spots a dim alley.

It’s still the light of day, but this alley was unoccupied. Iwaizumi drops to his knees a second time, trying to put the wind back in his chest. Breathing seems to do good, so he does so shallowly until his lungs are willing to take in more oxygen at a time. No injuries, except the burning in his feet from running on bare pavement across the city.

Iwaizumi finally opens his eyes for the first time. Where was he now? DId he land at the car repair shop near your house? No, it doesn’t smell like grease and oil. The clothing factory? No, there’s no smog in the clear, blue skies above. Iwaizumi retraces his steps around the city. He closes his eyes again, visualizing his footsteps.

The smell of cotton candy drowns him in his thoughts.

There must be a carnival going on.

But instead of rolling hills and low houses, giant blocks of stone and metal crane their necks to the sky, reaching aimlessly for the sun and clouds that hang over their heads so tantalizingly. Great pictures hang suspended over the buildings, depicting beautiful people with clothes that would make any person from Iwaizumi’s part of town gasp. He wonders how he didn’t notice them during all his running before. In his defense, running from people who would do questionable things to you impairs your peripheral vision for an unknown period of time.

Something flashes out of the corner of his eye. His hands reach up to pat his waist for the revolver on his waist, but there’s nothing there. A closer look at the flashing colours reveals themselves to be… a Ferris wheel? 

A simple road leads up to the ferris wheel. Street vendors and pedestrians alike bustle through the streets, enjoying the carnival. Iwaizumi can’t bring himself to care about them. The only thing on his mind right now is where you are. 

His mind is spinning so quickly right now that he doesn’t notice the lack of planes the air, or people laughing and chatting instead of screaming for their lives in the streets. Everything rings in his ears the same as they did that night. 

Some of the people he shoves through give him dirty looks. And he’s in luck too, not far down the street is the back of a familiar head of hair. A closer look reveals a blue bow, the same blue bow he recognizes as the one he bought you for your birthday. You had shoved his gift away and told him that the money would be better off feeding the cattle, but he had made sure that it found a snug home in your hair.

He doesn’t remember you wearing it on the car ride earlier.

There’s a cone of ice cream in your hand— not melting on the ground surrounded by ash. You blissfully lick the cone while looking at the rides whizzing above.

“(L/N)! Why haven’t you gone with the others?” Iwaizumi asks frantically. You turn your head back so casually Iwaizumi wants to yank you away. If it was any other person, he would have wanted to disappear right then and there.

But it’s you. Same eyes that widen in confusion when you look at him. Same nose that wrinkles in disgust when you see his bare feet on the concrete. Same lips that part ever so slightly at his appearance.

“I’m… sorry?” you ask. 

“There was an aerial strike, and everyone had to go to safety! Why weren’t you with them? I was worried sick for you the whole time and you stroll through the streets like everything’s fine and dandy?” 

People are starting to stare even harder now. Some people shuffle closer to you in case the worst situation comes to light.

“I think you have the wrong person, sir,” you say calmly. 

“Wrong person? Now is not the time for joking, (L/N) (Y/N)!” 

Iwaizumi wants to slap the eyebrows that are furrowing too slowly for his liking off your face, he just wants you to hurry up so the both of you can get to safety and meet at your front door like he promised but—

“(L/N) (Y/N)?”

“Who else would you be?” He must look like a madman now, screeching while other pedestrians give him odd looks. Someone seems to call the police on him, but the screeching of tires behind him is enough to dispel all sudden danger.

Black cars surround the small road, visages of baffled pedestrians and vendors reflected in their tinted windows. The drivers don’t seem to mind them, some opening the doors to their black suit clad passengers, all around his height and build. Iwaizumi feels a hand creeping up on his back, but he shakes it off and takes a long step to you. 

“(L/N) (Y/N) is my grandmother’s name, sir.”

-

yes this is inspired by captain america. copyright don’t come for me!!!!!

[cheri-translates]

[CN] 100 Days - Shaw (Day 51 - 100)

🍒 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for e-mails which have not been released in English servers! 🍒

What’s the 100 Days Companionship Event?

Day 1 - 3: here

Day 4 - 30: here

Day 31 - 50: here

Day 51

Learnt a new card magic trick and will leave you wide-eyed today. You coming?

Day 52

Instead of thinking about raising koi to change your fortune, why not buy a can of cola. As compared to nothing, at least my mood will be good.

Day 53

I have two tickets for an e-sports competition. It’s at 8pm. We’ll meet at the entrance of your place.

Day 54

The competition yesterday was pretty bad. I may as well have participated myself. Let’s not go for today’s competition. We’ll level up at home.

Day 55

Sign in. Come to think of it, you’re pretty amazing - you can come up with so many topics to talk about every day.

Day 56

I heard that you have plans to try jigsaw puzzles. I’ve sent you one with 30,000 pieces - it’s completely white. No need to thank me, and I wish you an early completion.

Day 57

The professor keeps complaining that his snacks go missing. Placing the snacks in a laboratory where people walk to and fro - he deserves it. Don’t you agree?

Day 58

I found the snacks thief - it’s a big fat crow. Whoa, it’s awfully sly.

Day 59

Jensen has been working hard on practising his rap. Today, I even heard a flow in his snoring, and recorded it. Want to hear?

Day 60

It’s the day of Frost’s Descent. Of course you have to eat marbled beef with me.

[Trivia] 霜降 (“shuang jiang”) translates to “Frost’s Descent”, which refers to the last solar term of autumn. Shaw’s use of “marbled beef” is a play on words because in Chinese, “marbled beef” is “霜降肥牛”!

Day 61

Even three-year-old children know that they have to wear more clothes when it’s cold. Looks like you’re only one-year-old.

Day 62

There’s a small stall on Westmoon Street selling Double Ninth cake. It’s tastier than those in other places. Come out quickly, I’ll take you to taste the delicacy.

Day 63

Head to the hotpot shop first. The Old Man wants me to meet some of his old colleagues. How troublesome. Remember to order a plate of tripe for me.

Day 64

You want to compete to see who can replicate the most number of animal sounds tomorrow? You’ll definitely lose.

Day 65

Fine, I lost… But why do you know how to imitate the sound of a hippopotamus?!

Day 66

Are you really angry today? In that case, if I wear a pompom hat next time, I’ll let you tie a knot too.

Day 67

That song you shared with me before - its orchestral arrangement is still passable, but its effects will be ten times better with the bass. I’ll record a section for you later.

Day 68 (Halloween)

Title: Costumes

This is what you called an incredibly amazing costume? Wait at home. I’ll show you what’s truly “incredibly amazing”.

Day 69

A performance without an audience is pretty fun too. It’d have been even better if someone were around to record it. I think you’re pretty suited for it.

Day 70

Today’s challenge: To sneak away under the eyes of the professor.

Day 71

I signed in late today, but you can’t blame me for oversleeping. It’s all because the sun didn’t appear and head to work today.

Day 72

Unlocked a new breakfast combo. Even though I don’t see a need for it, I can recommend it to you.

Day 73

There’s a bad ending to that drama you haven’t finished watching, so I’m giving you a heads-up. I wasn’t wrong when I said fairy tales weren’t believable, was I?

Day 74

Feels like you’ve been busy for several days. Want to sneak out to relax for a while?

Day 75

Realised that my phone battery is running low, and can’t slack off and send you messages anymore. How unlucky.

Day 76

I’ve been busy preparing for exams recently, but you can still send me messages at night as usual. At most, I’ll reply you the next day

Day 77

There’s a sports meet in school next week, and I’ve been dragged in to fill the numbers. Come watch if you have time.

Day 78

Let’s compete in a round of “flash sale” tonight. The loser will buy whatever’s in the other person’s shopping cart.

[Note] Shaw is talking about 秒杀 (“miao sha”), which directly translates to “seconds kill”. It’s a term used in online shopping where once popular items are placed on the Internet, dozens of them are immediately snatched up, sometimes in a single second.

Day 79 (Single’s Day)

The rain in November is pretty cold. I’ve decided to shower and sleep early today, so don’t disturb me after 12am.

Day 80

I can brush off how you added ginger ale to Cola the last time. But this time, what do you think you’re doing by adding indigo woad root?

[Note] Indigo woad root, also known as the root of Isatis tinctoria (板蓝根 - “ban lan gen”)is a traditional Chinese herb used for flu relief

Day 81

Horror techniques like inserting a jump scare in a comedic clip is too elementary. Next time, please come up with something new.

Day 82

Are you awake? Head out once you’ve signed in, or what I taught you about the skateboard will be completely forgotten.

Day 83

The graffiti wall I brought you to the last time has been torn down. I found a new unfinished building, and you can practice here.

Day 84

No one can be certain of the future. I can’t be bothered to think about it either. As long as you run in the direction you want to go, it’s enough.

Day 85

This semester’s elective course is almost over. There are some assignments I haven’t finished. If there’s anything, come to the library to find me.

Day 86

I don’t feel like writing anymore, and am prepared to head out for a stroll tomorrow. Give me two recommended locations from your collection of reviews.

Day 87

One principle applies to both ice-skating and skateboarding - you won’t learn it if you don’t fall a few times. In the worst case, I’ll catch you when you fall.

Day 88

Watched as someone failed to stick a straw in after three tries, and didn’t allow me to laugh out loud.

Day 89

That hook you hummed today was a little familiar. Did you watch the live performance of that very popular underground band recently?

Day 90

Call me along the next time you go to a Live. Relax, I’m on pretty good terms with the bassist from that band. I’m not going there for a surprise brawl.

Day 91

The Old Man’s a little sick, so I’m bringing him medicine. Since it’s along the way, I’ll bring the umbrella you left at my place to you.

Day 92

Didn’t expect you to grasp the move I taught you today so quickly. I’ll award you with a can of Cola.

Day 93

The punishment for today’s game are biscuits filled with mustard, and the person who loses will eat them. Do you have the guts?

Day 94

Have I been infected with your bad luck recently? Even the things I get in blind boxes are duplicates.

Day 95

Not just old antique shops - I can also find all the old game shops, old phonograph shops, and old appliances shops in Loveland City.

Day 96

Adam forgot to take the pot away the last time he had instant-boiled mutton hot pot in Live House. We could use it again today.

Day 97

Instead of believing in some “Mercury Retrograde”, why not come along with me to pray to Emperor Yang Gu, so he’ll save you from calamities.

Day 98

It’s become a habit to chat with you every day. If there are such challenges in the future, look for me too. Got it?

Day 99

It’s the second last day, and we’ll soon see the outcome of who has won this round. Are you sure you’ve been signing in every day?

Day 100

If there any other bets or challenges next time, I’m always ready and waiting.