#our tattoo shop au is wonderful

[wonusite]

Cat and Mouse

❝ Wonwoo doesn’t understand why you’re so adamant in avoiding him after the amazing night you two spent together, but he’s not going to let you get away from him so easily. ❞

PAIRING: jeon wonwoo x female reader

GENRE: bad boy au, smut

WORD COUNT: 5.6k

WARNINGS: bad boy!wonwoo, allusions of illicit activities, descriptions of minor injuries, wonwoo is down HORRENDOUS, reader is in denial about her feelings, our bad boi is soft for one (1) person, mutual pining, fingering, oral sex (f receiving), unprotected sex, riding, multiple creampies, overstimulation, mating press, aftercare

ㅤ→ continuation of this timestamp

A/N: here’s a little something to celebrate one year with this blog. very grateful to all my followers and mutuals who’ve made this past year amazing! MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!!!

Wonwoo glares at his phone, tongue poking at the inside of his cheek in annoyance.

It’s been a week. An entire fucking week without hearing from you. He knew he should’ve ignored Jihoon’s calls and stayed in bed with you that night, but when he sent a message saying the entire crew needed to be there, he couldn’t ignore it. Now, he really wishes he would have.

The night he spent with you was the most incredible of his life, and now he might never relive it because he left in a haste, only leaving you with a brief kiss and a promise to come back.

“You still torn up over that sweet lil’ thing from that flower shop?” Seungcheol's voice has never sounded more irritating than it does now.

“That’s Shua’s girl, dumbass.”

Being on the receiving end of that mean tone and angry glare doesn’t faze Seungcheol in the slightest. In fact, it only causes his infamous smirk to get wider. To see the stoic Jeon Wonwoo acting up over a girl is not only a rarity, but it’s also really fucking funny. That’s why he can’t resist pushing Wonwoo’s buttons further.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Seungcheol cackles. “Guess you better hurry up and help us finish this shit. Her shift ends soon.”

Wonwoo can feel his irritation near that boiling point he could usually avoid. Of course Seungcheol knows about your schedule. That asshole has the annoying habit of knowing everything about anyone who is even the tiniest bit associated with the crew. Sure, it’s for precautionary reasons, but that didn’t make it any less annoying. Nonetheless, Wonwoo focuses on the task at hand so he can catch you before you leave work.

Jeon Wonwoo is the bane of your existence.

From the moment he first came around with that stupidly attractive smirk of his, your life was never the same. And now that you fucked him, it never will be again.

Giving into your carnal desires isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but getting mixed up with the likes of Jeon Wonwoo definitely is. Despite not knowing all of the grimy details, you know he’s bad news. You can see all the red flags clearly—the people he hangs around, all the fights he gets in, and the tattoos littering his body. And yet, none of those warning signs mattered now or when Wonwoo was ravishing you in a way that still made your toes curl just by thinking about it.

Maybe the worst part of it all is that you can’t get the resident bad boy out of your head, or the way he held you after you two had sex. It’s like you can still feel how he nuzzled into your neck, strong arms tightening around you like he never wanted to let you go. Part of you hopes that he wouldn’t have if he hadn’t had some urgent business to take care of. It’s a dangerous thought, but even so you can’t help but crave that uncharacteristically sweet side of him that he presumably only showed you.

A displeased sigh comes out of you as you gather your things to go home. It’s bad enough that you can’t stop thinking about Wonwoo, but to think that you’re actually pining over him even though he literally disappeared after your night together is—

“Y/N left already.”

It’s Mingyu’s voice you hear at first, and it makes you stop in your tracks. You wonder who could be asking for you until you hear someone answer him. It feels like your heart is going to jump out of your chest when you hear a familiar deep voice that has your stupid pussy clenching in anticipation.

“Alright. Thanks.”

You peek out from the back when you hear the door chime. It’s annoying that your chest tightens when you see a set of wide shoulders draped in a leather jacket walking toward the large motorcycle parked outside. The way your mind goes blank yet is also clogged with nothing but thought of Wonwoo is infuriating. You don’t realize you’re pouting at the exit until Mingyu jumps back in shock at seeing your sulking figure.

“Y/N what– I thought you left!” He says, vaguely gesturing behind him. “You just missed your boyfriend! I think he wanted to take you home—”

“Boyfriend?” You interrupt him, not entirely angry or disgusted that your coworker had referred to Wonwoo as such.

Mingyu furrows his eyebrows. “Yeah? The scary dude with the leather jacket that comes in here all the time just to see you. He’s your boyfriend, right?”

It’s almost mortifying that your sweet but oblivious coworker can tell that there was something going on between you and the resident bad boy. And yet, there’s also a part of you that likes the fact that Wonwoo is so obvious about his feelings. You don’t know what to make of these conflicting emotions that you can’t seem to shake, and seeing Wonwoo (even just the back of him) didn’t help you find the clarity you so desperately need.

“Well, even if he’s not, he definitely wants to fuck you.” Mingyu says with a wink as he brushes past you to check on the pastries he had put in the oven ten minutes ago.

You wonder how he would react if you told him that Wonwoo already has.

Wonwoo thinks you’re the cutest person ever. And the part of you he finds the most cute? The fact that you actually think he’s going to let you avoid him forever. You’re good at it, he’ll give you that (even if he can see right through your every method).

It’s funny that you actually change your off days and regular working hours just to avoid seeing him and throw him off, which it does—at first. He knows you haven’t quit because Josh mentioned seeing you at the bakery when he went to buy the love of his life a cake for her birthday. This is confirmed when he goes to see for himself the next day.

Maybe you don’t realize Wonwoo can see you run to the back through the large glass windows when you hear his motorcycle, but either way he thinks it’s funny. Actually, it’s hilarious because soon enough you were going to give into him like before.

Meanwhile, you feel like a mouse being preyed on by a sly cat—one that’s toying with you before he finally catches you. Avoiding Wonwoo had been easy at first, but now you’re starting to wonder if he had let it seem easy.

“Babydoll.”

You almost drop a tray of croissants when you hear a familiar deep voice calling for you. The way you whip around with a gaping mouth must be hilarious because Wonwoo just smirks at you in that infuriating way that drives you crazy. Your hands tighten around the tray as you snap your mouth closed, trying to contemplate on how to navigate the situation.

With a bit of a mental pep talk, you finally manage to put up that happy to help attitude you usually had with every other customer. The smile you give him feels exaggerated and fake, but it’s the only way you can mask all the emotions you’re feeling.

“What can I get for you?”

That devilish smirk widens as Wonwoo pretends to skim all the delicious pastries in the case before he sets his smoldering eyes back on you. “This all looks good,” he muses quietly, but you can hear him perfectly since it’s only you two. “But I think you’re the only thing that can satisfy my hunger.”

It kills you that his words make you heat up from the inside out. You ignore him and start to put the croissants into the case. The clench of your jaw is tight and bordering on painful, but it’s the only way you can keep your emotions from spilling over for him to see.

Unfortunately, your lack of response doesn’t really faze him. One thing you’ve come to learn about Wonwoo is that he’s never uncomfortable in the silence. You wish you could say the same. You’re nearly squirming by the time you’re done placing the croissants in their designated space because he hasn’t taken his eyes off of you once.

Finally, you look up to meet Wonwoo’s gaze. It’s so intense that you almost want to look away. However, there’s a part of you that loves being under the heat of his stare since you can clearly see the desire he has for you.

“You’ve been ignoring me.”

“You’ve been gone.” You counter, vaguely aware that you sound like a sulking girlfriend.

Wonwoo realizes this too because he gently coos at you. “Missed me, babydoll?”

Yes. “You wish.”

It’s obvious Wonwoo doesn’t believe you. That stupid smirk of his only seems to get bigger with every passing moment, and you don’t know if you want to kiss it or smack it off his face.

“I missed you.” He tells you honestly, loving how you’re visibly growing flustered with his words.

Resisting him would be a lot easier if he wasn’t so tempting to you and if the feelings he always evoked from you weren’t so strong. Before you can say anything to betray your easily crumbling facade, Mingyu comes out from the back with a tray of small cakes. Wonwoo gives you a once over before stepping away from the case.

“I’ll be back after your shift. Wait for me.”

You don’t wait for him—technically. It’s not waiting since Wonwoo is already outside of the bakery when your shift ends. He’s clad in his leather jacket, dark jeans, and signature combat boots. It’s not fair that he can lean against his bike so casually while looking as good as ever.

Ignoring him would’ve been all too easy, but you can’t when you notice the bruises and cuts on his pretty face. A familiar irritation bubbles in your chest, but annoyingly enough, it’s overpowered by the concern you feel. You react before you can fully think your actions through.

“What the hell!”

Wonwoo’s eyes widen the tiniest bit when you stomp over to him with angry tears in your eyes. You can’t even enjoy his cute shocked face because of the overwhelming concern and anger you feel. All you can do is hit his brawny chest in frustration.

“You—You asshole!” Your voice cracks with raw emotion as you continue to weakly hit his chest. “You said– you promised that you weren’t going to fight anymore—!”

Wonwoo lets you hit him. His chest aches, but not because of your soft blows. The last thing he meant to do was make you cry, and it’s something he wishes to never see again. His large hands come up to cup your face, fingers delicately wiping your tears. “I know I should’ve kept my promise, and I’m sorry. Just please don’t cry anymore.”

You let out a quiet whimper at his tenderness. His eyes are full of so much remorse and concern that it makes any remaining willpower you have left disappear. It feels right to bury yourself in his chest and let yourself be held by him. He caresses your back, and you can’t hate that it actually makes you feel better.

Once you’ve calmed down, you pull back and smack Wonwoo’s beefy chest again. “Asshole.”

“Your asshole.” His haze is tender as he cradles your tearstained cheek in his hand.

You scowl at him, but it’s quickly wiped off your face when he places a gentle kiss on the corner of your mouth. A sudden desire consumes you when you see Wonwoo’s affectionate gaze. This time you let yourself be driven by your desire and press your lips against his.

It’s easy for him to melt into the kiss. Wonwoo sighs into your mouth as one of his hands comes up to cup your face. His rings feel cool against your warm skin, and you let out a quiet moan when his other hand slips into the back pocket of your jeans and squeezes your ass while pulling you closer to him.

The kiss is slow at first until your hands smooth over Wonwoo’s chest and fist his shirt to pull him closer. You part your lips to allow his tongue to slip into your mouth. It feels like you got struck by a bolt of electricity the longer his lips are on yours. His desire and hunger are evident in his needy movement, and you absolutely love it.

When you two finally pull away, you’re left breathless. Wonwoo’s thumb gently caresses your cheek as his heart pounds harshly in his chest. “Stay the night with me, babydoll.”

“M’kay.” You breathe out, mind still swimming.

The smile he gives you is so pretty that it makes something inside you burn with ardent desire. You feel like you’re floating on air when Wonwoo hands you a spare helmet that happens to be your favorite color. He looks bashful as he waits for you to accept it, and you wish you could take a picture of his pretty blush.

In spite of all the reasons you have not to take the helmet from him, you still do. And you don’t regret it.

You’ve never allowed yourself to regret the things that you’ve done because life is too short for regrets. But you definitely regret avoiding Wonwoo as long as you have, especially with the way he’s trailing his lips along your legs. Every wet kiss he leaves behind has your heart hammering and your cunt clenching in want.

Finally, Wonwoo gets to your inner thighs. His large hands spread you open with ease, eyes dark when he sees your wet pussy.

“Fuck.” His gaze fixed between your legs as if he's in a trance. “You’re already so wet.”

Your toes curl when his breath ghosts over your cunt. It sends delicious shivers throughout your body, and you have to stop yourself from bucking your hips into his face. But as you’re starting to learn, it seems like Wonwoo knows what you want before you even ask for it.

“You want my mouth, babydoll?”

Wonwoo nearly blows his load when you nod cutely, a needy mewl escaping your lips. “Please.”

He hooks your legs over his wide shoulders, thumbs spreading your folds open for his viewing pleasure. Wonwoo resists his ravenous desire for you long enough to toy with your pretty pussy before he actually tastes it—a luxury he hadn’t gotten to do last time. His rough hands are soon occupied with you, one hand pinching and flicking your sensitive clit while the other gently rubs your slippery folds.

“Fuck, baby.” You whine, biting down on your lower lip. “Feels so good.”

Your cunt is dripping with so much of your arousal that Wonwoo’s fingers are drenched as he slowly rubs circles against your aching bud. It’s throbbing and pulsing in need as his pace grows the tiniest bit quicker. You can’t even try to contain your moans as you stare down at your boyfriend.

Wonwoo has a huge smirk on his pink lips. You’re making such a mess on his fingers, and he just loves it. “You look so fucking cute when your squirm like this, babydoll.”

A needy whimper tumbles past your lips when he presses a gentle kiss to your throbbing clit. It pulses under the attention like it wants his mouth again. Wonwoo’s pupils are blown wide as he licks the remnants of your arousal off his lips. The addicting taste makes his control snap, and in the next second he smashes his face into your cunt like a starved man.

Your hips start move on their own as Wonwoo groans deeply into your drooling pussy. His mouth latches onto your clit, massaging the nub with his tongue. The movements are skilled and toe-curling, and you already feel like you’re fucked out.

“Wonwoo!” You cry out in absolute pleasure when he slips two fingers inside you.

His long fingers work your cunt open, curling up to rub the sensitive spot inside you that made you arch your back in ecstasy. Your mouth is dropped open in a silent min the longer Wonwoo fucks you with his tongue. He captures your juices with his tongue only to slobber them all over you again. Your hands grab ahold of his hair as he keeps moaning into your wet pussy, the vibrations shooting up your spine with every one of his movements.

All it takes his his nose bumping against your clit as he licks around his pumping digits for you to come all over his face. Wonwoo groans into your creamy cunt, licking up every drop of your release.

“So fucking messy.” He grunts as his hand spreads your folds and exposes your heat to the cool air. His fingers trail down your cunt, tenderly rubbing along your sensitive lips. “Fuck, just look at that cream."

You can’t contain your needy moan when Wonwoo brings his fingers to his mouth and licks them clean. He’s so fucking hot that you just want him to fuck you until you can’t think. Before you can get him to do exactly that, a heavy weight settles on your soppy cunt. His cock is hot and wet as it slides between your folds.

“You feel so good, angel.” Wonwoo groans as he thrusts forward, coating the underside of his dick with your arousal. “So fucking wet, just for me.”

The mouthwatering sight of your folds splitting open as he slides his cock between them makes him feel like he’s drunk. Maybe he is. Drunk on your pussy, that is. He only gets to enjoy the feeling for a second before you eagerly buck your hips against his.

“Let me ride you.”

It’s a miracle that Wonwoo doesn’t come all over your stomach at the words you moaned so desperately. He’s quick to get into position, leaning against his headboard as you hover above him. You look so eager as you straddle his lap, the love bites he littered all over your thighs giving him a sense of pride as he brushes his thumbs over them.

Wonwoo’s free hand reaches for your ass. He roughly kneads the skin before slapping it. You moan out in pleasure. Everything is almost too much for you to handle. The sight of him bellow you waiting patiently for you to fuck him like the first time is making your core throb with insatiable desire. His cock rests on his stomach, leaking with precum and waiting for you to sit on it.

The hottest part of it all is how Wonwoo’s looking at you with unadulterated desire and affection—like you’re a living goddess on top of him. Your hands are splayed over his muscular chest, and he just loves the feeling of them smoothing over his hot skin.

His hands move on their own, caressing your hips and mapping out every inch of your body with his rough hands. Wonwoo kisses any part of you he can reach, lips trailing from your neck down to your collarbones. His large hands slip back to your ass to deliver a sharp spank which makes you fall forward. Wonwoo skillfully captures one of your tits in his mouth, tongue immediately gliding over your hardened nipple.

“Nonu!” You cry out as your arms hook over his shoulders to keep him close, softly moaning as he switches between your tits, warm tongue swirling around each erect nub.

The cute little nickname makes his cock twitch. Fuck. You were going to drive him completely insane.

He gently nips at your sensitive bud before pulling away to look up at you. “You look so fucking pretty on top of me, babydoll.” He murmurs, forcing himself to stay still as you shift against his leaking tip.

His sweet praise is enough to make your pussy flutter. You mewl as he teasingly circles his cock against your pussy. The insistent nudges from his leaking head are making your head swim with pleasure. You’re so soaked at this point that he can feel your arousal start to stick to his skin.

Finally, you can’t resist any longer and slowly sink down on his cock. Your tight walls stretch wide, welcoming the bulbous head with just a bit of resistance. It’s been almost two weeks, and you’d already forgotten it felt to have such big and thick dick inside you. His cock isn’t even halfway inside yet, and you can nearly feel him in your stomach.

You sit back and slowly circle your hips, throwing your head back with a moan when his twitching tip nudges your walls repeatedly. Wonwoo feels like he’s gone and died to heaven with the filthy show you’re giving him of your soppy cunt. He curses quietly at the sight of your tight cunt clinging to his fat tip, nearly blowing his load at the erotic sight.

“Show me what you can do, pretty girl.”

He doesn’t have to tell you twice. With a wanton moan and your hands braced behind you, you slide all the way down. You whimper at the stretch, loving the feeling of his thick cock splitting you open. Mewls flutter from your lips, and it feels like the oxygen is slowly being forced out of your lungs.

Once he’s fully inside you, Wonwoo is sure that he’s never going to feel as good as he does now. His head is thrown back and his eyes roll to the back of his head. The feeling of your hot cunt wrapped around him is absolute heaven. You share in his feeling as you moan loudly, completely full and stretched out as he grips your ass to steady you on his dick.

Wonwoo can’t stop looking at the fucked out look on your face while you’re busy staring down at where your pussy and his cock meet. You don’t notice how his pupils are blown out with lust at the sight of you impaled on his cock. His heart fluttering in his chest because fuck, you’re like a literal goddess on top of him.

“Shit, babydoll. You gotta move.” He sounds out of breath, almost needy with his plea.

Wonwoo looks so fucked out and pretty that your pussy tightens around him at the hot sight. That's all it takes for you to give him what he wants. You lift your hips before slamming your ass back down. His cock reaches so deep inside you that you throw you head back with a loud cry. It makes you ravenous, and you eagerly repeat your movements until your practically bouncing on his cock.

You lean towards him and wrap your arms around his neck, your pace faltering a bit when your lips meet his neck. As you litter his skin with wet kisses and gentle bites, you feel his cock throb and twitch inside you. It makes you think that you might actually get him to come first this time.

At least, until Wonwoo commits the tender act of pressing a sweet kiss to your shoulder, removing a hand from your ass to gently thumb at your clit.

“Fuck, Nonu.” You whimper at the stimulation. “You’re so deep.”

“Missed having you on my cock, babydoll. You look so fucking pretty being split open like this.” His fingers trace your stretched hole before they slap your clit.

You moan wantonly when Wonwoo suddenly thrusts up, going impossibly deeper. That’s when you know he's about to ruin you in the way you’ve been craving. You shove your face into his neck, sucking and biting his skin so he can move you on his cock in the way he wants. Apparently, this isn’t enough for him, though.

Wonwoo grips your face, pressing his fingers into your cheeks. “Need to see your pretty face while I fuck you stupid.”

He doesn’t give you time to respond before he’s gripping your ass and grinding you on his cock. His fingertips press into your soft flesh as he lifts you and brings you down his length. You start bouncing to meeting his pumps. Broken mewls contrast with Wonwoo’s groans and mix in the the sound of lewd squelching and skin slapping. His abs tighten every time you come back down, thighs flexing beneath your ass.

Your swollen clit rubs against his pelvis with every thrust, and the feeling is quickly driving you insane. The knot in your stomach is coming undone fast, much faster than you want, but you feel too good to stop. Wonwoo isn’t doing much better. His mind is only full of you and the way your hot cunt is gripping his cock. The carnal look in his eye is locked to where you’re connected. He’s mesmerized with strings of arousal connecting his skin to your dripping folds.

“You look so fucking pretty when you’re bouncing on my cock—just like last time. Gonna let me pump your pretty pussy full again, babydoll?”

“Yes, yes, yes!” You cry out mindlessly, a delicious ache blooming in your core. “Whatever you want!”

You can’t believe Wonwoo has the audacity to blush like you two aren’t literally fucking like animals. It makes you gush around him, orgasm so close that you can feel it in every inch of your body.

“God, baby. Keep fucking yourself stupid on my dick.” He growls as he fucks up into you harder, needing to see you come undone on his cock.

The leaking tip of his cock brushes against your sweet spot over and over again until your eyes gloss over like you’re on the brink of tears. Wonwoo will never get enough of that fucked out face of yours, and it drives that insatiable desire in him to fuck you impossibly harder.

It takes only a few more deep thrusts for you to come on his cock with a loud moan. Your body shudders and shakes against him in absolute pleasure. Wonwoo’s movements don't stop. He fucks you through your orgasm and straight into overstimulation. But you can’t really care because it feels so fucking good. All you can do is cry out his name until he’s emptying his balls inside you.

“Y/N!” He groans into your ear as he pumps you full of his hot cum, thick ropes filling you to the brim until it’s leaking out and coating his heavy sack.

You’re gently grinding into each other as your mouths meet for a messy kiss. Wonwoo’s still-hard cock keeps twitching inside you, and you can’t help but groan into his mouth at the feeling.

“More.” You plead against his lips. “Want you to keep stuffing me full of your cum.”

“Fuck, angel.” Wonwoo pants out. “You’ll be the death of me.”

But if this was death, he’d gladly embrace it every time.

Wonwoo moves down the bed until his back meets the messy sheets. With his hands secured on your waist and the back of your neck, he pulls you down to his chest and forces you to take every inch of his throbbing cock. At this angle, he feels even thicker. Your mind goes blank as his fat dick spears into your tight hole relentlessly.

Wet noises fill the room, dancing in the air with your wanton cries. A white ring forms at the base of his cock, smearing down to his loaded sack. Wonwoo moans along with you, large hands sliding down your body to grip fistfuls of your ass. You let out a broken gasp when he grinds up and pulls you down, stuffing you to the brim only to do it again and again.

You’re panting and whimpering as his cock sinks in deep, plugging your dripping cunt. Tingles of ecstasy course through your quivering body with ever snap of his hips. You aren’t even moving anymore, it’s all Wonwoo. He’s fucking you on his cock like you're his personal fucktoy. The more you think about it like that, the more turned on you’re getting.

Your hot cunt tightens around his veiny cock. The drag of his veiny length stretching you out makes more of your juices coat his dick and spill down to his heavy balls. Wonwoo shudders when he feels how tight you keep getting. He can feel his own high quickly approaching.

“You gonna come for me again, babydoll? Soak my cock with your cream and make a mess all over me?” Wonwoo changes the angle of his hips as he speaks his lewd words. The tip of his cock slams into the soft spot inside you that makes you scream in pleasure. He keeps pounding into you from below without stopping, and you love every second of it.

“Fucking love your cock.” You babble mindlessly, any and every thought that’s not about the fat cock splitting you open being fucked out of you.

“Sweet little cunt is all mine now.” Wonwoo growls possessively. “Gonna be mine forever, right, baby?”

It’s all too much. His filthy yet sweet words combined with his fierce thrusts make you fall over that edge and into your orgasm, this one more powerful than the last. Your body erupts in flames as you squirt all over Wonwoo’s aching cock. He keeps you locked on his dick, balls slapping against your ass as he continues to pound into your gushing cunt.

“So fucking good.” Wonwoo groans gutturally before his hot cum floods your ruined cunt, painting your stretched out walls and claiming you in every sense of the word.

So much of his cum spills out and trickles down his pulsing cock, and you whimper when Wonwoo fucks it deeper into your pussy. You’re both sweaty and sticky, yet there’s still a burning ache in your core that seems like it can only be soothes by Wonwoo and his big cock.

“Want it again.” You moan into his ear, clenching down on his twitching dick. “Please.”

This is where you learn that the resident bad boy can never tell you no.

You barely process him flipping you over and manhandling you into the position he wants. Wonwoo presses your legs against your chest and start to pound into you with rough thrusts. He’s slow but brutish, slamming against your cervix every time he pushes in. Your cream soaks his thick cock and your inner thighs. It slowly drips down to your ass where his heavy balls slap against the tender skin.

“Fuck, babydoll. I’ll never get enough of this tight little pussy.” He sounds so gone, punctuating each word with a sharp thrust.

You cry out each time, the pleasure blooming into that delicious feeling in your stomach. Wonwoo’s words have you clenching around his dick, and he lets out a deep groan. He keeps moaning out praises about how good you are for him, but it’s hard to focus on his words when his thick cock is pummeling into you relentlessly.

You continuously gush around Wonwoo’s cock on the brink of yet another orgasm as you leave a stain around the base. Your pussy is stretched beyond belief, and it feels so fucking good that’s it’s making you delirious.

“I’m gonna have to stuff this pretty pussy full every day.” Wonwoo moans, loving how your cunt keeps spasming around his throbbing cock. He’s fantasised about this for so long, and now that he’s had you he’s completely addicted to you.

“Fuh-Fuck!” You wail, soaking his cock even more at his promise, leaving it dripping.

Wonwoo’s thrusts grow more powerful and ravenous. The pretty sounds you’re letting out every time he drives in and out of you is driving him insane. It’s not long for the harsh snapping of his hips to finally send you into your climax. This one is more somehow more intense than your previous one. Wonwoo groans loudly, watching as you squirt all over his cock.

Each time Wonwoo strokes your g-spot, another gush of liquid spurts from your core. “You’re so fucking hot, angel. Making a mess all over my cock.”

“Come inside me.” You beg with a loud moan, mind already so far gone to think about anything else but being fucked full of his hot cum.

Your lewd plea only drives his desire for you. Wonwoo feels his orgasm approaching with every rough thrust. His balls are aching to be emptied again, and he doesn’t hesitate to chase that euphoric feeling. Your pussy is practically begging him to fill you up with his seed, and he does exactly that. With one final shove, he bottoms out inside you and stills, cock twitching and throbbing in your hot cunt.

A huge load of cum pours into you, coating your walls and taking up the minimal space his cock hasn’t covered. Wonwoo slowly fucks it into you until you’re both whimpering from the overstimulation.

When he pulls out, his cum and your cream slowly leak out of your messy cunt. The fucked out pants you’re letting out are quickly stifled by Wonwoo's lips. You moan into his mouth as he slowly lets go of your legs and hooks them around his hips.

Pulling away, you barely register as he starts to tenderly kiss all over your body. You’re completely sated and too gone to acknowledge your surroundings even as Wonwoo gets up and brings back a warm towel. He gently cleans you up, whispering sweet praises that make you feel a different type of euphoria.

“Hold me, Nonu.” You finally manage to say when you realize he’s done cleaning the both of you up.

His smile is so pretty and precious as he goes to lay with you. The way he cradles you against his chest is comforting, and you know that you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

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[navybrat817]

And Everything Nice

Pairing: Tattoo Artist!Bucky Barnes x Baker!Female Reader Summary: You visit the tattoo parlor when an uninvited guest shows up at the bakery. Word Count: Over 2.8k Warnings: Bad ex, mild (h)arassment, protectiveness, brief moments of insecurity, slight feels (it's me), Bucky Barnes (he's a warning, okay?). Graphics talent and thanks: Banner by @sgt-seabass. Divider by @firefly-graphics . Bucky edit by Nix. Moodboard by yours truly. A/N: More Hottie and Sugar from our Sin on Skin AU. ❤️ Thank you to @rookthorne for listening to me ramble about this part! Beta read by the lovely @whisperlullaby (thank you for spitballing), but any and all mistakes are my own. Please follow @navybrat817-sideblog for new fics and notifications. Comments, reblogs, feedback are loved and appreciated!

I am going to ask Bucky Barnes out.

After going through the closing checklist, Tess gave you another quick pep talk and said the only thing that would hurt if he turned you down was your pride. Deep down you knew it would hurt more than your pride if he said no, but you didn't say it out loud. She must have sensed it since she added she was certain he'd jump at the chance to date you.

"You got this," she said, giving you a quick hug. "Sorry to run, but-"

"Like I said, I got this," you said, waving her on. Normally you walked out together when you both closed the bakery, but she had somewhere to be. "Have fun!" you added as she rushed out.

Once you finished up a few minutes later, you strode to the door with your keys in hand and a smile on your face. Tomorrow was going to be a good day. You could feel it. And you would look Bucky in the eye with a smile as you asked him-

"Closing all by yourself?"

You weren't sure how you managed to not drop your keys, or not throw a punch, when you spun around and saw your ex in your personal space. You wanted to wipe the smirk off his face when you took a deep breath. "Thanks for sneaking up on me, Richard. Mind backing up a little?"

"Aww, did I scare you?" he asked as you quickly locked the door. "Not even a 'hello'?"

"We haven't talked since we broke up," you reminded him. "But hi and bye."

Richard charmed you in the beginning when you met him, like he did with so many others. Beyond his good looks, he was a confident man. It didn't take long to see that beneath the surface was a spoiled man child who was used to getting what he wanted, or thought he could buy everything. You included.

Breaking up with him was one of the best decisions you made, even if your mom disagreed.

"Where are you going in such a hurry? You should get a drink with me."

"I have plans," you lied, wondering what the hell he was even doing there.

"So? Break them. I want to talk."

The suggestion sounded more like an order and you weren't in the mood.

"I said I have plans. I'm sorry."

"Then why are you still in your work clothes?" he asked, gesturing to your outfit. "And who do you have plans with? Some new guy?"

"Because I'm changing later," you said, staring across the street as a smile spread on your face. "And not that it's any of your business, but yes. He's a tattoo artist."

You weren't sure why you said that. Maybe because you hoped Bucky really would be your guy. And because the thought of him also made you feel safe.

You half expected Richard to laugh as you walked around him, but he put his hand on your arm instead as his face twisted into a scowl. "You're not hanging out with him. You're getting a drink with me."

You wrenched your arm away before he could tighten his grip. "We aren't together anymore. So you don't get to show up out of nowhere and order me around," you said as you went to the curb.

"Don't act like a fucking brat when I'm trying to give you another chance."

I'm the brat?

"Not interested. Have a good night!" you said before you looked both ways and dashed across the street to Bucky's shop.

The entrance was cozier and more open than you expected, the sound of the needles bringing you a strange sense of comfort as you adjusted your bag on your arm. Pictures of various tattoos in different styles lined the red walls above the front desk and leather couches. You wished you had the time to pick out which works belonged to Bucky.

Another day.

"Hi! Welcome to Sin on Skin!" the man behind the desk cheerfully greeted you as he typed on the keyboard. Even sitting down, you could tell the man was built, his muscular arms covered in a variety of tattoos. He may have been intimidating if not for the glasses and warm smile. "Do you have an appointment?"

You glanced over your shoulder and saw your ex making his way across the street. "Sorry, I don't. Is Bucky here? I really need to talk to him."

"Oh, yeah. Just over there. If you want to take a seat, I can-"

"Thank you. I'll be quick," you smiled, hoping Bucky wasn't in the middle of an appointment.

You glanced around at some of the other artists as you walked over to the chairs and noted how exceedingly gorgeous they were. There was one with short dark hair and a beard that looked like he could kill someone with his tattoo gun if they stared for too long. The girl sitting at his station and the man behind him with shocking pink hair and bright smile both brought a ray of warmth to his almost dark aura.

Is it a prerequisite to work in the shop that you have to be good looking? And either look intimidating as hell or incredibly alluring?

You gripped your bag to keep your hand from shaking as you saw Bucky engaged in a quiet conversation with Steve, recognizing him from earlier. You were almost afraid to interrupt. "Hi?"

Both men turned toward you with smiles on their faces as Bucky pushed himself up from his stool. “Hey, Sugar. Couldn’t wait until tomorrow to see me?”

"Something like that," you said.

"Wait. That's Sugar?" the man with the pink hair asked. "No wonder you keep going to the bakery."

"Don't hit on her, Hal," Bucky warned, earning a chuckle from the other man. "Go bother Andy."

"He already is," a deep voice replied.

You would ask later just how much he spoke about you to the other artists. "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting. My ex was waiting for me outside of my shop and I kind of panicked and said I was meeting you and I rushed over here."

"Your ex?" Bucky asked, immediately moving forward to rub your arms in a soothing gesture. "Are you okay?"

"Hi! Welcome to Sin on Skin!" you heard the guy at the desk call out before you could answer.

Instead, you burrowed yourself against Bucky when you heard Richard shout your name. Rock solid and sturdy, his hold kept your nerves from bubbling to the surface. You had nothing to be afraid of.

So why am I shaking?

“You’re kidding me, right? This fucking asshole?” Richard scoffed as you looked over your shoulder at him. He didn't walk any closer, but his voice carried throughout the entire shop. "Like putting a bumper sticker on a piece of shit car, isn't it?"

“Richard, just leave.”

"Does your mom know you're spreading your legs for some tatted up lowlife? Still a disappointment, aren’t you?”

The jab cut deep as much as you wanted to ignore it. He knew that your mom judged every part of you. No matter what you did, it was never good enough.

You wouldn’t focus on that for the time being. "

You do not come into his shop and insult him. Bucky, I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologize for this asshole, Sugar. His opinion of me means less than nothing, trust me," he assured you before he faced your ex. "You, however, are banned from my shop. You can get out now or Jake will call the cops for trespassing. After you apologize to my girl for upsetting her. Your choice, Dick."

Your heart fluttered as you leaned into Bucky more.

His girl. It sounds right.

"Please. I can buy the shop tomorrow just to bulldoze it to the ground," he sneered before he jabbed a finger at you. "And you know what? Keep her. I tried to give her another chance, but she's not worth it. She's a lousy lay anyway."

The insult washed away the momentary good feeling and was the tipping point that brought tears to your eyes. It was humiliating enough that you were the root cause of a scene in Bucky's shop, but the jab in front of his employees and customers brought it to another level. Why did you think hiding in there was a good idea?

Does Bucky think I'm a total loser now?

It was only when you sniffled did you notice the entire shop had gone silent, a dangerous tension in the air when Bucky tightened his arms around you as Steve and Andy slowly got to their feet.

"Hey, why don't you and I go in the back?" the friendly girl at Andy's station suggested. "I think there's some snacks back there, right?"

Andy nodded and gave her the go ahead.

"Bucky," you whispered as you dared to look at him. A tear slid from your eye when you saw the murderous gaze on his handsome face. "I'm-"

Before you could register what was happening, he pulled your face toward his and kissed you. Fierce, yet gentle as he brushed the tear away with his thumb, you let him take the lead. A slow simmer of warmth crept into your cheeks as he parted your lips with his tongue and coaxed yours into his mouth. Your fingers twisted in his shirt as he deepened the kiss and shifted so you were pressed almost completely against him.

If this is how he kisses, he might actually kill me if we ever go further than that.

He breathed into your mouth as he stole the very oxygen from your lungs when he pulled away.

"Go in the back," he told you, his gaze dropping to your lips. Did he want to kiss you again or was it wishful thinking on your part? "I just need to take out the trash, finish up here, and I'll take you home, okay? I won't be long."

It was a feat that you didn't shed more years with how gently he spoke to you.

"Thank you," you whispered, unable to say much more.

"Let's check out that snack collection back there," you heard before you were pulled from Bucky's grasp.

You didn't look back at Richard when the girl tugged you away, but you heard a slight waver in his voice as yelled after you.

That's right. You should be afraid.

"Thank you," you said, wiping your eyes with your hand.

"No need to thank me. One of my good friends just got out of a bad relationship and I'm still a bit in my protective streak," she explained. "Are you okay?"

"I think so."

You tried to remember how Richard acted around other guys when the two of you dated. Had he been the jealous type and you just ignored it? Or did he only cause a scene because you showed him you wanted to move on?

Tess is going to flip when she hears about this.

"Well, whether they just throw him out on his ass or worse, he deserves it for what he said to you," she added before she told you her name. "Everyone calls me Sunny."

"He does," you agreed, introducing yourself as she handed you some water. "Bucky calls me Sugar."

"And you work in the bakery across the street?" she guessed.

"Co-owner," you said, the small talk calming you. "Do you work here or are you a client?" you asked, noticing that she didn't have any tattoos.

"New client. I work in an animal shelter," she smiled. "Grumpy out there is going to give me a sun tattoo."

"That's nice," you smiled back. It seemed fitting with her warm and bright presence. "I really do appreciate you bringing me back here."

It was somehow just as warm and inviting as the entrance, the couch worn and comfortable. You wondered how often Bucky came back here to relax and hang out in-between his appointments. Would he ever bring you back here if you stopped in to see him?

"I figured the amount of testosterone out there could be a bit overwhelming, but are you sure you're okay?"

"Other than being incredibly embarrassed, yeah."

Even though Richard was no longer your boyfriend, he just had to barrel back into your life and leave a mess in his wake.

"He's the one who should be embarrassed," Sunny said, wiggling her eyebrows. "Especially after seeing that kiss."

Your face warmed as you replayed it in your mind. The silver lining for showing up tonight was receiving such a passionate kiss from Bucky. It was difficult not to get swept up in the moment though and you told yourself it was likely just for show. A way for him to stick it to a guy who upset you.

Right?

"It was a really good kiss," you smiled.

"Oh, we all felt the heat. Trust me."

Both of you giggled until there was a soft knock on the door frame.

"Hey, Sugar. Trash is out on the curb," Bucky winked. "You ready to go home?"

Your heart fluttered as you smiled back. "Yeah, I'm ready."

You didn't live far away, but Bucky still insisted on taking you home. He even took you out the back way so you didn't have to see anyone. While he didn't specify exactly what happened with Richard, he assured you he wouldn't poke around either of your shops again. It made the drive home more pleasant knowing he looked out for you.

So much that you almost took his hand when he stopped outside of your place.

Almost.

"Thank you for everything," you said. "I'm really sorry about tonight."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. Not the first time we've dealt with assholes in the shop. Steve and I don't like bullies."

"I still feel bad," you said, wishing the feeling would go away.

"Please, don't," he whispered.

Your fingers twisted in your lap before you took a deep breath. "When you came into the bakery earlier today, I was going to ask you out," you told him, but refused to look at him. "But after that, it's probably a dumb idea. You shouldn't have to deal with that kind of trouble."

Maybe there's a better girl out there for you.

"You think one asshole ex is trouble?" he asked, leaning over to grasp your chin so you'd face him, goosebumps rising on your arms from his touch. "I can handle that."

"But what he said in your shop-"

"He did that to bring you down because he's an asshole. Guys like that don't want to see girls thrive without them."

You scoffed and mumbled, "I wonder what you'd think of my mom.

"I'm not afraid to stand up to anyone who tries to hurt you," he said, keeping a hold of your chin with a tender grip as your chest tightened. "You said you were gonna me ask out. Don't change your mind because of them."

"So, you really want to go on a date with me?" you asked.

"If I say 'yes', do I get to kiss you again?" he replied, running his thumb along your lower lip.

You were torn between sucking his thumb into your mouth or sinking into your seat. "Maybe we should get an actual date under our belts first. You only kissed me to prove a point or something."

Even if it felt like heaven.

"Or maybe I've been wanting to kiss you since I walked into your bakery and I want to kiss you again," he said, sliding his hand around to the back of your neck with ease. "Proving a point was an added bonus."

You looked at him wide eyed and subconsciously touched your lips. "Wait, you want to kiss me just because I asked you on a date?"

"I can give you a whole list of reasons," he said, his gaze flickering between your lips and your eyes. "And I'd love to go out with you. Friday night, Sugar?"

"It's a date, Hottie," you smiled when he leaned in.

But he didn't kiss your lips.

He brushed a kiss to your forehead, which somehow seemed more intimate.

"You had a rough evening. The next time I kiss you, I want it to because it's the right moment, just for the two of us," he explained when you furrowed your brows. "My girl deserves that."

A soft smile played at your lips as something warm welled up in your chest. He could have easily taken advantage of how vulnerable you felt by stealing another kiss, but he didn't. Even though you were into each other.

Going to see Bucky tonight was the right choice.

And you couldn't wait for your date.

Love them. Love the whole gang. Except Richard. Fuck that guy. And where are they going on that date? Check out What Dreams Are Made Of to see how Bucky is feeling. Love and thanks for reading! 💙

Masterlist ⚓ Bucky Barnes Masterlist ⚓ Ko-Fi

[aziraphales-library]

Hi there!! Hope you’re having a good day-

I was just wondering if you had any recs for some exes-to-lovers aziracrow fics??

Specifically any that are longer and multi-chapt, or maybe any that are human aus?? Any rating is fine.

Thanks a lot!

Check out our #reunion tag for loads more fics like this! Here are more to add to the collection...

Come, They Told Him by madrabbitgirl [E]

Crowley is having the comeback of a lifetime. He's been through rehab, he's playing arenas again and he's at the top of his game. Sure, he's burned some bridges along the way but everyone loves a second chance, right? He's not going to screw it up this time. Except, his new drummer Newt has contracted food poisoning and he can't afford to cancel his big show. Thankfully, Gabriel knows a guy who is very familiar with Crowley's ... body of work. And Crowley gets another second chance he never saw coming.

Stronger Than Hurt by TawnyOwl95 [E]

Everything changed the summer that Crowley fell off the Eastgate's garage roof and broke his arm.

Fourteen years later he stood outside a tattoo shop with a picture of the drawing Aziraphale Eastgate had done on his cast, and hoped for a second chance.

First Thing In The Morning by FeralTuxedo (E)

Aziraphale Fell, erstwhile nerd, now successful fantasy author, is signing books at this year’s Heaven and Earth convention when he spots a red-headed man in the crowd. Someone he hasn’t quite been able to forget since his school days. And as luck would have it, Anthony Crowley, former troublemaker, now responsible adult, seems keen to reconnect.

Love, Syncopation, and Other Key Elements of Jazz by feathereddino (T)

The jazz duo of A.J. and Fell are an unstoppable force well into their mid-twenties, but when Crowley's illness causes the pair to step back from the spotlight, an enterprising music manager scoops up Aziraphale's career. Dazzled, Aziraphale will abandon all of his former life to be Gabriel's perfect star but lose himself and his happiness along the way. It would take a very steady and forgiving heart for someone to love him through it all... (An ode to that ridiculous hat that Michael Sheen wears... seriously, that's where this came from.)

Dark Literature by UnproblematicMe (E)

Anthony J. Crowley, part owner of a large publishing company, is not happy when his partners hire his ex-lover Aziraphale Fell as an editor. Aziraphale does not exactly find the situation ideal either, but he needs the job. The two former lovebirds have to set their problems with each other aside when something dark and old awakes in the building they work in.

~Mods N & D

[abstractnaturaldisaster]

Steddie Flower Shop / Tattoo Parlor AU

I am so floored by the response! It is absolutely so fun that y’all want to read my silly stories! This is a relatively short update but I am working on the rest! Hoping to post the full story by Valentine’s and I might also post an AO3 link at some point if anyone would like that I Part One I Part Two I Also on AO3!

***

Chrissy and Eddie had been taking bets about what type of business was opening up across the way. Eddie’s guesses had run the gamut from hipster coffee shop to hipster hairdresser to hipster high-end taxidermy while Chrissy had more or less stuck with her original guess of a speakeasy style bar. Eddie was starting to close up shop for the day when some guy in an honest-to-god sweater vest and jeans ran over.

“It’s too late to place any orders today. Sorry if you need to apologize to your wife and 2.5 kids and forgot until the last minute.” Eddie had to admit the guy was pretty infuriatingly handsome. If you were in to normie core, that is.

“What? I’m not- okay, uhm. I’m actually here because I just rented the place across the way and I wanted to ask about setting up a recurring weekly arrangement?” Steve asked.

“What?” Eddie yelled over Judas Priest.

“It’s a wonder you can ever hear anything over all this noise.” Steve gestured towards the speaker.

Chrissy had overheard the exchange from the backroom and cut Eddie off before he could start ranting about real music, “Yes, we are interested in setting up a recurring weekly bouquet arrangement for our new neighbors, Eddie.” 

Chrissy turned back around to lower the speaker's volume and pulled Eddie and Steve into the shop and onto stools by the workbench Eddie uses for arranging. Eddie glared at her but they’d just lost one of their regular accounts to some online service that was apparently way cheaper than what De Lucas’ could offer.

“Sure. What were you thinking, dude?” Eddie asked Steve.

“Just something nice for our front desk. Not too big and maybe nothing that people are commonly allergic to? But I’ve seen the arrangements you load up for delivery and I trust your eye. I’m not a live flower expert.”

“Of course, big boy.” Eddie noticed Steve flush a little bit at the pet name. Eddie reached behind Steve to grab one of the flyers Chrissy had made for company floral services. He purposely invaded Steve’s space a little more than necessary just to see if he could get the guy to flush a little deeper.

“Uhm, thanks, man. I’ll get out of your hair since it’s late. Sorry.”

“I’ve got time for you now if you want to talk through anything,” Eddie couldn’t resist biting his lip a little bit. Steve was apparently very easy to ruffle and Eddie sure did love antagonizing his hipster neighbor. “Tell me a little bit about your place?”

“Oh, yeah, it’s a tattoo studio? Just me and my friend’s helping run the, like, business part of it.” Steve responded

“You tattoo?”

“Yeah. Really fucking well actually,” Steve pushed back. It seemed like Eddie had hit a nerve.

“Shouldn’t you have like at least one tattoo?” Eddie’s brain to mouth filter had apparently stopped working. He shouldn’t be actively shitting on a potential customer.

“Who says I don’t?” Steve answered with a wink. It was Eddie’s turn to feel a little faint as his imagination took a little too much creative liberty thinking about where Steve’s tattoo might be.

Thankfully, Chrissy took the awkward silence as an opportunity to step in and work with Steve to confirm what level of floral arrangement he was looking for, how often he wanted a new arrangement, and if he wanted pick up or delivery.

“I can stop by and pick them up. Wouldn’t want you to go through the trouble of adding me to your schedule since I’m just across the way. Any chance I could pick one up tomorrow around lunch time? My first client is coming at two.” Steve asked.

“Noon’s great, Steve!” Chrissy reached out to shake Steve’s hand while Eddie was still working on slowing his heart rate back to a reasonable rhythm.

“Amazing, thanks so much guys!” Steve called as he headed out of De Lucas’ and back across the street.

“Woah, Eddie. Truly a masterclass in both flirting and getting new clients. I should have taken notes,” Chrissy said once Steve had made it halfway into the road.

“Hey, fuck you.” 

“He speaks!” Chrissy patted Eddie’s head and added, “You’ll have to get better at interacting with him since you’ll be seeing each other once a week now.”

Eddie dramatically sighed and laid his upper body across the workbench, getting little pieces of flower refuse stuck in his hair.

“I’m so screwed.”

You wish, babe,” Chrissy cackled as she grabbed her bag and headed out for the day.

***

Part 4 now available here!

Taglist: @maya-custodios-dionach @eboyawstenn @swimmingbirdrunningrock @sadcanadianwinter @thehumblefigtree @throwbackthrowaway @micheledawn1975

I think I caught everyone! I seriously am so genuinely amazed by the reception! 

[neuronary]

concept: steddie florist/tattoo artist au with a side of no upside down

obviously eddie is the tattoo artist and steve is the florist. he and robin started working at the local florist after family video finally shut down (admittedly it made literally no money the entire time they worked there) and third time lucky, because it finally stuck. when the old lady that owned the florist died with no family to speak of, she left the two of them the shop and the apartment above it.

 robin never ended up going to college, despite having the equivelent of a linguistics degree in knowledge anyway, which was always a contentious issue between steve and robin. (she doesn't give a flying fuck how much he believed in her; she was barely scraping 'B's throughout her high school career and college was never in the cards for her.) so they stuck around in hawkins. they watched the kids graduate (and endured a ridiculous amount of teasing from said kids over the whole florist thing), they grew up into proper grown ups who did taxes, and they grew an enormous garden in the mean time.

and then 1993 rolls around and a tattoo parlour opens up down the street. which. huh. sure. not something either of them would have expected, but hawkins has gained a pretty significant goth tourist population given the whole 'cursed' thing ("it's not exploitative if the 'creepy' pressed flower frames are profiting off of our own trauma, dingus") so maybe it'll work out for the guy, who knows. and then steve bumps into said guy while doing the daily sandwich run and robin did not warn him that he was hot. which is because robin is a little bit preoccupied with the fact that her second (and least embarrassing) high school crush, chrissy cunningham, is back in town following the death of her mother, and has somehow become even more of a fucking smokeshow and did steve see that violets pin on her jacket does that mean what robin thinks it means holy shit steve holy shit. and cue them both being gay disasters.

chrissy hightailed it out of hawkins the second she graduated, which everyone assumed was because of the whole creel debacle. whilst she still keeps in contact with the other victims (patrick sends her letters from his apartment in chicago, max calls from california every so often, fred, may he rest in peace, occupies her nightmares), she avoids any mention of hawkins like the plague. people will stare no matter where she is, wondering about what could have happened to leave her looking the way she does. but chrissy has always been a smiler, and that goes a long way to making friends in a big city. new york started out lonely and expensive but she slowly, painstakingly found her people in the greenwich village. in 1993, after seven years of screening her calls and refusing to speak to her mother, the call finally comes. she’s dead. it’s really over. now she just has to plan a funeral and figure out how to feel about that. she always thought she’d have more time but the cards didn’t fall that way.

eddie needed to get out and start his own shop, after finally feeling like he actually knew what he was doing and, well. his uncle wayne is getting on in years, and disgraced queers have to stick together right? so eddie packs up his kit and his guitar and he moves back to hawkins. (he does not think fondly of his three year stint in high school there, fucking off to indy to start a band when he flunked senior year.) he sinks all his savings into a storefront on main street and sleeps in the back office because who’s gonna kick him out, exactly? and then it starts going... better than he expected, actually. there’s this gang of college twerps home for the summer that all want matching fucking demogorgons of all things, and the fiery redhead girl wants the hand and eye of vecna for god knows what reason. there is also, as he predicted, a steady flow of vacationing goths, conspiracy theorists, and true crime enthusiasts that want souvenirs inked into their skin. so eddie makes good money. at least that’s a balm for the undying shame and indignation he has over crushing on steve fucking harrington, king of the douchebags from hawkins high, now a stupid twunk-y florist with an easy smile and a thin, almost unnoticeable scar running across his stupid kissable lips.

it’s fine, eddie and steve both complain to their respective agony aunts. wayne grunts and goes back to sleep. robin invites chrissy up for some homegrown weed to take the edge off of the funeral prep.

[author-ssi]

Expectancy ~KTH

{Part I}

➜Pairing: Kim Taehyung x OC

➜Genre: Soulmate AU, Fluff, (Slight) Angst, (Slight) Smut, Series

Warnings: None for this part

➜Word Count: 2k

➜Summary: The first words soulmates ever speak to one another are written on each other's body - and those very first words immensely daunt famous CEO Kim Taehyung, to the point he's dreading to meet his own soulmate.

Kim Taehyung

"I hate you"

It is believed that 'hate' is a strong word and Taehyung has come to share that belief to his very core. Ever since he dicovered its meaning, he has been contemplating on the weight such a word might carry. Usually it is used to express contempt, sometimes it can even be used to tease somebody. The second manner would be okay, however, it's the first one Taehyung has always dreaded. Can one blame him though? Any sane person would worry knowing that the first words their soulmate addresses to them could be those of hatred. Letting out a long sigh, he glances at his wrist wriggling aside his expensive watch to reveal the phrase tattooed on his skin in cursive. "Will you really hate me?", he wonders to himself leaning back in the leather chair at his office. To say he has done his absolute best to prevent those words from being hostile was a given. Aside from the values he's received from his upbringing, Taehyung had always tried to be kind and gentle to everyone he's met over the course of the years. One would call it 'pretend' if it weren't for the fact that Taehyung was genuinely a nice person, to begin with. That's why, he found it even more unbelievable that his soulmate of all people would direct those words towards him, in the first place. To the eyes of many women, Taehyung was seen as a real catch; a confident young man with an intimidating aura, a successful CEO with dashingly good looks, often wearing a serious, blank expression on his face and occasionally shooting sharp, intense stares. Perhaps, it may be the rumours of his overall demeanour and not his actual character that will displease her. That, he could handle...

From the top of the skyscraper where his personal office is, Taehyung averts his gaze to the view of the city's sprawl through the glass windows. His signature blank expression takes over his face but his mind is far from blank at the moment. Luckily, the thoughts swirling in his head are put to a stop at the sound of his mobile ringing.

"Hello?"

"Ah Taehyungie! Are we still on for tonight?"

"Yes, I'll be coming once I'm off from work..."

"Great! Could you perhaps bring some desserts? Our little Ae-cha has cravings"

"Anything for my cute little girl! I'll stop by a store to get something on my way there"

"Thank you so much Taetae! Take care! See you tonight!"

Placing the phone back in his pocket with a small smile, Taehyung briefly relishes that fact that at least he's got the two of them in his life. Sharing a bond with him that likens the one of a soulmate and being part of such a lovely family are what have kept Taehyung comforted whenever he gets desperate or depressed at the idea of never meeting, or worse, being hated by his soulmate. Sometimes, he can't help the guilt of being lulled into feeling content with this kind of settlement but, at the end of the day, he's only human - and humans dread ending up alone.

----

Leaving work a couple hours later in high spirits, the eligible CEO gets in his GV80 and drives off. On the road, he takes glances at the off-street shops searching for the one suitable to satisfy little Ae-cha's cravings. Finally spotting a decent looking bakery, Taehyung parks his car and starts getting ready to head inside. Since he doesn't want to go through the trouble of being recognised by anyone, he opts to wear a white mask and a pair of colour-matched earbuds. Entering the small bakery with a chime in the door, he looks around only to notice a single employee decorating some patbingsoo in the oven room. With a slight shrug, he begins his search to select the perfect option of a dessert for Ae-cha. Settling on some hotteok, he heads over to the check-out seeing that the female employee has returned in order to service him. To his surprise though, he can't seem to overlook the dark brunette employee in front of him. Clear, brown eyes meet his own as he hands her over the pack of hotteok. Slim, long fingers fiddle around placing the package inside a bag while he's just left observing actions. No words are spoken between them, which Taehyung attributes to the fact that the mask, the earbuds and his signature blank look don't exactly make him look like the most approchable person at the moment. After handing over the amount of money commensurate for the price of the product, he forces himself to just take the bag and leave. However, having no intention of ever neglecting his good manners, before he exits, Taehyung turns slightly around to face the female employee and utters with a small bow, "Goodnight". He would be lying to himself if he didn't admit that this girl caught his eye. But since he has no intention of further falling out with his soulmate, he's not going to make a move on any other girl. Shutting the bakery's door behind him, he's about to head over to his car but instead he's interrupted by the sound of the door's chime, that's being opened and then shut once again. Before even getting the chance to turn around, the words Taehyung has been both dreading and desiring to hear his whole life are being yelled furiously at him, "I hate you!".

Kang Mi-rae

"Goodnight"

A phrase so commonly used it barely holds any special meaning to everyone but Mi-rae... Since these will be her soulmate's very first words to her. In the beginning, she was worried; if she was going to hear that word almost every day in her life, how could she know which was coming from her soulmate? However, that worry was long gone the moment the phrase was uttered to her by a random classmate of hers during primary school. Despite him having said the exact word tattooed on the skin of her mid-thigh in cursive, Mi-rae was not the least bit alerted. That's how she realised that the word would hold true meaning only when spoken to her by her own soulmate. So, she went on with her life constanly dreaming and longing to meet her one and only, the love of her life, her soulmate... And days turned into months and months turned into years with Mi-rae threading her way through all kinds of struggles withour her soulmate by her side. Her faith on meeting him, though, had always provided her with the strength and comfort she needed to pull through them all. Her thoughts were always consumed and centered around finding him. Everytime she visited a new place or met new people, all she could think about was "Could he be here?", "Could he be the one?". One would say she was starting to get obsessed, but she had honestly tried not to put too much thought into it. But how could she not constantly look for her other half when she knew he's somewhere out there?

Growing up with watching rom-coms and reading romance novels, Mi-rae had long since prepared herself for her love story and her eagerness to experience it has never ceased. However, her patience had started to grow thinner and thinner as time kept going by and she was left to watch all the girls around her find their soulmates. Soon, her unfulfilled yearning gave way to frustration and bitter thoughts.

Is love that hard to find in this world?

Or does it come only when you don't look for it?

But how can I not look for it?

How can I let it go and move on with my life until someday I 'accidentally' come across it?

I need it now!

If I ever meet my soulmate I'll tell him that I hate him!

I hate him for not showing up earlier, I hate him for not showing up when I needed him most, I hate him for not taking care of me when he should have, I hate him for not being my shoulder to cry on, I hate him for- I just hate him!

I'll make sure to tell him that!

----

It is yet another chilly evening with Mi-rae working at her family's bakery. The small shop, well-known in the area, was passed down to one generation after the other and truthfully, Mi-rae was content with being part of the family business. Ever since she was little, she always accompanied her parents and helped them with their work at the bakery; from making soboro bread with her dad to decorating patbingsoo with her mum. She never had great aspiration in terms of a career even if she excelled at school and had the potential to study both law and medical sciences alike. On the contrary, Mi-rae desired a different and simple life; all she wanted was to have a loving family someday. She dreamt of that 'happily ever after' with her caring husband and their sweet children. Unfortunately though, without her soulmate, that dream will always be out of reach... With her tenth frustrated sigh, today, triggered by thoughts of her soulmate, she withdraws to the oven room and starts decorating some patbingsoo in order to cheer herself up. Not long after, the chime of the door from the bakery's entrance notifies her of a customer's arrival. Finishing up the last touches and placing the desserts inside the refrigerator, she heads up to the check-out waiting for the customer while slightly yet rhythmically tapping her hands on the counter.

When a tall, golden blond-haired man enters her line of vision, her tapping halts as she's about to greet him. However, be it the fact that he's wearing earbuds or that he's avoiding eye contact with her, she hesitates to do so. Simply taking the pack of hotteok he selected, she puts it in a bag after a quick scan of its bar code. Opening her mouth to state its price, she's once again silenced by him handing her the exact amount of money required. Mi-rae had dealt with rude and ignorant customers before and it had always consisted of her giving them a stern yet good-natured scolding to the point they apologised to her for their behaviour. This time, however, it was different. Observing the blank expression on this man's face, feeling his intimidating aura, glimpsing at his intense brown orbs; she couldn't bring herself to properly address him, let along snap at him. Therefore, without the both of them having uttered a single word to one another, she watches as the subdued man begins to walk out of her bakery. Letting out a breath she didn't realise she was holding back, she's about to return to her patbingsoo decorating when suddenly the sound of a certain familiar word reaches her ears, "Goodnight". Halting her step with her lips parting, a wide-eyed Mi-rae finds herself almost unable to comprehend what she just heard. Consumed by a world-shaking feeling, the phrase ringing in her ears over and over, she bolts towards the exit of the bakery.

It's him.

My... My actual...

My actual SOULMATE!

IT'S HIM!

It feels as if she is running in slow motion whereas her thoughts are running wild at the speed of light. She's finally met her soulmate! The one who's going to love and cherish her unconditionally! The one she's going to spend the rest of her days with, share a family with! The life she has always dreamt of is now within her reach! Euphoria wells up inside her at these thoughts yet the bitter memories from the past instantly catch up to her. All the times she cried over the loneliness she felt by his absence. Her hopes of meeting him getting shattered day after day with no sign of him. She suffered from that emptiness her whole life... All because he wasn't there, beside her! Once out of the bakery, Mi-rae doesn't need to think of the first thing she is going to say to her soulmate. Glaring at his back with tears appearing at the corner of her eyes, she lets out all the frustration she had in store for him in a single phrase, "I hate you!".

[demonichikikomori]

Yo! I would LOVE to see you do the tongue piercing headcanons or the staff and non-NRC students. (heck even throw Rollo in there if you want!) we need more Readers with piercings that aren't just their ears! Love you fam! have a great night!

SUGGESTIVE CONTENT AHEAD!

Yo back to ya!

I honestly love thinking about a very delicate and gentle Yuu…

With a face full of metal and arms full of tattoos.

I love thinking that Yuu came to this world as maybe a frequenter of body mod shops and is looking for them in Twst… I mean. Something like that must exist right? Leona has a tattoo after all. No way it was something he just had done in the palace basement haha.

Maybe one day I’ll write an AU! where the pristine and clean Neige LeBlanche is hiding tattoos under that cardigan and crisp uniform of his. Che’nya is his professional artist, that’s why he attends school in the first place… But for now, let’s just see our other Twst characters:

Tongue Tied or Traumatized?! v.2

Tongue Tied or Traumatized v.1

NRC Staff

Dire Crowley

He was talking with you about the future budget of your already pocket change allowance. You’ve done a good job, and maybe he could show you some generosity! However, when you began to speak, he was suddenly distracted…

“I see, I see…”

Dire Crowley has lived for a very long time. Yet, he has never seen such an adornment before!

He chose not to say anything as he watched your mouth move, eyeing the piercing embedded in the flesh of your tongue.

He was like a bird eyeing something shiny, you had to snap your fingers in front of his face to get a response from him. Why isn’t he listening?!

After you finished and left in a huff, the Headmage silently thought about the piercing you had. Should he bring it up in conversation next time?

Maybe not.

Divus Crewel

He held you after class because you nearly fell asleep and landed in your cauldron headfirst! Had he not come to grab you, your head would be replaced with a flower! He was scolding you, asking if things were okay since you were sleeping during such a dangerous class. And when you opened your mouth with an excuse prepared, he noticed the tongue piercing.

He was kind enough to let you explain yourself, but he wasn’t really a fan of you saying you stayed up late to watch movies with Ace and Deuce.

Divus believes that you’re lying now that he sees you have a tongue piercing. And with two boys over?

Crewel doesn’t mean to paint you in such a light, but, he’s been around the block a few times. And it’s not often a tongue piercing is used just for decor.

And you had two boys in your dorm? Late at night? Something doesn’t sound right about that. Just watching movies? Sure.

“Don’t let it happen again.”

He decides to drop it with a roll of his eyes and he sends you out of his class.

Mostly because now he’s imagine how you would react if he gave you a new piece of jewelry after class instead of a scolding.

But he’s your teacher, and you are his student. That wouldn’t be too appropriate. Now would it?

Mozus Trein

He was helping you after classes with some homework you didn’t understand. You were like one of his children, he didn’t mind helping you at all but when you groaned in exhaustion, he eyed your tongue with shock.

“What is in your mouth? Spit it out.”

He wasn’t sure what to actually say to you about the piercing. Where did you even get that? Who did that to you? Did you choose to get that piercing?!

You weren’t sure what he was talking about as he demanded you open your mouth. And you did.

Mozus felt like he might faint, oh great seven… What kind of self mutilation rituals are kids up to these days?! Is something happening that caused you to get that piercing?!

You explained to him that you got it because it looked cool, that’s all, nothing was happening at home with Grim or in your old world.

He started to relax, wondering if maybe his daughters knew something about this kind of fashion… He doesn’t understand it…

But if you like it, Mozus Trein will learn to love it.

Ashton Vargas

You got slammed in the face with a basketball while helping out the club. All of the boys crowded around you apologetically as Coach Vargas came over with a bag of ice and ushered them away. Then, he noticed your mouth.

He wanted to ask you about the tongue piercing, but right now your nose was bruising and he isn’t in the mood to file an incident report if he doesn’t have to.

He did add in the rules that you shouldn’t wear jewelry during class, but, technically you were helping out the club after classes so he can’t get too angry. Especially at you.

“Did you bite your tongue?”

He asked and you shook your head, your face burned from what he assumed was the pain. Not because he was babying you by holding ice to your face and making sure you were okay.

He scolded the boys into going back to practice as he held the ice to your face and would check for blood as you quietly sat in front of him on the bench, looking at him kneeled in front of you.

He quietly told you not to wear your piercing during class. You could’ve bit down on it and cracked your tooth after getting hit in the face. Please be more mindful!

"Sam"

You would occasionally skip class to peruse Sam’s shop. Seeing the strange things he had in stock, or “borrow” snacks he said would be going bad soon. He didn’t want them to go to waste. The two of you were talking, well, you were talking and sharing a bag of skull shaped cookies. Sam was just listening and watching you with a smile.

Sam saw your tongue piercing. He thought it looked good on you!

Maybe he could convince you to buy a few new pieces of jewelry! He has everything you could ever want! And more!

Maybe he could get you to wear a few so he could promote jewelry! He needs more sales!

Sam lets you finish talking as the school bell rings in the distance, watching you sigh in disappointment and dropping a cookie back into the bag.

“Why don’t you stay a little longer and chat with me? I can speak with the teachers about you helping me when I needed it.”

Sam didn’t want you to leave just yet. Taking care of the shop got lonely from time to time, and he needs to convince you to try on a few things for him before you decided to actually leave.

RSA Boys

Neige LeBlanche

Neige loved hanging out with you when you had free time. The weekends were truly his favorites. He met up with you in the town on the island and asked you if it was okay to take pictures of your “friend date”. You of course agreed and he got a really good one of you laughing.

“You have a tongue piercing?”

He was shockingly blunt as he zoomed in on the picture of you, eyeing your mouth with shock.

You stuck out your tongue to show him and he gasped with even wider eyes.

Neige is asking even more questions now, closing in on you as he looked over your mouth and the shiny piercing embedded into the soft muscle. He thought it looked cool!

He didn’t say much after as he took more and more pictures to save for memories. He walked you back to Night Raven College and assured you that he would be happy to hang out again next weekend.

The next time you saw Neige…

He opened his mouth to show you a glittering piercing with a jewel resting on his tongue. Your birthstone was the jewel in the center.

Che'nya

He had snuck on campus to visit you. He was lonely at school and wanted to skip! Good thing you were in your dorm! Che’nya walked into your room, seeing you change your tongue piercing with something new.

“Oh? Oh! Oh?!”

His ears perked up with excitement as he rushed over to you, circling around to see if you had any other piercings he hasn’t seen yet.

A tongue piercing… He thought about getting one too. Maybe this is a sign of sorts!

He’s asking you all sorts of questions, leaving hardly any room to actually answer them as you screwed the piercing into place.

Che’nya’s eyes were so big as he cupped your chin in his hand, trying to get a better look inside your mouth.

Once he asked you if he could give it a test run, you shoved him away. Watching with a frown as he faded into giggling mist.

Che’nya at least apologized before leaving.

Nobel Bell College

Rollo Flamm

Rollo was happy that you came to speak with him again after what happened. What a kind soul you are! As you went walking through the flowers, you commented on his eye bags and reached out towards him. Cupping his face, he had no choice but to look you in the eyes as you spoke. Or… Now he’s looking at your mouth.

Rollo was no idiot. He knows of the evils and sin that comes with body modifications!

What possibly could you be using that filthy piercing for?! Certainly nothing good! He knows it deep down, that piercing was used for acts of seduction! That’s what you got it for… To seduce him! He won’t let himself be fooled!

He chooses not to say anything to you as he pulls away from your grasp, narrowing his eyes as he turns away.

Rollo quietly covers his mouth with his handkerchief and suggests that the two of you continue your walk. He’s fine.

But that doesn’t keep his mind from wandering with this new information.

It’s your fault… You chose to get that piercing so he could see it! He will blame you for anything that happens in the future. It’s not his fault!

[fuckyeahgoodomensfanfic]

Good Omens Fic Rec: Ink Blots and Forget-Me-Nots

Ninth Circle Ink was hardly more than a stone’s throw from the flower shop; Aziraphale knew from past experience that it took less than thirty seconds to go from door to door (forty-five if you had to wait for a car to pass). It had been a perfect arrangement in the beginning, when they were just starting out. Owning a flower shop across the street from your boyfriend's tattoo parlor is fun and adorable. Owning a flower shop across the street from your ex-boyfriend's tattoo parlor? Not so much.

Length: 42,373 Words

AO3 Rating: Teen and Up

Best for: Safe in Public, Slow Burn, Slight Angst, Human AU

Triggers: None

Read it here, fic by gutsandglitter

*Minor Spoilers* This story was written in 2019 but reading it now after season two...hm..extra ouch. In this Human AU, Crowley and Aziraphale were together for 14 years before separating and still own shops across from each other. The perspective changes from present to past and we slowly learn what happened to them. It's devastating at times, learning something from their history and then coming back to Aziraphale's present day heartache. It's so heavy on him. It's primarily an Aziraphale point of view, yet you'll still be able to pick up on Crowley's feelings very clearly. Of course Aziraphale misses all the signs, it's a fanfic after all. No romance brain cells allowed here folks.

Internalized homophobia is one of our main themes here. It's something all of us LGBT people know intimately, and I'm sure we've all had experiences that mirror Aziraphale's and Crowley's in this. Fear, shame, having to hide, being hidden. It's heartbreaking but cathartic to read a story that knows this feeling and doesn't villainize Aziraphale for his actions here. He may blame himself, but the story doesn't.

It's not all gloom though! The present day is filled with scenes with The Them, Anathema, and Madame Tracy that I really enjoyed. I love Adam's matchmaker schemes and how it never goes to plan. In the past, the original character of Elsie was one of my favorite parts of the entire story. She was the original owner of the shop Aziraphale now runs and becomes family to our boys. It was such a wonderful and heartfelt found family story line to go along with their new found family in the present. While there is a lot of heartache in this story, there is also so much love!

Completely safe in public. It'll break your heart a bit, but it's ends on a very good note and I wouldn't classify this as angst. Slight angst yeah, but it's not depressing. Well....2004 is a bit depressing....good luck with 2004....

Read it here, fic by gutsandglitter

[avatarmerida]

A Sleeve of Flowers

This is my attempt at a Huntlow Flower Shop x Tattoo Shop AU. There’s no real plot just like a fluff meet cute I guess? It kind of got away from me. it’s also very long for something with no plot lol but oh well If you see any spelling errors no you didn’t

---

Willow looked around the shop in wonder. Every inch of the walls were covered in something; art, pictures of past intricate tattoos, vintage posters of a books series she remembered Gus loved to read, clever memes Luz had clearly made. It was a vast collection of seemingly random things that came together to create the feeling of being inside a collage. She was so distracted by admiring the walls she didn’t notice the boy had entered until she heard him hit the ground. 

“Can I- woah!”

Willow looked up to the sound and  quickly looked down to see the source, a blonde boy in a jean jacket laying on the floor clearly embarrassed. What she didn’t know was that he had fallen because he was too busy staring at her to watch where he was going.

“Are you Caleb?” she asked with a smile as she offered him her hand. He looked at the girl before him utterly bewildered, she just looked so… classic. Her long black hair pulled into two perfect braids, her rounded golden glasses complimented the light green of her eyes and the matching color in her dress lined with small white flowers which she paired with an emerald sweater. She was a bright spot in the usual dark location Hunter could blame his distraction on how she managed to fit right in and stand out at the same time.

“Caleb? Oh! Because of the name! Of the shop!” he muttered as took her hand and rose to his feet, answering after what felt like hours. “No, no I-I’m Hunter.”

“Oh, Luz’s brother,” said Willow, recalling the hundreds of photos Luz had shown her. They didn’t do him justice, he was much taller in person and less blurry. And kinda cute. She shook that last thought from her mind and shook her his hand, maybe a little too enthusiastically. “I’m Willow Park.”

“Willow?” repeated Hunter, as her strong grip shook his whole body. 

“That’s me.”

“Like, Luz’s Willow?”

“Well, that’s not exactly what it says on my birth certificate but I’ll take it,” laughed Willow. “I guess  you're the Hunter she’s always trying to set me up with then?”

“S-set you up with?”

“Yeah, I told her I wanted to do a sleeve of flowers and she said that’s your specialty so she’s been trying to line up our schedules for weeks now.”

“Oh! Like, set up an appointment,” said Hunter. “Duh, obviously.”

“I keep putting it off and with Valentine’s Day around the corner, my shop’s only gonna get busier so when she said you had an opening I thought it must be fate!”

“Your shop?”

“Oh yeah, I work across the street actually,” she said. “Willow’s Wallflowers.”

“That… makes alot of sense actually,” said Hunter, embarrassed to not have made the connection sooner. “That’s why Luz goes there so much on her lunch break.”

“You’re welcome to join us for lunch if you want,” said Willow, looking down and realizing they were still holding hands  though the hand shake had already ended. Hunter pulled his hand back,embarrassed, and cleared his throat as he led her to his chair.

“Well we usually take separate lunch breaks so there’s always someone in the shop,” said Hunter as motioned for her to sit as he prepped the needles.

“Well, I can take a long lunch if you ever want some company,” said Willow, removing her cardigan and making herself comfortable. “I'm sure my boss won’t mind.” 

“Well I would hate for you… I mean if you’re sure…” Hunter stammered to respond before the dots finally connected. “Oh, it’s you. Y-you’re your own boss.”

“Bingo.” she said with a wink. “I’m actually celebrating one year of being my own boss, so I’m getting the tattoo as kind of a present to myself.”

“Oh, well congrats.” said Hunter. “I’m honored to be a part of the celebration. So Luz showed me the sun-.” he stopped, noticing her bare arms. She was more muscular than he had anticipated and that had never been an issue for him before, but something about seeing this muscle paired with her smile and overall nature like demeanor made his stomach spin. He had a feeling this girl could easily hoist him over her shoulder and for some reason he was very into the idea. But that was not a professional thought. “... flower. The sunflower you wanted. A sunflower. This one.”

 He held up the drawing he had made earlier that day, wondering if he had known who it was for if he would’ve spent more time on it. It was perfect, he was confident of that, but somehow he felt she deserved more than perfect. 

“Yup”  she confirmed with a wide smile. “On my shoulder.”

“Perfect, great choice,” he said as he placed the stencil over the spot and began tracing, trying to be toilet normal about how close he had to be to her. “Is this your first tattoo?”

She nodded. “Maybe it’s a cliche, I’m sure you do alot of flower tattoos right?”

“Well, mostly roses if I'm being honest,” he said. 

“Ugh, roses,” groaned Willow. ‘Don’t get me wrong, they’re great, but Valentine's Day is nonstop roses, as though people don’t think other flowers can be romantic. My backroom is nothing but roses right now.  And for what? They sit in a vase until they- sorry, I’m rambling.”

“No, no it’s fine, we have a similar stance on roses.” he chuckled as he removed the stencil to make sure she was pleased with the placement. She gave her approval and Hunter began the actual tattooing process. She winced slightly when the needle touched her skin, but nothing like his usual clientele reacted, Hunter was impressed, They sat in silence for awhile before Willow spoke again.

“So, are you busy on Valentine’s Day?” she asked.

“Uh… no I’m single,” he said, wiping off some excess ink. “I’ve got a perfect record of 25 Valentine-less  Valentines days.”

“I meant the shop,” she said with a coy smile, not displeased with the answer. “Lot of couples getting matching tattoos I imagine.”

“Oh! Oh, yeah of course,” he chuckled nervously. Why would she ask about him? They had just met. She was his client, he needed to be professional. “Uh, yeah. This year is extra busy because Valentine’s Day falls on a Saturday so that means the day before is Friday the 13th which gets us a line out the door.”

“Oh yeah, you do like $13 tattoos right?”

“Yeah, anything off my flash sheet,” he said, reaching into his pocket to pull out a copy. “This is mine for this year, it’s mostly birds and wolves and some nature stuff. Luz’s does better, she does like creepy stuff that people really like.”

“Well, thank you for not making my flower creepy.” said Willow with a smile.

“Well, no promises on the next one,” he said with a smug smile. “That’s a joke, I’d never give you a tattoo you wouldn’t like. Not on purpose. I mean, that’s why we do consultations and tracings first so you-.”

“Hey, don’t worry it looks great,” said Willow, admiring her shoulder. “When I come back to add the color, would you be able to start another flower?”

“Oh, yeah sure let’s get you booked up,” he said, practically flying from his seat to the counter. “He flipped to his calendar to find the soonest date possible. Which was his usual process, it wasn't because he wanted to see her again as soon as possible or something.

“Um, how about Tuesday? Same time?”

“Sounds good,” Willow said with a smile. Hunter jotted her name down. “Oh, and here,” she said, reaching into her purse to pull out a card and a pen and quickly jotted something on the back. “Here’s my number just in case you wanna call me outside business hours.”

“Oh, cool,” he said, taking  it from her and admiring the card. It was simple, the border a delicate vines littered with flowers and the I and o in her name were sunflowers, clearly her signature flower. As he went it tack it on the board, Willow reached back into her purse to pull out a collection of bills and handed it to him.

“Oh, Luz said you already paid,” he said, handing her back the cash.

“Well then consider it a tip,”

“That’s way too generous of a tip, it defeats the whole purpose of a friend's discount.”

“Oh please, she gave me well over the usual friend discount,” said Willow, placing the bills back in his hands. “And we went well over my allotted time, I refuse to be the reason for your small business’s demise. Take it.”

“Fine,” he said begrudgingly, taking the money. “But I’m applying it towards your next flower.”

“Fine,” she said with a dramatic sigh. “Then I guess I’ll just have to find another way to tip you for your services.”

She winked at him before walking out the door and Hunter prayed to every deity above that she didn’t see the blush he knew was covering his face.

---

“So how did your session with Willow go?” Luz asked as she strolled into the shop after dropping off Amity at the bookstore.

“Fine,” said Hunter, pretending he was too focused on finishing a sketch in his notebook to give a more detailed answer. 

“Just fine?” prompted Luz, knowing him well enough to know there was more. Hunter groaned and set his pencil down.

“Yeah, we have another appointment on Tuesday.” he replied, still not looking up.

“Yeah, she sent me a pic,” said Luz, sipping her soda. “It’s gotta be some of your best work. It’s gonna look so rad when it’s done. Looks like you two will be spending alot of time together.”

“Guess so.”

“You cool with that?”

Hunter sighed, clearly frustrated and Luz smiled; she was hoping for this reaction.

“Why didn’t you tell me your friend was so cute?” Hunter demanded as though she had omitted to tell him he was walking into a bear trap. 

“Um, I definitely did tell you that, several times.”

“Well, you call possums cute and Amity, how am I supposed to trust your judgment?”

“Rude,” said Luz, not taking it too much to heart as she sat on the chair across from him, putting up her feet and making herself comfortable. “But you like her, right?”

“She’s a great client,” Hunter said, not taking the bait. “She has a high pain tolerance.”

“You like her muscles don’t you?” Luz said with a smug grin and the scarlet color that took over his face was the only response she needed. He gathered his things in a huff and went to the back before she could lure any other embarrassing truths out of him.

---

“So how did you get into the tattooing business?” asked Willow the next week as Hunter was at work on her orchid.

“Oh, well actually it was because I wanted to get a tattoo removed,” he chuckled.

“Really?”

“Yeah,” he said, focusing on the details of the petals. “Before Camila adopted me, I lived with my uncle. And he wasn’t the best caretaker. He let me get a tattoo when I was 14, which is illegal and I would never do by the way. So after I got out of there and  realized how toxic that living situation  was it just reminded me of him so I wanted to get it removed. But the removal process is almost worse than the process of getting it, so Camila suggested we cover it. I drafted some ideas and the Owl Lady, who became Luz’s mentor actually, somehow managed to take the ugly sigil and turn it into this.” he held out his wrist and showed Willow the tiny cardinal that rested on his wrist. She never would have guessed it covered anything, it looked as though it was meant to be there. “And ya know I was really into drawing and I'm not squeamish so it worked out. Sorry it’s not the best story.”

“Are you kidding? That’s so sweet ” smiled Willow. “And then you got Luz into it too? A real family business.”

“Yeah, some distant relative left me the building in their will,” continued Hunter. “It used to be a restaurant and we turned into a parlor but we kept the name. It was a nice font.”

“It is a nice font,” Willow agreed and for some reason that made Hunter’s stomach flip. He thought he could control the feeling if he avoided asking certain questions. 

‘So what about you? H-how did you get into flowers?”

“Well, I was a flower in a past life,” said Willow simply. Hunter stopped his work and looked at her skeptically. “I’m kidding.” she said with an airy giggle that made him feel lightheaded.

“Oh, yeah of course,” he said and went back to work. 

“I just like flowers I guess, it’s not as good of a story as yours, sorry,” she said. “There’s just so many layers, ya know? There’s so many different types and they all mean different things. They’re good company I guess.”

“Just like you,” he said quietly.

“What was that?”

“Uh…  just like your tattoo! Which is done!” he said nervously, and Willow turned her arm to admire his work. 

“You’ve done it again Noceda,” she beamed, in utter awe of the latest addition. “It’s absolutely stunning.”

“Just like you,” he said, this time not quiet and he did not attempt to cover it up. Willow smiled as he carefully wrapped the new piece, able to marvel at this closeness without worry of distracting him. 

---

“You don’t have to keep giving me the discount just because I’m Luz’s friend,” said Willow as went to pay for the latest addition. “That should only apply if she’s doing it.”

“Well then how about I give it to you because you’re my friend?” he said bashfully.

“Well, I don’t want you to think I’m just your friend for the discounted tattoos,” she said sweetly, trying to hide her thrill at his suggestion.

“Well the honor is more mine, I’d say,” he said offering her crooked, toothy grin

“How many other people get the ‘Hunter’s friend’ discount?” Willow asked, leaning forward in the counter, resting her chin on her hand. 

“Well you’re actually the first,” he admitted with a nervous chuckle. 

“Do… girlfriends get a discount too?”

“Hm? Oh yeah, Luz gives Amity a discount but her tattoos are kind of boring if I’m being honest.”

“And you’d prefer a girlfriend who gets interesting tattoos?”

“I mean, she’s okay and they’re happy so I don’t think-,” he stopped himself as he looked at her flirtatious grin and felt like he had stumbled into a larger question. “Oh, you meant for me?”

She nodded.

“Well I-I don’t, ya know it doesn’t even matter,” he laughed. “I already have plans for Valentine's Day, can’t imagine any girlfriend  would like that too much.”

“Kinda nice to know we’re both in the same boat for Valentine's Day though, huh?”

---

“Welcome to Willow’s Wallflowers! How can I -oh, hi Hunter!” she beamed when she saw who had entered her doorway. She set down the pot she held and rushed over to greet him. He gave her a timid wave as he marveled at her shop. It was brighter than his shop, there were more windows which meant more sunlight which the flowers obviously loved. It smelled amazing. He recognized it, the same smell lingered in her hair when she would come by for her sessions. Not that he smelled her hair, that was unprofessional.

“Wow it’s… beautiful in here,” he said in awe.

“Thanks!” she said. She wanted to say ‘It’s more beautiful now that you’re here,’ but she was on the clock and that was unprofessional. “How can I help you?”

“Oh, no,” he said. ‘Well, maybe? But no, actually I had a last minute cancellation and I was wondering if you’d be interested in taking the slot? Do another session during your lunch? Maybe add that Chrysanthemum?”

“Oh, I’d love that,” she said. “You are so sweet to think of me; but I had to skip breakfast this morning  for an early delivery so if I skip lunch I might pass out.”

“Oh, yeah no don’t do that,” he said. “Um that’s fine, we can’t keep your regular appointment no big deal.”

“Well what about you? Have you eaten yet?”

“Uh, no I had this scheduled during my lunch so I was just gonna grab a protein shake or something between sessions.”

“Well, how about you keep that time slot open and we have a little lunch date? My treat.” said Willow with a  wink. Did she wink at everyone or just him? He never knew what to make of it.

“Oh, well don’t you usually meet with Luz? We still stagger our times so-.”

“Nah, she ditched me for a lunch date with Amity,” she said with a fake pout and Hunter couldn’t help but notice she had used the word to describe Amity and Luz, a couple, having  lunch as she did to them having lunch. Did that mean something or was it just a common turn of phrase that he was reading too much into? “So it’ll be just you and me.”

He decided to test the waters.

“I’m not really dressed for anything fancy.” he said shyly.

“I mean, I’m not really either,” she said, removing her apron to reveal a simple green dress. She always looked stunning in green. 

‘Are you kidding? You look amazing,” gasped Hunter and she smiled at his insistence. “I-i mean compared to me. Well, compared to anyone… you, uh… you always look… nice.”

“Why thank you,” she said. “But I’m kicking myself; I was in such a hurry this morning I forgot to grab a jacket and it’s actually a little chilly outside.”

“Oh well, here,” he said, quickly removing his jacket and placing it on her shoulder before she could protest. “I always wear too many layers anyway.”

“Wow, you tattoo your clothes too, huh?” she said, marveling at the patches that covered nearly every inch of the jacket.

“Oh, yeah I guess?” he smiled, holding the door open for her as she followed behind and went to lock up, flipping the sign in the window. “Camila got me into sewing, I guess I got a little carried away.”

“It’s amazing,” said Willow, twirling in it as though it was an elegant cape. “How dare you say you’re not dressed for anything fancy when you have this treasure?”

“You really like it?”

She nodded. “You better keep an eye on me or I’m gonna steal when you’re not looking.”

“Well it’s not like I don’t know where to find you,” he chuckled. “It does look nice on you.”

“Oh, can you take my picture in it?” Willow asked, handing him her phone. “I wanna send it to Luz.”

“Uh sure,” he said as she started to pose, looking over her shoulder so the whole jacket could be seen. His usual steady hand was shaky, and when he looked at the photos he was embarrassed that she was blurry and out of frame as he was looking at her and not the picture. She ran over to see the results before he could explain.

“Oh I love them,” she said, laughing.

“Sorry they’re not great I’m not much of a photographer,”

“Well luckily I am,” she said as they continued to walk. She effortlessly slipped her arm through his to guide her as she looked at her phone to edit the photos. Hunters eyes darted down to see what she was doing as she turned his blurry shoots into photos that could’ve been on a magazine.

“Wow, that’s amazing,” gasped Hunter. “How did you do that?”

“I do a lot of floral arrangements for weddings and events so I’ve gotten pretty good at photo editing,” she explained. “I usually use an actual camera, but my photoshop skills have gotten pretty good if I do say so myself.”

“Oh wow so all those photos in your store? You took those?”

She nodded.

“Wow, I should hire you to take some new photos for the front room,” he said.

“Well, here’s a free one,” she said, raising the phone up and pulling him close to her so they could take a selfie. She looked at the camera and flashed the peace sign, and Hunter was caught off guard looking at her fondly. She brought the phone close and smiled at the moment she had captured. “Oh, the lighting is so good! You look so cute!”

“Really?” He said with a blush, looking at the photos over her shoulder.

“Yeah!” She beamed. “Want me to send this to you?”

“Oh um I actually don’t have a phone,” he admitted bashfully. “I mean I have a phone at the shop just not like a phone for that.”

“A man of mystery,” Willow mused. “No worries, it’s not like I don’t know where to find you.”

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “Um, so there’s a place up here? Is that okay?”

“Sure, she said, allowing him to lead the way. “So tell me, man of mystery, why did it take so long to finally meet you? Luz introduced herself with a plate of ginger snaps before you guys were even officially open.”

“Yeah well, she was always better at making friends,” he said. “I guess I’ve always kept to myself,bit of a wallflower you know?”

“Well, luckily for you wallflowers are my favorite kind of flowers,” said Willow. “Especially such interesting., golden ones.” 

“R-right,” Hunter said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Oh hey! We’re here! Lemme run in to grab us a table?”

“Sure thing,” Willow smiled, admiring the photo. Just then, her phone began to buzz with a video call request from Luz. “Hey, what’s-.”

“Willow, how did you do it?”

“Um, hi to you too?” Willow said, confused.

“How did you do it?” Luz repeated. 

“Do what?”

“You got Hunter to smile,” came Amity’s voice. Oh right they were together. 

“Yeah, so? He’s got a nice smile.”

“Willow, he never smiles,” said Luz, seriously. “Every picture we’ve ever taken he looks miserable. Even when my mom convinced him to sit for our Christmas card he looked so uncomfortable we thought his appendix had burst, but you somehow got him to smile and show his teeth? Are you a witch, Park?”

“No, I just caught him off guard, I guess,” she said with a chuckle, feeling proud of her feat. “Also, I feel like he’s smiled at me plenty.”

“Ooh he’s probably smiling because you’re on a daaaaaate.” teased Luz.

“Oh, hush.” said Willow, not correcting her.

“Wait, are you wearing his-.” but Willow hung up before she could further interest her, seeing Hunter wave her inside having secured a table.

----

She wore his jacket to every session, waiting for him to ask for it back. He didn’t. A framed photo of them from that day mysteriously appeared on his desk. He considered it a fair trade. 

---

“Hey!” said Willow as she flew in the door, the bell announcing her presence.

‘Willow!” Hunter exclaimed, appearing from behind the counter as though surprised to see her and not like he had been watching her skip across the street. “W-we don’t have a session today do we? Not that I memorized it, I mean I do know my schedule even if you’re not on it but um that’s because I uh- what’s up?” he cut himself off, leaning over the counter as casually as he could.

“I brought you something,” she sang, bringing her surprise from behind her back to reveal a flouting plant.

“Oh wow,” Hunter's eyes widened at the sight. “This is gorgeous.”

“It’s a fern,” said Willow with a smile, delighted he liked it. “You mentioned getting a plant and I’ve been looking after this little guy for awhile and I thought he’d be the perfect fit for the shop.”

“Oh wow, yeah,” said Hunter excitedly, “Where should we put him? How much sun does he need? Does he have a name?”

“I’m glad you like it, '' she said, setting it down to the perfect spot. “They're not hard to look after and I have a list of care instructions. Plus I’m right across the street.”

“This is so nice of you,” he said, still not used to receiving presents, “Oh! I got something to show you too!” He reached into his pocket and proudly displayed what Willow assumed to be the last flip phone on the planet. “For texting!” he said, pride shining in his eyes.

“Wow, look at you,” she said. “Do you need any help setting it up?”

“Oh, Luz helped me last night.” he said, handing her the phone. “She already programmed your number in.”

“I see that… and was she the one who put five hearts after my name?”

“Gah! I don’t know how to erase them,” he said shyly, taking the phone back. “But now we can talk… outside business hours.”

“Oh, and… what should we talk about? Outside business hours?” said Willow, rocking back on her heels and batting her eyelashes at him. She thought he would match her teasing tone but instead he looked sweaty and sickly.

“Ya know, whatever friends talk about I guess,” he said nervously. “Fern care?”

---

Willow started leaving clues around Caleb’s for what her next flower would be. When Hunter was away, she’d come in under the guise of visiting Luz and hide the flower somewhere she knew he’d find it before she came in for her next appointment; in a book or on his desk. It was not at all the professional or efficient way of letting your tattoo artist know what you planned on getting, but Willow was starting to care less and less for professionalism and efficiency. 

---

“Are you Hunter?” came a voice, much younger than the voices that frequented the shop. Hunter turned around and almost didn’t see the short boy who had walked in.

“Are you… old enough to be in here?” Hunter asked, looking around to see if he had come in with anyone.

“I’m the one asking the questions here,” said the boy. “Now are you him?”

“Yes? Who’s asking?”

“Agustus Porter, student, science fiction enthusiast and president of the WIllow Park fan club,” he said very officially. “I’m here to investigate.”

“Investigate what, exactly?”

“Your intentions,” he said, trying to make his voice lower. “With Willow.”

“Intentions? L-like marriage?”

“Hmm interesting,” said Gus, jotting something down in his notebook. “No one said anything about marriage and yet…”

“I’m confused, did Willow send you? Is Willow coming? We usually-.”

“She’s running late, so I saw the opportunity and I took it,” said Gus. “You’ve been spending alot of time together lately. When she’s not with you, she’s talking about you and when she’s not talking about you, she’s texting you. You’re a very slow typer by the way.”

“Oh, are you Gus? You’re in Luz’s class at the-.”

“Now I’ll admit, being Luz’s brother does give you an advantage,” said Gus continued, consulting his notes. “But this whole ‘bad but sad boy thing?’ I always thought it was kind of beneath Willow. I always saw her with more of a stoic type, like Chief O’Bailey.”

“Chief o- wait; is that a Cosmic Frontier notebook?” Hunter asked excitedly, recognizing the symbol on the cover.

“Wait, you know Cosmic Frontier?” Gus asked with matching growing excitement.

“Know it? I have a tattoo of their ship on my shoulder blade of course I know it!” said Hunter.

“What? No way, that’s so sick!”

“It’s actually fairly healthy, I make sure to maintain-.”

“Can you give me one?”

“Can you show me some ID?”

“Do you want me to tell Willow I don’t approve of you?”

“How about a temporary one?” Hunter offered after a beat. 

“Can you make it hurt like it’s real?”

“Probably.”

“Deal,” said Gus, hopping in the chair and rolling up his sleeve and presenting his arm. “Make me cry! Make me cry!”

“Won’t making Willow’s best friend cry hurt my chances with her?” Hunter asked playfully.

“Calling me Willow’s best friend over your own sister?” said Gus. “I think you just earned the Gus Porter seal of approval.”

---

Willow sent him a bouquet of flowers for receiving the Gus seal of approval, which could mean many things. She spotted them in the vase when she walked in for her next session, but he did not mention them. She hadn’t signed them but she felt like he knew.

-

Hunter wasn’t at the next session. Luz had taken his place at the last minute, which Willow didn’t mind, but she had grown accustomed to explaining each flowers’ meaning to him and counting how many times she could get his face to turn her favorite shade of red. Luz said he was helping their sister Vee move into a new place with her partner upstate and Willow didn’t ask any follow-up questions.  

But during the next few days there were no spontaneous lunch dates, no waving at her from across the street, no popping in to observe flowers to practice sketching. Willow went as long as she could without bugging Luz about it. After the third time Hunter was not at their session, she had to say something. 

“Does Hunter not work here anymore?” she said bluntly, no beating around the bush. “Or did he change his schedule or-?”

“Oh, are my skills not good enough for you Park?” teased Luz as she swapped needles to start a new color.

“No no, of course,” Willow laughed. “He’s just been here for all my other appointments so I guess I just-.”

“He said… it was a conflict of interest.” Luz admitted, knowing her brother would kill her if he found out she told Willlow.

“Why?”

“He… was worried he wouldn’t be able to do his best work because he was getting… distracted.”

“Is it because I talk too much? Because if that’s the issue. I’m fine sitting in silence, I just didn't know if it would be awkward for him but that makes sense because of course he would need to concentrate and I-.”

“Willow, it’s totally not that I promise,” assured Luz. “Hunter is a pro at tuning people out, I mean he lives with me after all. No, he….well, remember when Amity and I got our Azura tattoos? Hunter did both of ours because he said me doing Amity’s would be a conflict of interest because…”

She trailed off, hoping Willow could finish the rest.

“Because you kept flirting with her and it was taking forever to finish,” Willow recalled. ”But how does that- wait.”

She looked at Luz with wide, distraught eyes. “No….”

Luz nodded. “Yup.”

“Oh my gosh, I’m so embarrassed,” groaned Willow, covering her face.

“Wait… what?’”

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh I can’t believe I made him so uncomfortable I ran him out of his own shop,” she exclaimed, horrified. “Ugh, and he was such a gentleman about it, oh my,...and I sent him flowers?! What was I thinking? Luz, can you please tell him-.”

“Willow, Willow, Willow!” said Luz, reaching out to calm her friend, careful of the fresh ink. “That is… not what I was talking about.”

“Then what do you- unless…. No…”

“I’m gonna need you to say exactly what you mean because I’m afraid I'm gonna guess wrong again.”

“Was he… flirting with me too?”

“Ding ding ding, we have a winner!” exclaimed Luz happily. “And my brother prides himself in his professionalism and insisted he could not date a client, hence the conflict of interest. So the only solution would be to remove you as a client.”

“So he could ask me out?”

“Exactly!”

“So why hasn’t he?”

“Well, he can’t exactly send you flowers, can he?” smiled Luz.

“He’s tried,” laughed Willow. “He called and asked if I could deliver a bouquet to the pretty girl at the flower shop, but I thought it was just a joke. He chickened out in the middle of ordering when he felt he was wasting my time on an order that wouldn’t be going out and then offered to pay anyway.”

“Yeah, that sounds like what his idea of flirting would be,” sighed Luz. “You know him, he’s a perfectionist. He’s logical and weird. He wanted to be absolutely sure of his feelings before he acted on them.”

“And?”

“Can I show you something?” Luz said, rising from her seat to rummage through his drawer before finding a red leather notebook and handing it to Willow. “This is where Hunter works on new stuff for his flash. Before it was mostly birds and wolves, some cosmic frontier stuff. When he met you, there were maybe one or two flowers. Then suddenly-.” she opened the book to reveal pages that envied a garden. “He became obsessed with flowers. Then, soon….” She turned the page and Willow felt as though she was looking in a mirror. 

“Is that… me?”

Luz nodded. 

“He was gonna tattoo me on people?”

“What? No! I don’t think… no, but he clearly could not stop thinking about you,” said Luz. “Between you and me, he’s never really had a crush before. He’s always been so serious and studious, focusing on school or work or something. I know for a fact you’re not the first client to flirt with him, but you’re definitely the first one he’s flirted with. Or at least tried to.”

“So is he gonna ask me out or is he just gonna avoid me?”

“I think both options are equally terrifying to him,” said Luz. “But this was supposed to be your last appointment so maybe he’ll stop being such a baby. I mean, I’m pretty sure he got a phone just so he could text you, I don’t know what he’s waiting for.”

---

The session with Luz turned into a gabfest so Willow started walking home later than usual. Forgetting if she closed the window, she quickly went over to her shop to double check. To her horror, the door was unlocked and she knew she had locked it before leaving.

Someone else was here.

She grabbed a cactus from the windowsill to investigate as she followed the muffled sounds of shuffling coming from her office. She spotted a flashlight shining  from beneath the door. She took a calming breath before raising the cactus over her head and kicking the door in, screaming as loudly as she could ready to attack-

“Hunter?” she said confused, the dim light revealing the panicked boy. He smiled at her nervously, his gap tooth grin confirming his identity as she set her weapon down. “What are you doing here?”

“I used the spare key you gave me!” he exclaimed, his arms behind his back. 

‘Well, okay that’s how you got in but why-?”

“I made you a jean jacket!” he said louder than he intended to, nearly shoving the piece of clothing in her face as though it explained his presence. Willow took the jacket and examined it, like his own it was covered in patches but Willow could tell this had been carefully selected for her: flowers, bees, mushrooms. On the sleeve was an elegant W, obviously hand stitched. The whole thing was. It must’ve taken him hours to make.

“Hunter this is… it’s so…”

“It’s too much isn’t it?” he asked, his hands balled into fists at his sides. “I can take some off or rearrange them, I just kept finding ones that reminded me of you and so I-.”

She cut him off by wrapping her arms around him, trapping his arms at his sides. Hunter was used to hugs, his adopted family was extremely affectionate, but something about getting one from her… it was a whole new experience. “Hunter, I love it.”

“R-really?”

“Yes,” she said, slipping it on and delighting in its perfect fit. “But is this why you’ve been avoiding me?”

“No! I mean yes, I mean that’s what I was doing while I was avoiding you I mean… you noticed I was avoiding you?”

“Well yeah kinda,” she said, trying not to show her hurt in hearing him confirm it. “I really like talking to you and spending time with you, and just when I got used to having you around you vanished.”

“Sorry about that I just… I’m not used to being around,” he tried. “That’s not a good reason and I don’t blame you if you hate me but I didn’t know how explain why without sounding stupid.”

“Hunter, I’m sure it’s not stupid,” said Willow. “Unless you hate me, then that is stupid.”

“I don’t hate you,” laughed Hunter, her humor putting him at ease. “I kind of… the opposite of hate you. It’s just that Luz pointed out how much longer I spend on your sessions and I got worried I was taking up too much of your time just because I liked seeing you which wasn’t fair to you so I-.”

“Hunter,” she cut him off with a smile. “Do you really think I needed to spend two hours deciding what color I wanted my lily to be? I was practically holding you captive.”

“I just… words aren’t my strong suit,” he said. “I’m more of a doer, I guess? Every time I tried to say anything to you, I just… words didn’t work. So I started making this and I was gonna leave it on the back of your office chair for you to find and you’d put it on and you’d put your hand-.”

“-in the pocket?” finished Willow, pulling a small green envelope from said pocket with her name written in golden on the front. Hunter looked like he stopped breathing and Willow knew she was meant to find this in private. “What’s this?”

“It's to explain… h-how I feel… about you.”

She fiddled with it for a moment. “Well, before I read it… can I show you how I feel about you?”

“Oh, uh sure,” Hunter said anxiously. “Did you make a bouquet or-.”

No, Hunter had already misinterpreted several floral arrangements. She needed to express her feelings in a more direct and defiantly unprofessional way. She brought her hand up to cup his jaw and he leaned into the touch watching he rise to his level as she leaned up and gently pressed her lips to his, tilting her head only so slightly so there nearly bumped noses. She could tell he was holding his breath, and he truly did not exhale until she parted. He looked at her with disbelief, and she gave him her signature wink that sent a familiar warm tornado over his whole body. 

“That’s… better than floriography,”Hunter said with a lovestruck smirk.

Willow smiled, pleased with his reaction as she opened the envelope she gripped slowly and her face could not hide her confusion. “It’s a… coupon? For Caleb’s?”

“Yeah,” said Hunter. “For your next tattoo. It’s a certificate, actually.”

“You… value me as a customer?” she said reading the prewritten sentiment all their certificates came with.

“Yeah, oh no wait, flip it over.”

“'The girlfriend discount?’” she read, breathlessly before adding playfully, “You’re giving me Amity’s discount?”

“What? No! No, uh that’s your discount,” he said. “I-if you want it, that is.”

“My discount huh?”

“Yeah, I’m upgrading you,” he said, dreamily. “I-if you want it.”

“Can I redeem it right now?”

“Really?”

“Well, luckily I have space for one more flower,” she said, holding out her arm to show him the empty spot on her wrist that perfectly mirrored where his cardina was. Luz had only done a few small flowers in addition to his larger intricate ones. He was impressed with his sister’s work, but couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy. “I was thinking maybe a rose?”

“A rose?” he laughed. “I thought you hated roses.”

“Roses signify love and admiration, I could never hate them,” Willow scoffed dramatically at the notion. “Especially if it’s a rose you gave me.”

[moonshotsx]

hibiscus' bloom - sashnetra (flower shop au)

it's (almost) tattoo time! you can see the sketch for sasha's tattoo here 💕

spot a little cameo from a few known faces 👀

-

The ring of the bell attached to the tattoo shop door echoed in the entrance as Sasha walked in.

It looked much more realized now that a few weeks had passed since she last went inside. The vibe certainly reflected Anetra now more than ever.

They had been in the talks for Sasha possibly getting her first tattoo done in the shop and Anetra seemed ecstatic at the idea.

That's how Sasha found herself in the parlor on a sunny Thursday morning while Marcia took care of the flower shop for her.

She looked around trying to find a familiar face, but she was met with a blonde tattooed woman around her age at the register talking to what Sasha assumed to be twins.

"Alright, girls. So the appointment is set for next Tuesday at 4PM, is that good? How exciting, first tattoos are always unforgettable".

"Oh yeah!" the redheaded twin let out immediately, earning a slight elbow jab by her sister, "Ow! Oh, I mean, sure, that's totally cool with us".

"Okay, then, let me put it down in the calendar so that I can remember it," the tattoo artist said before looking up and directing her attention to Sasha, "Hey there! I'm Loosey, how can I help you?"

"I have a consultation appointment with Anetra? I'm not sure if she put it down, but we talked over the phone about it," Sasha replied, suddenly aware she hadn't reminded Anetra about her visit in the last few days.

"She's in the back, doing some inventory, I think?" Loosey replied before excusing herself to the twins she was talking to and disappearing into one of the hallway doors.

Sasha waited in her spot, occasionally listening in to the two younger girls bickering.

"Oh. My. God. Spice! You were so staring at her tits just now," the blonde teased her twin, who now sported blushed cheeks that matched her hair.

"I was not!" Spice said with a huff, "You're imagining things again, Sugar".

"Did you think sunglasses were stopping her from seeing you staring at her?"

"As if you weren't looking at that person with the alien pin earlier at the coffee shop!"

"I was not staring at Irene!" Sugar crossed her arms and turned her head to the side.

"I know you weren't staring at that ugly decor for 5 minutes straight"

"Mind your business!"

"You started it!"

Before their little argument could continue, Loosey came back in.

"Sasha, feel free to go bother Anetra, she's ready to have you," she said as she returned to the spot behind the desk, "Third door on the right!"

Sasha quickly thanked her, sparing a glance to the two twins - she wondered if she was going to see them again.

The rich purple tones of the entrance area continued down the hall of different tattoo areas, more artwork and plants adorned the place.

She knocked at the door Loosey had directed her to. She could hear a faint 'Door's open. Come on in!' from the other side.

Sasha excused herself as she entered, finding Anetra hunched over her tablet as she warmed up with some sketches.

"Hey," Anetra's face lit up as soon as she saw Sasha walk in, "Sorry I wasn't at the desk to greet you, lost track of time while doing the inventory".

"It's no big deal, if anything, I should have sent a text before in case you had forgotten about our appointment," Sasha replied as she set down her bag on the floor next to Anetra's desk.

"It's not like I could ever forget an appointment with you," Anetra muttered, but Sasha wasn't able to catch what she had said.

"What was that?"

"Uh, I said, this is your first tattoo, right?"

"Oh, yeah. I've got to say I'm a bit nervous".

Anetra reached to rest her hand over Sasha's to give her an encouraging squeeze, "It's alright to be nervous, I still get nervous before a tattoo, and I do this for a job," she chuckled, "So, what were you thinking for the base idea?"

"Well, growing up in Hawaii, I've loved seeing the wild hibiscus flowers there. One always managed to end up in my hair!"

As Sasha started to describe her idea and meaning behind the tattoo, Anetra couldn't bring herself to interrupt her in any way. The way her eyes almost sparkled at the memories she was recollecting.

Not to mention how beautiful her smile was when it was genuine.

"Then, as I went along with my transition, it also started to also symbolize that part of my journey. You know, embracing my identity as a woman and just the joy and love I feel living life the way I want," she continued, feeling herself get a bit emotional as she bare her thoughts out.

"That's such a beautiful way to put it, Sasha," Anetra leaned over to give the older woman a side hug, "I really hope I can make justice to such an amazing meaning".

Sasha thanked with a soft smile, "I'm sure you will. I trust you and your vision completely".

Anetra started to look for photo references online before going back to ask more questions about how Sasha was picturing her tattoo.

"Did you want it to be in color? Or black and white? I don't mind either style," the brunette asked without looking up from the iPad.

"I think I might prefer it to be in black and white?" Sasha thought it over as Anetra kept sketching, "Yes, I think that would be nice!"

Sasha let Anetra sketch in silence for another five minutes, admiring her concentration.

She took the time to study Anetra's features more attentively.

There was something so intriguing about the tattoo artist.

Sasha prided herself in being a good judge of character and, despite their interactions had been limited due to both of their busy schedules, she could tell Anetra was a gentle soul.

A soul she so desperately wanted to know more of.

Sometimes she felt like their paths had crossed for a reason, and she couldn't wait to see how it would turn out.

"Okay, this is a bit of a messy sketch, but I think we can start working from here. What do you think?"

Anetra turned around the iPad to show her design to Sasha.

The latter was completely speechless. It was exactly how she had envisioned it, "Oh my goodness," she managed to let out as she got a hold of the sketch.

"Like it?"

"Like it? I love it, this is... wow, it's perfect,"

Anetra's nervousness melted off at the sight of Sasha's bright smile, "I just wanted it to be already amazing even if it's just a sketch, you deserve only the best".

"Thank you, really. I mean it," Sasha put the iPad back on the desk before asking for a hug.

Anetra was more than welcome to give in at the request. She was happy she had done Sasha's idea justice.

"I can do a few revisions in time for our session. I would have loved to do it today, but I'm booked for a ten-hour piece later, and I want to take all the time I need to make sure your piece is perfect".

"Oh, it's no problem for me to wait," Sasha quickly added, not wanting Anetra to feel bad about the situation.

"How about... Are you free this Saturday afternoon?"

Sasha thought it over for a moment, "Yeah, on the weekends I keep the shop open until lunch, so I'm free the rest of the day".

"We are usually closed on the weekend, so it would be only us - that way we can take it slow and make sure you're as comfortable as you can be? Hey, I'll even order us food," Anetra cued in at the end, as if Sasha wasn't already sold on the idea.

"Sure, I'd love that. Saturday it is".

"See you then, Sash".

The two of them bid their goodbyes before Sasha made her way outside.

As she walked out of the studio, she couldn't stop the smile on her face.

Saturday couldn't come any faster.

[newtonsheffield]

Molly,

I'm completely geeking out over this Lavender Haze AU. Can you imagine, Anthony coming to the shop to finish up a tattoo and he sees a fit Tom Dorset there with a nose ring, and tats on his chest and sleeves of tats on his arm. I just know our Simp Anthony would get so jealous b/c he just knows that those are the kind of guys that Kate is into.

Sorry to keep filling your inbox but I'm in LOVE.

Thanks!

Yes

Tom Dorset who looks like her belongs with Kate already and Anthony can see the way his eyes are following Kate and he feels something jealous in his chest that he's got no right to.

But it all disappears when Kate's head snaps towards him and she completely cuts off the question Tom had been trying to ask her I was wondering if maybe you wanted to-

"Hey! Viscount Daddy! Take a seat I won't be a sec, Tom was just going!"

And Anthony can't help feeling a little smug for the rest of the afternoon. And thank god, because he can barely pull off being tattooed. Let alone the nose ring.

[cryoculus]

— reparations 06 ⟢

do i get a gold star for doing a great job or no?

★ FEATURING; arataki itto x gn!reader

★ WORD COUNT; 5.4k words

★ TAGS; modern au, flower shop au, slow burn, idiots to lovers, tooth-rotting fluff, mutual pining, no smut, sfw

★ NOTABLE CHARACTERS; arataki itto

★ DISCLAIMERS; contains completely made up shuumatsuban lore, please don't take it too seriously!

★ MASTERLIST . AO3 ★

A young boy trudges to the side of a run-down building—vials of medicine clutched in his small arms as he rests against a dingy wall. His heart still races with adrenaline as he examines the amber bottles, wondering if he even snatched up the right ones. 

He lets out a shaky sigh, dabbing his fingers along the open cut on the back of his head. The warm liquid of his blood seeps from the wound, and he hisses at the abrupt contact.

Granny is so going to give him an earful later.

“You look pretty scratched up over there.”

The boy jolts at the sound of another voice. He glances around the abandoned warehouse, wondering if that security guard managed to tail him. But all he sees is a man in a gruffy looking suit—the buttons of his shirt undone to reveal twin dragon tattoos inked onto his chest. A pair of black sunglasses sits on the bridge of his nose, and the boy gulps, knowing exactly what type of person this is.

A yakuza.

“You need any help?” the man asks, taking out the cigarette from his mouth before killing the light underfoot. “Kids don’t usually wander ‘round these parts.”

“No,” he mumbles quickly, hugging the vials in his arms tighter to his chest. Granny is waiting for him back at home. He should probably get going—

“It’s your first time shoplifting, isn’t it?”

Before the boy can even move another step away, he freezes in his tracks. Is this guy going to scold him for it? Worse, is he going to turn him over to the cops? 

“Yes…”

“Mmm? Figures. You’re fast enough to get away from the man guarding the pharmacy, but not nimble enough to do all that unscathed,” the man chuckles, walking closer to stare him down. “So? Why’d you steal those in the first place?”

The boy is compelled to tell him to mind his own business, but he can almost hear granny’s voice telling him not to be rude to strangers, much more adults. Even if this guy is the epitome of a shady adult himself. 

“I-It’s my granny,” he mumbles. “She’s sick. She… She’s always the one who takes care of me, but we don’t have a lot of money so…”

The man nods. “You’re pretty honest for a kid.”

“...”

“Say, how about we go back to the pharmacy and apologize like proper citizens. I’ll pay for granny’s medicine if that’s what you’re so worried about.” 

The boy gapes. “You’d really do that?”

“Oh, it’s not for free, though.” He laughs again, bringing down his sunglasses to give the kid a glimpse of his eyes. “You see, kid, in a world like ours, nothing is freely given. Everything comes with a price.”

“...What do you want in return?”

The man hums thoughtfully, as if only having considered it when the boy knows he probably approached him with an ulterior motive in mind. Still, if it means getting medicine for granny in a way that won’t disappoint her…

“Well, it just so happens that my team has been declining in number as of late,” he sighs and takes out a handkerchief from his pocket as he kneels in front of the boy—dabbing at the wound on the back of his head. He stares at the man, puzzled, but he only responds with an almost-gentle smile.

“What do you think about becoming my disciple, huh?”

A few days later, you can say that things have become relatively peaceful.

Too peaceful.

As promised, Itto always keeps you updated about his plans and whereabouts—texting you so goddamn often that you had to tell him to knock it off in real life. You just wanted to know what he was up to; not be unknowingly lectured about the ingrown toenail he had checked in the doctor’s clinic. Well, even if he can be a bit gross, at least he’s honoring his end of the agreement. 

Your apprentice has been timing in regularly again like usual, too. Itto has familiarized himself with the specifically assigned placements on your shelves, and you can finally rely on him to do inventory while you take care of the delicate orders from your clientele. (He’s still a long way from handling your flowers with those heavy hands of his, but he’ll get to arrange a bouquet of his own one day. Maybe.)

The customers have definitely taken a liking to him as well. Ever since Itto got back from his so-called leave, the old ladies in the neighborhood fawned over him as he helped carry sacks of fertilizer to each of their houses. The bastard was all-too happy to serve, but you can’t quite put down the feeling that’s been nagging you since he returned.

This is what you wanted, right?

Itto is somewhere you can carefully watch over him, and in the event that he isn’t, he always keeps you posted through badly punctuated text messages. Just like you agreed.

But from his ghastly run-ins with the yakuza to the portrait he’d smashed that night, you were beginning to wonder if you really knew this guy as well as you thought. Well, technically speaking, it was normal not to know a whole lot about Itto. He was just a sacrificial lamb offered up by his gang to compensate for the inconvenience they caused. Your relationship doesn’t go beyond employer and employee, so the fact that you’re having all these complicated feelings about the situation doesn’t really make a lot of sense. 

Everyday, before he times out for the night, you make it a point to inspect Itto’s back for any new injuries. Though he insists that the last time he’s met up with his yakuza friends was the time he passed out on your door the other night, you still can’t be too sure. You pretend not to notice the way he tenses up every time your fingers graze his healing wounds, but you’re just glad that he isn’t out there hurting himself on purpose again.

But you don’t have the time to mull over trivial things right now, sadly.

“Alright! So the wedding is in four months, and the bride wants the motif to be…” You proceed to encircle a poorly drawn doodle on your notepad before showing it to Itto. “Hydrangeas.”

He examines your work with one hand on his chin. “I don’t need to know how to spell that, do I?”

You pointedly ignore his question. “These babies will take about ten to twelve weeks to grow. If we plant them today, they should be ready by spring.”

“Am I really going to work for you for twelve more weeks, master?”

“Got a problem with that?”

“...Strangely, no.”

And that’s how you ended up going to Konda Village alongside Itto. As he helps unload the gardening tools out of the taxi, you pay the fare to the driver once your helper has retrieved everything from the trunk. The guy promptly sees his way out of the dirt road and back to the city before you can even thank him for the ride—the wheels of his car kicking up dust everywhere.

“Okay, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t expect us to just plant all these in your back alley or something,” Itto pipes up suddenly, red eyes transfixed on the plot of land that stood before you. “But isn’t goin’ all the way out here too much?”

“You’re asking an awful lot of questions today.” You roll your eyes, undoing the latch on the wooden fence as you swing the small gate open. “Hydrangeas are huge when they’re fully bloomed. Plus, I had to call in a few favors just to free up this spot. Are you saying you want to render all my efforts futile, Itto?”

“I’m saying that it probably isn’t a good idea to close up shop this time of year,” he tells you, stepping inside the lot as he sets down your equipment. “Why do you think I’ve been timing in every single day, huh?”

Why has he been timing everyday, indeed? That’s the same question that you’ve been wanting to ask him for days now. But the answer apparently has something to do with the season? You shoot Itto a puzzled look that he only returns with a gasp. 

“Don’t tell me you don’t know.”

“I don’t know what?”

“You run a flower shop but you have no idea that Valentine’s Day is right around the corner?!”

“...Oh.”

Okay, maybe you lacked a bit of foresight in that regard, but… You’ve had a lot on your mind lately, okay? Sure, the sudden influx of customers is unusual enough for you to notice, but you’ve been so out of it that you never attempted to wonder why. Gods, you live in a reality where Arataki Itto—the main reason why you’re distracted in the first place—is more aware of your shop’s surroundings than you are. The world must be ending.

Just when you expect him to hound you with questions, Itto pushes up the sleeves of his shirt as he picks off a gardening hoe from your bag of tools. He flashes you a determined smile that makes you want to punch him in the face immediately after.

“So, where do we start?”

You suppose that you could’ve just ordered some pre-grown hydrangeas so you could continue cultivating them on your own. That’s going to be much faster than growing the flowers from scratch, but this is the first major booking you’ve ever accepted. If you want your business to gain a reputation for itself, you might as well showcase your skill in the process, right? What better way to ensure quality control than to grow them yourself?

You tell Itto to leave ample spaces in between plots, reminding him over and over that hydrangea shrubs take up a lot of space to the point that you’re probably annoying him. Which is fine. He should think of it as payback for all the times he talked your ear off about the most insignificant things during work hours and beyond. 

Of course, you’re not some tyrant that just orders their loyal subjects around, though. You pitch in your brunt of the work by planting the seeds your mother gave you. The hydrangeas back at your parents’ house were always so lovely, and you hope you could emulate the same quality for Andou’s wedding in the spring. 

“You said this plot of land was owned by your mom, right?” Itto asks out of the blue, hefting the garden hoe over his shoulder as he glances at you curiously. “Is she into growing stuff too or somethin’?”

Patting down the lump of soil you scooped over your next patch of seeds, you reply, “She used to run a flower shop before she had me. This is where she grows plants that are too high maintenance for indoor environments.”

“Ohhh, it runs in the family.” Itto nods thoughtfully. “You’ve been doin’ a pretty good job for yourself, though. I’m sure she’s proud of you.”

You try not to let the compliment get to your head.

“What about you?” you ask him. “Do you have any other family aside from the gang?”

He hums before resuming his work. “Yeah, my granny. She took me in when I was just a kid, but the folks around Hanamizaka started calling her Granny Oni after.”

“...Were you that much of a problem child?”

“Nah. It’s ‘cause I’m an oni, remember?” 

You do remember; you just refuse to acknowledge it. Why is this man so determined to brand himself as a demon anyways? Either way, you’re not really in the mood to pry about that in particular.

“Right,” you say dryly. “How about blood relatives? Have you ever seen your real parents?”

You immediately realize that you’re toeing on dangerous territory when Itto visibly stiffens. The grip he has on the handle suddenly turns knuckle-white, but he’s quick to compose himself before you can even retract the question.

“My folks died of some nasty disease when I was about, I dunno, five.” He shrugs, sounding way too nonchalant for someone talking about his dead parents. “I did have a cousin who was with me all the time, though. He’s like a brother to me, but… We got separated eventually, and I haven’t seen him since.” 

Something about the somber tone his voice suddenly takes on makes your face twist with sympathy. Idiotic as he might be, it isn’t so weird to know that Itto has incurred his own losses, too. What does come off as strange, however, is how he seems more attached to this cousin of his than his own parents. 

“Have you ever tried looking for him?” you wonder, rising back to your feet to pat the dirt off your pants. 

It takes Itto a while to answer, and you hear nothing but the sound of the garden hoe sinking into the rich brown soil. You quietly plant the seeds in the spots that he carves out for you, and when he finally speaks, you listen to every word.

“I have,” he murmurs. “But he doesn’t really want to be found.”

This time, you know better than to shatter the silence.

“Hey, master! Can you hold on for a sec?”

You glance over your shoulder with brows raised. Itto is absentmindedly hooking back the latch on the fence’s gate when you catch him typing something on his phone, and you wonder what he’s up to.

Hydrangea gardening was quite the success, and you were already done talking to the elderly couple who’d taken care of your mother’s plot since she’d purchased it. All that’s left is to head back to the city before nightfall, but your wonderful apprentice seems like he’s being held up by something entirely.

“What’s the matter?” you ask Itto once you’re in close proximity. “Since you graciously reminded me that it’s Valentine’s season, I might have to make some last-minute shipments. So I’d appreciate it if you hurry up.”

Itto chuckles softly, pocketing his phone. “I’ll have you back at the shop faster than you can blink if you come with me.”

“Come with you? What—”

You don’t even get to finish the sentence because he’s already seized you by the wrist; dragging you further into the village without giving any leeway for protest. That obviously doesn’t stop you from making a scene, though. You thrash against Itto’s grip, yelling in a way that both attracts the attention of the villagers and smashes through the peaceful air of Konda. 

“Where do you think you’re taking me?! This is kidnapping!”

“You’re not a kid anymore.”

“I’m still my dad’s little rascal, so you don’t get to decide that!”

Okay, bringing up the silly names your father calls you is quite the low blow to your own pride. But just when you expect Itto to tease you about being a daddy’s girl or whatever, you briefly get a glimpse of a grim look settling over his face. He doesn’t give you time to make sure it wasn’t just a trick of the light, though. In the next second, he full-on grins with that stupid, shit-eating smile—making you forget about that split-second shift faster than a bullet train at rush hour. 

“Relax, and quit making it look like I’m a serial killer,” he huffs. “I’m just going to grab my bike from the repair shop so I can give you a lift! Shinobu’s gonna cut my family jewels off if she finds out I made you walk from here to Hanamizaka, so…”

Huh. So he does have an ounce of gentlemanly pride in that thick skull of his. But still.

“You had your motorcycle fixed all the way here?” you ask incredulously. 

“Konda Village may not be known for their mechanics, but the guy that tunes up my ride whenever I need a fix is trustworthy, ‘kay?” Itto informs you before finally letting go of your wrist. “In fact, we’ve already arrived~”

You blink, taking in your surroundings. Itto stopped in front of a building that looks a bit more modern compared to the other houses in the village. The metal shutters are up, revealing the inside of the shop for easier viewing. Spare parts are lined haphazardly along rows of metal shelves, and various tools can be seen hanging from the side of a wall just above a cluttered work table. The space kind of seems cramped, though. You wonder if Itto’s mechanic simply overhauled their garage and turned it into something profitable. 

“‘Sup. You here to get your ride?”

You’re a bit surprised to see Haru emerge from inside, a dash of grease smeared across the side of his face as pushes up the goggles on his head. He’s one of the first members of the Arataki Gang you’ve met aside from Itto and Shinobu. But it makes sense for your apprentice to trust him with his bike so much if that was the case.

“Oh? You brought the boss lady, too?” Haru raises an eyebrow—gaze flicking your way.

“Hey, I only let it slide when Tora called them that one time,” Itto grumbles. “I’m still the boss, got that? Master over here’s got nothin’ to do with the gang.”

The mechanic chuckles, using the small towel slung over his shoulder to wipe the sweat and dirt off his face. “Well, y’know how osmosis works between brothers.”

“Osmo… what?”

“Anyways, I don’t believe we’ve properly been introduced,” Haru says, turning to you as he completely dismisses Itto’s question. You and him are going to get along; you can already feel it. “I’m Kanzaki Haru. Nice to meet you.”

Once you introduce yourself back, you can’t help but ask, “You and Tora are brothers?” 

“The resemblance ain’t very uncanny ‘cause we have different mothers, but yeah.” Haru nods. “By the way, Itto. Your bike’s as good as new in the back. You wanna try it out?” 

“Of course I do!”

Seemingly familiar with Haru’s workshop already, your apprentice is quick to bolt back outside—presumably to check on his motorcycle where the bike should be. You sigh. So much for packing up as soon as you could. 

“You know, he’s started to look better ever since Shinobu forced him to work with you.”

His words catch you off guard a little. “I’m sorry?”

“I mean, our boss is in good hands,” he chuckles, pulling out a wheeled stool beneath his work desk before plopping himself on top of it. “The gang was pretty opposed to the idea when we broke the news, but now everyone seems convinced enough that you’re taking care of him alright. Myself included.”

“...I’m not trying to steal Itto away, if that’s what you’re insinuating.”

“It would actually do all of us a favor if you did.”

You scowl. “Do you hate him or something?” 

“Quite the opposite, actually,” Haru interjects with a smile. “We love Itto so goddamn much that we want him to start thinking of himself for a change. That guy’s got a heart that’s bigger than his own body, if you still haven’t noticed.”

You have. In fact, it’s harder not to notice. 

Despite the (probably) illogical reason behind it, Itto willingly deals with his own problems under the Arataki Gang’s noses because he doesn’t want them to share the same burden. He doesn’t even have to say a thing for you to know how much he cares about them. And if the hearsay about the gang being a safe haven for misfits has any real weight to them, then it would just prove Haru’s words tenfold. 

“I’m sure he’s always going on and on about his oni heritage, am I right?” Haru asks. 

“Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask someone about that,” you admit. “But I thought Shinobu was still busy, so I kind of put it off…”

“Haha! Well, the first thing you should know is that every word that comes out of his mouth is true.”

“...Are you telling me to play along with his oni superhero fantasy or something?”

The mechanic shakes his head. “No, I’m telling you to believe him when he says he’s an oni.”

You proceed to stare at him like he’s an escaped mental ward patient.

Haru lets out a lighthearted laugh, reaching for one of the loose screws on his desk as he fidgets with it. “It’s a bit of a stretch, yeah. And the oni blood has watered down after several generations. But those marks on his face and chest? Those ain’t tattoos. He’s had them since we were kids.”

“I’m still not buying it,” you tell him. “He doesn’t even have horns!”

“Hey, his genetics are out of anyone’s control, you know?” Haru rebuts. “Either way, I can’t and won’t force you to believe me. I just thought it’d do you some good to learn more about Itto now that you’re stuck with him.”

“Temporarily,” you add. “It’s not like he’s going to work for me forever, right? The gang’s waiting for him.”

The mechanic pauses, quietly placing that loose screw into a jar full of all sorts of metal fasteners. “You know, the Arataki Gang wasn’t always this big of a deal.”

“It started with Itto and three of his friends from the city. Now those guys were the actual delinquents. Stirring up trouble for no real reason. But after a few years, they accumulated more and more members.”

“Yet you were recognized as the top dogs of Hanamizaka,” you point out. 

“Well, that’s all thanks to a certain…third party. Our mentor.”

“Mentor?”

Haru nods. “Back in the day, Shinobu, Itto, and I all trained under the Shuumatsuban. Does the name ring a bell?”

Shuumatsuban? That's the first you've heard of it, and you let him know with a shake of your head.

“Aha. Think of it as a…martial arts club of sorts,” he chimes, and you get the feeling that there’s more to it than what Haru is willingly divulging, but you opt not to press. “Our mentor trained the three of us along with a handful of other kids for a while. Tora even joined in when he was old enough to fight.” 

Martial arts club, huh. Well, that explained how Itto was able to hold up against the yakuza multiple times. It also explained how Tora had it in him to jump off your balcony unscathed. That’s some mentor they have.

“We had the time of our lives—that’s the thing I remember the most. Even if our mentor was starting to disappear on us, we never stopped carrying out missio— I mean, training. You know how kids take those taekwondo tournaments seriously.” Haru punctuates this with a suspicious-sounding laugh. “At least, that’s how things were until our mentor stopped showing up completely.” 

“He…abandoned you?”

He shrugs. “More or less, yeah. And get this, when we tried to investigate, we found out that he has a family of his own. He never really told us that. Shinobu even said that we were all big enough to clean up after our own messes, and that we should just leave our mentor alone with his family, but…”

“I’d be furious if my mentor suddenly left like that,” you tell him. “Isn’t that a bit harsh on his part? I know it’s just some martial arts club, but he could’ve at least explained what was up.”

Haru laughs again, but it sounds a bit lonely. “We don’t really get to have everything we want. That’s just the way things are. Although, out of the four of us, I’m pretty sure Itto was the one who took it the hardest.”

“He resents our mentor for what he did. I don’t think he’s actually over it to this day... But even if the other kids from the Shuumatsuban carried on with their own lives, Itto made sure there was still a place where misfits like us can belong,” he continues. “I was one of the first people he tried to invite. But I was already dead-set on keeping my nose out of that gang business.”

“And look where you are now,” you tease.

“Hey, if you have an adorably pushy little brother, and an equally pushy friend named Kuki Shinobu, it’s hard to keep refusing.” Haru sighs. “Now here we are, one big happy family.”

“That still doesn’t explain why the Tenryou Commission recognized you guys officially.” You cross your arms. “Come on, Itto’s taking his sweet time inspecting his ride as is. I’m sure you can share some more details.”

“I’m getting there.” He rolls his eyes. “We never expected it either, you know. One of the officers from the police station suddenly just showed up at home base and broke the news. Shinobu and I suspected that our mentor pulled a couple of strings in the sidelines as an apology of sorts, though we could never really confirm it.”

“But even if that guy left us all in the dust, it doesn’t change the fact that Itto created a safe space for people like us.” Haru smiles. “They didn't have to train the way we did back in our Shuumatsuban days. As long as they felt estranged, despised, or abandoned, we’d take ‘em all in. That's what the Arataki Gang is all about.”

…These boys aren’t troublemakers at all. Not in the slightest. You have no clue how the rumors about the gang even sprang up in the first place, but after hearing all this, you couldn’t help give Itto a couple of brownie points for his unwavering compassion. You never would’ve expected a guy like him to care about his friends so deeply.

Suddenly, a loud roar snaps you out of your musing.

“Oi, Haru! You sure you washed the engine properly? I don’t like how it sounds when I’m revving it up.”

As if on cue, the man of the hour brought his motorcycle back to the front, looking in much better condition than how it used to be the night he crashed it into your shop. The silver handles were polished to perfection, and the dragon sigil—oni sigil, you correct yourself—festooned by the headlight glimmers like solid gold.

“You’re not doubting my expertise now, are you?” Haru sighs. “That shitty bucket of bolts has been sitting in the garage for weeks. I was wondering when you’re going to bother picking it up.”

“Well, sorry I had my hands full with my new job,” Itto bites back sarcastically, but you feel no antagonism in the words. “Speaking of my new job… Master! Hop on! You still need to make a few orders, right?”

You shoot him a perplexed look. “After what you did to my store, it’s bold of you to think I’m just going to let you drive me back on this thing.”

Itto shrugs. “You seem to trust me with a lot of things now. Isn’t trusting me with your life included in the package this time?”

“You’re despicable.”

“Really, I’ve been told worse.” Itto smiles as he holds out his hand, and you hate the way your heart flutters at the sight. “Come on! We’re burning daylight!”

Reluctantly, you turn to Haru who’s already waving a hand in farewell. “It was nice talking to you, boss lady. See you soon.”

You return the gesture with a warm smile, grateful that he trusted you enough to tell you about the lives they lived as children. The mechanic’s tale certainly painted your not-so-good-for-nothing apprentice in a different light. Maybe you’ll start being a bit nicer to him from here on out.

Haru doesn’t ask, but you say it anyway.

“I’ll take care of him. That’s a promise.”

“You know, I really don’t appreciate being left in the dark!” Itto yells over the blare of the traffic as he eases his motorcycle at a red light. “Not only are my boys callin’ you boss lady now, but who the hell are you and Haru talking about? Take care of who? Do you need back-up or somethin’? I bet I can knock that guy dead!”

“Yeah, I’m sure you can,” you say, leaning against the backrest of his bike. “Don’t worry your empty little head about it.”

“Empty?!” 

Before he can get another word out, the light turns green. Itto groans.

The trip was faster than you’d expected. Konda Village was a thirty minute drive away from the city, but Itto made it to the outskirts of Hanamizaka in fifteen. While you had some reservations about riding with him, he proved to be a much better driver than you thought. Those yakuza assholes must’ve bashed his head pretty bad that night for him to crash into your shop.

But that’s not the only thing you end up mulling over about the man in front of you.

You think about Haru’s words over and over. About how Itto takes poorly to being left behind; about how he makes sure no one else has to feel the same way. Then, you remember the fact that his parents passed so early in his life, and the cousin that he seems to have never stopped looking for. 

He always takes things in stride, you realize. Always grinning like a goddamn madman before hurtling headfirst into his stupid ideas. But you also realize that just because he’s someone who can effortlessly make the people around him smile, doesn’t mean he’s invincible.

You witnessed that firsthand when he came to you, sporting the worst piece of hazing evidence you’ve seen in your life. 

When it all comes down to it, you still don’t know how to feel about this stack of contradictions that goes by Arataki Itto. You don’t know why he’s dabbling with the yakuza. You barely know anything about the guy at all. But you do know that a person who can easily tell you that you’ve been doing a great job also needs someone to let them hear the words in return.

It’s the least you can do, after all.

Your eyes rove over the way his unruly white hair sways in the breeze. Itto had the decency to tie it when you decided to ride behind his back. And it makes it awfully easy for you to circle your arms around the broad circumference of his torso—pressing your cheek against his back as you lock him in a loose embrace.

Itto doesn’t flinch at the contact like you expect him to. He merely tenses for a fraction of a second before his muscles ease up after a moment’s hesitation. You breathe in the scent of sun and sweat clinging to his hair, and surprisingly, you don’t mind. In fact, you even find yourself worrying about the wounds on his back. But if you were so concerned, you suppose you could just inspect them once you got back to the shop.

“You’re doing a great job,” you tell him, hoping the words won’t get lost in the wind.

He doesn’t say anything; doesn’t give any sort of reaction. But you can almost feel him smiling away from view either way.

For you, that was enough. 

“So? How’s my driving?”

“You had me at a loss for words there,” you say once you hop off his bike—handing the only helmet he has in the trunk back to him. “You’re a pretty decent driver yourself, Itto. Though if you’re going to let other people ride more often, you should have two helmets in stock.”

“Right, right. Road safety and all that jazz.” He waves a hand nonchalantly. 

“You’re good enough to get a license~” 

“Um, excuse me, I so have a driver’s license!” Itto corrects, fumbling around in his pockets to bring out his (usually empty) wallet. “Here! See that? I look dashing in my picture, just so you know.”

You lean in for a closer look as he shows you the card. Hmm… It’s issued by the Tenryou Commission’s Land Transportation Department. Looks official enough—

Wait a second.

“Itto,” you begin, meeting his eyes warily. “This thing was issued two years ago.”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“You do know that you have to renew your license every year, right?”

“... No, I did not know that.”

“Is this why you’ve been getting arrested so often?!”

“Hey, I’ve never once been arrested for violating traffic regulations! Okay, maybe I was thrown into the slammer once for beating a red light. And I almost ran over a kindergartner on his way to the day-care. Oh, and let’s not forget the very reason why the two of us even met in the first place—”

I can’t believe I felt sympathy for this guy, you think to yourself—groaning as Itto lists off his public offenses while you both head inside the shop.

But it's not like I’m about to stop, either. 

← previous | next →

★ UPDATE SCHED; every thurs & sat (12 nn gmt+8)

© cryoculus | kaientai ✧ all rights reserved. do not repost or translate my work on other platforms without permission.

[navybrat817]

Sweet and Strong

Pairing: Tattoo Artist!Bucky Barnes x Baker!Female Reader Summary: You stop by the parlor to drop off some treats. Word Count: Over 2.3k Warnings: Fluff, flir-ting, slight insecurity if you squint, slight feels (it's me), Tess is a real one, Bucky Barnes (he's a warning, okay?) Graphics talent and thanks: Banner - @sgt-seabass, Divider - @firefly-graphics, Bucky edit - Nix, Moodboard - yours truly A/N: More Hottie and Sugar from my Sin on Skin AU.❤️ Beta read by @whisperlullaby , so any and all mistakes are my own. Please follow @navybrat817-sideblog for new fics and notifications. Comments, reblogs, feedback are loved and appreciated!

You did your best not to let your mind wander during the work day, but Bucky hadn’t left your thoughts since he dropped you off at your place. A dopey smile formed on your face more times than you could count. The tattoo artist was your dream come true. Someone who looked like they could destroy everything in their path, but treated you with such care.

And he said yes to a date with you.

How does a man like him exist?

“Careful,” Tess said, nudging you to the side so she could take a cookie from the case. “Keep making that happy face and it’ll get stuck that way.”

“Is that a bad thing?” you smiled, making sure there were no customers looking as you typed a quick message to Bucky on your phone.

“Hope you have a good day, Hottie.”

After a moment, you cringed and put the device away. Though Bucky gave you his number after he dropped you off, you didn’t message him immediately. Waiting until today was better because enough time had passed, but was the text too casual? Not casual enough? Was it clingy to message him before you had your date?

Why am I overthinking this?

“If you’re smiling because of Bucky, it’s a very good thing. Especially after what he did to help you. I think he should get a permanent discount,” Tess said, making you raise an eyebrow when you didn’t detect a hint of sarcasm in her tone. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”

“We talked about this,” you gently reminded her when she pouted, a look that told you she was still upset. “Please, stop apologizing. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

When Tess heard that Richard ambushed you after closing, she beat herself up for not being there. You assured her it wasn’t her fault that your ex showed up. She was thankful you were okay and that Bucky, and everyone else in the shop, stood up for you. She also added that if she saw Richard sniffing around the place that she’d kick him in the nuts.

Bucky assured you he wouldn’t come around and you believed him.

“I’m just sorry I didn’t see him get put in his place. Been a long time coming,” she said, a bit of mischief back in her eyes as she leaned against the counter to smile at you. “And I’m bummed I missed that kiss.”

“Why did I tell you about that?” you asked, your cheeks hot as you recalled the moment Bucky’s lip touched yours. If you closed your eyes, you could almost feel him kissing you again. The memory made your heart swell.

As if on cue, your phone went off.

“Day’s better now that I’ve heard from you, Sugar. Can’t wait for our date. Planned something special.”

Your heart skipped a beat as you reread the message and hugged the device to your chest. You weren't sure how many women Bucky dated or how many special dates he planned before you. The thought of it being a high number didn't make your stomach sink as you expected. What mattered was that the two of you were taking a chance on each other.

And even though you technically asked him out, he took the time to plan something for you. When was the last time a guy did anything remotely nice for you without expecting something in return? Why had you settled in the past for less than what you deserved?

“You told me because we’re best friends,” Tess answered with a smirk when you looked her way. “Is that him?”

“Yeah, it’s him,” you smiled, showing her the message. “I wonder what he has planned.”

“Whatever it is, you better give all the dirty details when he dicks you down. And not to be graphic, but I bet he eats pussy like-"

“Tess!" you groaned, praying the nearby customers weren’t listening. But, god, if you hadn’t thought about what he’d be like in bed. He’d be so good to you. “Let’s try and be professional.”

“Professional, my ass. I’m not the one flirting with the hunk or making eyes at him every time he steps into the shop,” she pointed out.

Fair.

“And, look, I’m not saying you have to get laid on the first date, but I am saying you have to let him in your pants at some point,” she said, laughing as you tossed a towel at her face.

You laughed, too, and wondered just how the night would go. If you put out on the first date, would he think you were easy? If you waited too long, would he move on? You were overthinking again, but you couldn't help it. You really liked him.

He likes me, too, so I must be doing something right.

“What do you get out of it if I let him in my pants?” you asked curiously.

Tess placed a hand on your shoulder and squeezed. “I get to keep seeing you happy, which you have every right to be."

"Thanks," you smiled, a wave of fondness crashing over you. The two of you saw each other go through many ups and downs of life. She deserved the world and it meant a lot that she wanted that for you, too. "Is it too much if I run some treats over for him? Especially since I just texted him?"

Bringing a small selection of baked goods for Bucky and the guys would be a small way to thank them for defending you. Deep down, it was also an excuse to see him before your date. You hoped it wasn't too obvious.

"The guy has visited the shop for all of your shifts since he first came in. So, no, it isn't too much if you surprise him and send something his way. He might like it."

"I'll be quick," you promised, selecting some of the best treats from the case, including one with little hearts.

"Take your time. Jill and I can handle this," she smiled as if she sensed your giddiness. "Go treat your man."

"He isn't my man yet," you teased.

But I'm already his girl.

"Yeah, he is," Tess winked, giving you a gentle nudge. "Now go."

It didn't take you long to cross the street to the parlor and thankfully you didn't drop the box. You hoped you looked decent. Well, as much as you could during a work day. At least you had a cute apron on.

"Hi! Welcome to Sin on Skin!" Jake said as you walked through the door. "Sugar! It's you!"

You held back a laugh when his voice echoed. "Yeah, it's me," you smiled, holding up the box. "I wanted to drop these off Bucky and the rest of you, if that's okay?"

"You brought us food?!" he asked, leaning on his arms to look over the counter. "Hold on. Lemme grab him."

"You sure? If he's with a client…" you trailed off when Jake dashed away from the counter.

You took a moment to look around again, your gaze settling on an intricate flower tattoo. Seeing the place without the fear of your ex following you made it even brighter than before. Like your shop, it was expressive and inviting. Bucky likely put as much love into it as you did with yours.

"That was my first piece."

You tore your gaze away from the wall to find Bucky beside you, a dopey smile back on your face. There was only a small amount of space between you and your heart raced as you looked him over, the large man clad in his usual tight shirt and jeans. He had his hair pulled back and you resisted the urge to tuck a few strands back that came loose.

He would manage to look sexy as hell with latex gloves on.

"It's beautiful," you said honestly.

"Thanks. She's a good friend and still a client of mine. So is her husband," he smiled gently. "I'm glad you stopped by."

"Me, too," you smiled back, holding up the box in your hands. "I just wanted to say thanks again to you and the guys for sticking up for me. It isn't much, but I hope you all enjoy them."

"Oh." A slight frown formed on his face when you handed him the treats. "You know you don't have to give us these, right? We didn't do it expecting you to give us anything in return and I'm sure as hell not going to let anyone speak to you the way that prick did."

You furrowed your brows a bit, even as you nearly swooned at his protectiveness. Had you upset him? "I know I don't have to," you said, clearing your throat. Why did the thought of them defending you just for being good guys make you emotional? "I just wanted to do something nice for you."

Was this a bad idea?

You let out a breath when he smiled again. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to make sure you didn't feel obligated," he said, touching your arm. Even with the glove, the touch sent heat between your thighs. "It's a very sweet gesture, Sugar. Thank you."

"You're welcome," you said, satisfied that he wasn't unhappy with the small gift. "And I'll admit. I also stopped by because I wanted to see you before our date," you added.

"You did?" he smirked, bringing warmth to your cheeks as you nodded. "While we're admitting things to each other, I've been watching the door and hoping you'd stop in. I even dreamt about you when I took a nap."

"No, you didn't," you giggled, a sense of power and elatedness filling you that his pull to you was that strong.

"I swear. I don't think Steve will let me live that down" he chuckled. You wondered what exactly he dreamt about. Was it passionate? Intense? "Can't get you outta my mind. And, frankly, I don't want to."

Oh.

You didn't think he could make your heart beat any faster, but he continued to surprise you. There was no shame or timidness in his tone or his stare. It was steadfast and true, like he wasn't afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve with you. If he could be vulnerable and open with you this way, you could do the same in return.

Go big or go home, right?

"I can't stop thinking about you either," you told him, proud that your voice didn't waver.

"You can't?" he whispered and you suddenly didn't like the box between your bodies. It made him feel too far away.

"No, I can't," you whispered back, gazing into his blue eyes. "I waited to text you because I didn't want it to be too soon. And even though I don't know where you're taking me on our date, I already have the perfect sundress laid out and ready to go."

"You can text me as much as you want. I don't care what time of day," he assured you before his eyes lit up mischievously, like he knew something you didn't. "And a sundress is fucking perfect, but no asking for hints about our date"

"Not even a little one? Please?" you asked, giving him what you hoped was a cute pout. You didn't actually want him to tell you because you wanted him to surprise you, but you hoped you looked enticing.

Bucky slowly licked his lips and shook his head. If he was trying to look hot, he more than succeeded. If he wasn't, did he have any idea what that teasing motion of his tongue did to you? "I'm tempted to tell you and I'm very tempted to kiss you right now, but no. No hints. I need to stay strong."

I'm very tempted to kiss you, too.

"Fine, Hottie. I'll be good," you teased, pouting again. "For now."

Bucky moved the box beside him so he could step closer, his eyes darker than before. "You wanna be good for me?"

Yes, sir.

"Yes," you answered, leaving out the "sir" that echoed in your mind and shivering as he continued to stare. Before you could say anything more, you noticed that the shop had gone quiet. You leaned over to look past Bucky and giggled when you saw the crew staring, taking you out of the moment. Steve and Hal both had knowing smirks on their faces, but no way could they have heard your conversation. "Hope you enjoy the treats!"

"Oh, we will," Hal winked. "What about you, Bucky? You gonna enjoy your treat?"

"Get back to work!" Bucky called back before he smiled disappointedly. "Speaking of, I should, too. I think my client gave me enough of a break."

"Yeah, I need to get back," you said. You didn't want to leave Tess and Jill hanging. "I hope you have a good rest of the day."

"You, too," he said as you went to the door. "Be good for me until I see you again."

Fuck.

"Only if you're good for me," you smiled over your shoulder, catching his surprised smirk before the door shut.

You took a breath, allowing the breeze to cool you off. Maybe a cold shower would do a better job. You smiled as your phone went off, expecting a teasing text from Tess. It caught you off guard when "Mom" popped up.

Well, that can't be good if she's texting me. God, did she somehow hear about Richard? The last thing I need is a lecture.

Instead of opening the message, you tucked your phone away. You needed to get back to work and you had a date to look forward to. You wouldn't allow your mom to sour your mood because Tess was right.

You had the right to be happy.

No ruining this upcoming date, mom! Love and thanks for reading! 💙

Masterlist ⚓ Bucky Barnes Masterlist ⚓ Ko-Fi

[stonyauniverse]

July 20th - August 19th

If you want to be included in the Round Up, you must fill out the Fill Submission form.

Thanks as always to our lovely fanart mod, @suchmadnesss, for the fanart in our banner!

Without further ado, come peruse our bingo-goers wonderful creations!

There he was, like double cherry pie by Wolfsheart

Rated: T

Tags: May Parker (brief), James Rhodey Rhodes (mention), Pepper Potts (mention), Referenced Bobby Drake, Referenced Xavier School for the Gifted, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Bakery, Minor Bucky Barnes/Loki, Minor Bruce Banner/Thor, Minor Harley Keener/Peter Parker, Minor Pepper Potts/James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Bakery and Coffee Shop, Bakery Shop Owner Loki, Bakery Shop Owner Bucky Barnes, Coffee/Tea Shop Owner Clint Barton, Coffee/Tea Shop Owner Natasha Romanoff, Bookshop Owner Thor, High School Science Teacher Bruce Banner, Food Porn, Food, Dessert & Sweets, Gratuitous descriptions of pastries and pies, 5 times + 1 time, Artist Steve Rogers, Cake artist Steve Rogers, Mechanic Tony Stark

Summary: Five times Tony comes into the bakery to flirt with Steve, and the one time Steve goes to the garage to flirt with Tony.

Teacher, Teacher, Can You Reach Me? by @polizwrites

Rated: G

Tags: No Powers AU, Teacher AU pre-serum Steve, artist!Steve, young!Tony, Tony&Rhodey BroTP, Dares and Bets

Summary: After spotting a flyer at a new coffee shop, Rhodey dares Tony to attend a Sip and Sketch class; turns out the twinky blond barista is also the class instructor.

You Live Like This? by Sayah1112

Rated: E

Tags: Rape/Non-con elements, Mob boss Steve Rogers, Twink Tony, Angst, Face Fucking, Forced Blowjob, Mob AU, Non-consensual bondage, Blackmail, Humiliation, Enemies to lovers, Violence, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Howard Starks A+ parenting

Summary:

Mob-AU in which Steve Rogers in the head of the organized crime ring known as the Avengers. They rule New York with an iron fist and a take-no-prisoners attitude. Howard Stark has been getting in his way, bungling his deals, and selling SI weapons on the black market to the Avenger's enemies. Not to mention he is actively helping the police track down and capture his people. Steve can't let that stand. What better way to get back at man then to capture his only son?

Tony is out of the frying pan and into the fire. Living under an alias in a rundown apartment in Brooklyn, it's been a little over a month since he escaped out from beneath the press of his father's thumb. Disowned for the crime of being gay, Tony has been flying under the radar and trying to keep a low profile. That is, until he is captured by his father's enemies. They want their money back, and someone is going to pay.

Tony knows it won't be Howard.

I born in a messed up century by Hadrian

Rated: G

Tags: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Summary: Steve shouldn't be surprise: human never change.

Or, maybe, they can still surprise you, in their own way

A Cure for Every Ailment by @kandisheek

Rating: E

Tags: No Archive Warnings Apply, Sounding, Doctor Tony Stark, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers

Summary: Doctor Stark is testing his new experimental treatment for erectile dysfunction on a group of volunteers. It works very well on Steve Rogers. Just not for the reason Tony thinks.

Or: Tony doesn't realize that sounding is a kink, and Steve never knew he had it.

The Quest by @scottxlogan

Rating: T

Tags: Alternate Universe, Treasure Hunting, Archaeologist Steve, Swearing, Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Implied/Referenced Sex

Summary: Archaeologist Steve Rogers finds himself in the thick of danger and adventure after teaming up with his former mentor's son and current sidekick Tony Stark to chase down a rare treasure set to unlock all of humanity's mysteries along the way.

Shape of My Soulmate by @sivan325

Rated: M

Tags: Alternate Universe, Art Professor Tony Stark, Nude Model Steve Rogers, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Tattoos, Blushing Steve Rogers, Sorry Not Sorry, Fluff and Crack

Summary: Soulmate AU in which you could draw your soulmate's body before you know them.

Nowhere Near as Fun as it Sounds by ABrighterDarkness

Rated: T

Tags: No Archive Warnings Apply, Body Swap, Enhanced Senses/Over-sensitivity, Minor Character Injury

Summary: “You’ve never said anything. At all. To anyone,” Tony blurted, the words and realizations that smacked him straight in the face in the most bizarre way possible. Mid-mission, at that. Terrible timing. But…he felt like this was one of those things he should have somehow already known. Something he’d have somehow already addressed and fixed. And not just because he was the one that was now suffering from the lack of knowledge.

“Neither have you,” Steve said, quiet and solemn.

Out with the Old by @scottxlogan

Rated: M

Tags: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Non-serum Steve, Alternate Universe - 1980s, Alternate Universe - 1990s, New Year's Eve, New York City, Dirty Talking Steve Rogers, Dirty Talk, Swearing, Sexual Content, Alcohol, Hook-Up, Hopeful Ending

Summary: AU: Alone on New Year's Eve in 1989 in New York City, Tony decides to go all out in throwing a solo party for himself until sexy cashier Steve offers him a better alternative to a night of drunken loneliness.

The Journey by @scottxlogan

Rated: E

Tags: Established Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Anniversary, Threesome - M/M/M, Polyamory, Spanking, Sub Bucky Barnes, Dom Steve Rogers, Dom Tony Stark, Light BDSM, Sexual Content, Fluff and Smut, Restraints, Aftercare, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Role Playing, Dirty Talk, Feelings Realization, Friends to Lovers, Pole Dancing

Summary: Steve and Tony decide to take a special trip for their anniversary together. To spice things up they decide to gift each other a vacation with Bucky who is ready and willing to be what they need to make their anniversary even more memorable. Will it prove to be exactly what they needed to strengthen their marriage or will they find something more in their playtime with Bucky?

The Iron Captain by @kandisheek-art

Rated: G

Tags: Movie Poster, Old Hollywood

Summary: Tony and Steve star in Nick Fury's new movie.

All the World Below Me by Steph

Rated: T

Tags: no triggers or warnings

Summary: The trio finally has a chance to talk about some cultural (and biological) differences

Just like that...Back To Love by @scottxlogan

Rated: T

Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Idiots in Love, Feelings Realization, Past Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Swearing, Light Angst

Summary: Super spy Steve Rogers reflects on the mission he and his work partner/on and off lover Tony Stark put behind him and what it means to their future moving forward where matters of the heart are concerned.

[yeslieutenant]

Soulmate AU #2 (Part 1)

A/N: Here is another soulmate AU! "You see in gray until you TOUCH your soulmate for the first time"

Warnings: Swearing. NSFW in next part.

Word Count: 2,700

The shop smells like oil and sweat. Signs blink in the window, their colors dropped to a dull gray in the afternoon sun. Then again, everything was gray to me, including the sky and the friendly smile of the man watching me come in.

“Afternoon, miss. Can I help you?” He asks, and I plaster on my best fake smile.

“I sure hope so,” I say, a twinge of anxiety accidentally slipping into my voice. I glance at his colorless name tag. “Nick.”

“What seems to be the problem?” He asks, leaning his forearms on the clear countertop.

“It took 10 minutes to start, and the whole time it made this awful clicking noise, and then it sounded like gears grinding the whole way here.” I say, and the look he gives me does nothing to decrease my anxiety.

“Sounds like a starter problem, and another separate issue, most likely the transmission.”

“That sounds expensive. Um, are you available to do that here?” I ask. Cost, I can handle. It’s time I don’t have.

“I can’t, but I have a mechanic who can. You the little speedster out there?” He says, a slight smile breaking out across his mouth at the sight of my little car out front. I nod, my own smile donning on my face. “How about you step out there with us and we’ll take a peek under the hood.” I mumble out a quick thank you as I step out. Nick heads through a glass door with a fading ‘Employees only’ sign as I push open the front doors. I am hit with the intense August air as I step out into the sun. The grays are brighter out here, the almost white sun casting a slight glow to anywhere it touches. The door chimes again and I feel my breath hitch.

The man with Nick is only a bit taller, but his toned arms bulge out of the tight white tee shirt, and I wonder for a brief moment that if he flexes, the seams will just split. I can see a hint of a dark tattoo on his bicep, poking out from under the sleeve, and its not hard to notice the second one on his opposite forearm. It looks vaguely like an eagle, but I pull my eyes away from his form before he catches me staring, my mother’s words ringing through my skull. It’s not polite to stare, young lady. I find his eyes with my own, and he gives me a smirk and I watch as two small dimples appear on his cheeks, right in the corners of his lips. He caught me staring. I feel my cheeks grow warm in embarrassment.

“You said the car was making a grinding sound while you were driving it?” The dimpled man asks, and I feel my heart speed up at his thick accent. I nod quickly, my fingers wringing together in nervousness. “Wanna toss me your keys, little lady?” His voice drawls again and I toss my keys in his direction. He catches them with one hand, and it should not have been as attractive as it was. I watch as Nick and the man try to start the car before quickly lifting the hood. They examine it for a moment before Nick speaks, addressing me.

“Ma’am, would you be willing to try and start the car so we can be watching here?”

“Absolutely.” Nick drops the keys in my hand, our fingers brushing together for a split second. I hop into the open door of my car, sliding the key into the ignition and turning. I let it click painfully for a few more seconds before I slump back in my chair. I’m so fucked.

“One more time, sweetheart.” I hear the other man say, and I give it another turn. I wait anxiously through the clicking, praying the car will start, but end up disappointed yet again. I plant my feet on the ground and I hear them talking.

“It’s a miracle she even got it here. Starter is shot. Transmission ain’t great either, but I can’t speak for that until the car starts.” Mystery man is speaking quietly enough that I can barely hear him, but I stand up from the car, arms folded across my chest as I look to them.

“So what’s the damage?” My voice is shaky, and I know I must seem like such a naive and stupid girl by this point.

“We’re gonna wheel it in and Jason here is gonna see what he can do for the starter. Shouldn’t take too long if you wanna wait in the lobby.” Nick says, without a hint of condencentation or pity. “I’ll be in in a second to get some info from you.” I make my way back into the air conditioned lobby, once again looking at the colorless features. The black and white checkered flags are easy to see, but the sleek sports car there must be something other than black or white, the weird gray tones bouncing off of each other like lights. The door dings and Nick walks back in, beads of sweat rolling down his face.

“That is a chevorlet corvette, in a nice sporty red.” I look at it again. Red. It’s not like I can picture the color, but my dad always said that red cars are the best. They feel faster or some bullshit like that. Frankly, I don’t get the fascination with the color. Red. Even the name sounds short and curt, like trying to get away from someone you can’t stand. My mom used to say it was the color of passion, whether that be love or hatred; lust or anger.

“I couldn’t tell, sorry,” I say nonchalantly with a shrug of my shoulders. No sense letting him see how much it bothers me.

“Haven’t found the one yet?” He says, typing a few things onto his computer.

“Not yet. He’s still hiding from me,” I joke, a chuckle falling from my lips, Nick’s voice echoing mine shortly after.

“Nah. If he had seen you, there’s no way in hell he’d be hiding.” He says, and when I look at him, his face is pulled into a soft smile. He wasn’t flirting, just being nice.

“Well thank you, Nick.”

“No problem. Why don’t you take a seat for a bit, and Jason or myself will let you know what’s up as soon as we know something, yeah?”

“Perfect.”

*****

“Sweetheart?” I look up, seeing Jason standing a few feet in front of me, the arms of his gray coveralls still tied around his waist. His presumably white shirt is even dirtier than it was an hour ago, and there is black splotches covering his arms and hands, although it’s a bit hard to see his hands with his arms crossed over his broad chest. I can’t lie, he’s intimidating, but one look at his soft dark eyes, and any intimidating nature he has is quickly washed away. 

I wonder if his eyes are brown? You could ask me what the color brown looks like, and I could make a whole list of things I have heard are brown, but I could never describe to you the color itself. Mud, my mom’s favorite boots, my dad’s stringy locks, shit. But the color just appears to be a dark gray, just like every other color I know of.

“Ma’am? Are you-”

“Are your eyes brown?” His dark eyebrows shoot up before a small grin lights up his face.

“So I’m told.” I nod, comfortable with his answer. He can’t tell either. “Listen, about your car,” Jason starts, his hand coming up to rub the back of his neck. Anxiety tick. “I’m not gonna be able to fix it tonight. I fixed the starter and was able to get the engine going, but your transmission is blown to shit.”

“How long will it take?” I ask, feeling almost sick to my stomach. I have work tomorrow and I am still 6 hours from home. Mom is gonna freak out that I’m stuck in some rinky-dink town for God knows how long, and dad is gonna just-

“I can probably have it done by tomorrow night, at the earliest,” he definitely feels bad about it, that much is evident. His eyes watch mine, as if waiting for a bomb to explode.

“Okay. Thank you.” His eyes go wide, confusion hidden deep in those dark swirling pools.

“You’re not- I mean, I’m just surprised that you-”

“Didn’t blow up? It’s not exactly your fault that my car took a shit,” I send him a small smile. “Is there a motel nearby that I can stay at?” Jason still seems to be recovering from not being screamed at and Nick walks in at that exact moment.

“Oh good. You told her about her car. Listen, I know this may be a huge inconvenience to you, but there is a motel just a few blocks away that I could give you a lift to on my way out,” his kindness is astounding to me, as well as Jason’s.

“I can walk, it’s not a big deal,” I say with a wave of my hand, gesturing to nothing in particular.

“Miss L/N, it’s almost dark out. I know you can’t see the colors, but the sun has already started to set. Please let me drive you to the motel. I’m leaving in 10 minutes,” Nick insists, grabbing a light gray flannel shirt from the back of the chair in front of what I presume is his computer. I turn my body, looking out the window at the fading light in the distance. It’s all swirls of gray and black, fading from shadows to deeper shadows the closer you get to the horizon line.

“Okay, yeah. A lift would be great,” I agree with a nod.

“Cool. Jason, are you coming to poker tonight?” His tone is light and casual, but it seems like there is more behind the question than he’s letting on. Jason turns quickly, almost in surprise, before nodding.

“Yeah, I’ll be a bit later though. I wanna make sure the part for her car will be here tomorrow, then I’ll head over.”

“You don’t have to do that, really,” I start, but Nick cuts me off.

“He’s gonna do it whether we tell him not to or not. Ready to go?” I tear my eyes away from Jason’s form, and give him a barely noticeable nod, and I follow behind him as he strides out of the shop into the rapidly cooling air. *****

The bar is loud, filling with a smooth country melody I don’t recognize as I follow behind Nick. I hear a plethora of voices cry out his name and a beautiful woman with flowing light gray hair comes up, planting a sweet kiss on his lips before locking eyes with me.

 “Hi?”

“Lindsey, this is Y/N, her car broke down but she lives pretty far away, so I invited her to poker with us. She’s staying in the motel across the street while we fix her car.” Nick says, his voice directed at the woman I now know is named Lindsey. She looks at me, her eyes scanning me and I feel myself shrink slightly under her scrutiny, but she quickly breaks into a smile, grabbing my hand and dragging me over to a table with two men sitting there already.

“Oooh who’s this?” One of them says, his frame relaxed as he leans back in his chair, his arms folded over his chest.

“Nathan, leave her be.” Lindsey scolds before sitting, patting the seat next to her, to which I gratefully sit.

“I just asked her name, Linds,” Nathan says, leaning forward til his elbows are resting on the table.

“My name is Y/N.”

“Nice to meet you, Y/N. I’m Joey,” the man with glasses says, and he offers me his hand to shake. I take it, shaking as best I can from across the table.

“Where’s Kolchek?” Nathan asks, his eyes watching behind Nick as he takes a seat between Joey and Lindsey.

“Was finishing something up at the shop. He’ll be here soon.”

“He’s always late for poker night!” Nathan yells, and Nick does his best to shut him up as the waitress comes over, notepad in hand.

“What can I get you folks?” Orders are placed, and drinks are brought over before Joey slaps Nathan on the arm, pointing to the door in a ‘look’ motion. His eyes follow Joey’s finger before calling out:

“Lieutenant! You finally decided to show up!” Lieutenant? Lieutenant of what? “Check out the cutie we got with us tonight!”

I feel my face flush at Nathan’s pet name, and I recoil slightly when his hand lands on my shoulder. I glance around, the world still dull and gray and I breathe a sigh of relief.

“Merwin, get your hands off her, you’re making her uncomfortable.” Lindsey defends, again, grabbing his hand and tossing it off me. She grips the bottom of my seat before tugging, yanking me closer to her. I make a small strangled noise of confusion before Jason slips a chair between Nathan and myself, placing himself between me and the handsy man.

“Good to see you again, Miss L/N,” he says, his hand gripping the brim of his hat and dipping his head slightly. I chuckle lightly at the gesture.

“Just Y/N is fine. I hope you don’t mind me asking, but Nathan called you Lieutenant. Am I allowed to ask for clarification?” The question surprises him, but only for a split second before he’s chuckling.

“I was a Lieutenant in the Marine Corps before I discharged.” He’s a marine? And a Lieutenant? He seems pretty young for that…

Before I have a chance to ask more questions, Lindsey pulls out a deck of cards.

“You know how to play Texas Hold ‘Em, Y/N?”

*****

The stakes are higher than I’d like, the pool of cash in the middle of the table growing bigger with every card played. I move to fold, taking a quick glance around the table. Joey and Lindsey folded early, and Nick folded at the last card that got laid down. Nathan keeps his eyes glued to the face up cards on the table, as if he is hoping they’ll change if he stares hard enough. Jason’s eyes are bouncing around the whole table, and he reaches up, lifting his hat to run his fingers through the hair there. I bounce my knee under the table for a moment, and then place another twenty in the pool. Both of the marines’ (I learned they were all in the same squad together earlier) eyes go wide, and Jason curses under his breath before raising the bet even further. Nathan rolls his eyes before dropping his cards on the table in frustration, mumbling ‘I fold’ under his breath. I look at Jason, my eyes twinkling with mischief.

“I call.” He leans back in his chair, sizing me up before he chuckles, a smirk playing across his, frankly, kissable lips.

“Show me what you got, sweetheart.” The grays in his eyes mix with the blacks and I find myself getting lost in their lack of color as I drop my flush down unceremoniously before looking back at the man, my hand resting under my chin. He looks at, almost impressed, before he drops a royal flush on the table. “Sorry, doll.” I laugh.

“You got a damn good poker face!” He shrugs, leaning forward to grab his cards. I had the same idea, and our fingers touch for a moment on top of a card. He pulls away, a small chuckle leaving his mouth as I scoop up the cards, straightening them  before I lean over to hand them to Nick, since it’s his turn to deal. He reaches forward, his dark skin brushing against mine to grip the cards. Then I notice it.

The hearts and numbers on the card are not gray. They’re… They’re…

“Holy shit.” I turn to look at Jason at the sound of his drawl and notice his eyes are already on me, his mouth hanging open, almost in fear. His eyes are wide. His brown eyes.

“Your eyes are brown,” I whisper. I guess I can finally describe what brown looks like. It’s the color of my soulmates eyes.

*****

Tags: @kawaiiwitch224 @yellowroseskolchek @house-of-kolchek @lorebite @buttermykolchek @kassiekolchek22

[m-jelly]

Learning to blossom - Chapter 8

Stunning banner created by the wonderful @ladycheesington 💕

Pairing: Levi x Fem!Reader

Genre and tags: Romance, fluff, modern AU, Uni AU, confessions, tattooed Levi, drama, flustered Levi, sad Levi, cheering up Levi.

Concept: You and Levi have a serious talk about the future on the beach before having a bit of romantic fun. A storm rolls in one day and you both cuddle up in the tent. Levi distracts you from the loud thunder with sweet talks with you. While back a uni and now living in a house with friends, Levi has a moment of weakness when he sees you've made a friend in a new lecture. Levi confesses through tears his self-doubt and you shower him with love and reassure him of your love for him.

AO3 link

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12

Levi inhaled deeply as his body woke up. He smiled softly as he felt the gentle sea breeze flow into the tent. He moaned a little as memories of last night floated into his mind. He had proposed to you and then he had you moaning under him in the tent all night long. Levi just kept going until you both passed out from exhaustion. You were both so wrapped up in your deep love for each other.

He rolled over and reached for you, but you weren’t next to him. He opened his eyes and leaned up to see you lying on your stomach and looking outside the tent at the sea with a blanket over you to cover your naked form. He smiled as you kicked your legs looking adorable to him. He crawled over to you and eyed the bites on the back of your neck and shoulder.

You giggled when you felt your fiancé lay his full weight against yours as his lips decorated your shoulders in kisses. “Mm, morning, my dear fiancé.”

Levi wrapped his arms around you and kissed your cheek. “I will never get tired of hearing that.”

You placed your hand on Levi’s. “Are you okay?”

“I’m perfect.” He pressed his hips against your bum. “What about you?”

“I’m good.” You reached over and grabbed your phone. “Can I take a picture of us?”

Levi kissed the side of your head. “Yes, but this is for our eyes only seeing as we’re both naked.”

You giggled. “Promise.” You took a picture and smiled at Levi’s messy hair and how tired and in love, he seemed. “I love it.”

He nipped your neck a little. “I’ll get us some breakfast this morning.”

“I’m going to head to the shower.”

Levi climbed off you and watched you change into your bikini to wear in the outdoor shower. He handed you a towel before pulling you close and kissing you. “I’ll keep an eye on you, my bunny.”

You blew him a kiss and grabbed your little bag of cleaning things. You hurried to the outdoor shower for your and Levi’s lot.  You smiled at Levi as he gazed at you. You washed your body and started singing to yourself. You jumped when Levi wrapped his arms around you and swayed with you under the water. You turned around and hugged him tightly.

You cupped his face and smiled. “I thought you were making breakfast.”

“I was, but then I saw how delicious you looked and I couldn’t resist.”

You hand him cleaning things. “Well, I’m done in here. So, I’ll make our breakfast.”

Levi huffed as he watched you wrap up in your towel. “I want to shower with you.”

“We’re out in public.”

He pouted a little. “Boo.”

You giggled and climbed into the tent. You changed into your day things before sitting by the fire and started making a nice simple breakfast. You boiled water for the most important part, tea. You handed food and tea to Levi once he returned to you. You sat in silence for a while and just enjoyed the crashing waves and each other’s company.

Levi released a long sigh before looking over at you. “What would you like to do today? Do you still want to investigate the area?”

You nodded. “I do. We can explore and go shopping.”

“Perfect.” He packed everything up. “I’ll clean and then we’ll go.”

You grabbed a backpack and packed it with a few things. “We walking?”

“Yes, unless you don’t want to?”

You grinned. “I want to!”

He chuckled at your excited response. “All right then, we’ll walk there. We can grab a few snacks and maybe something special for tonight?”

“Sounds like a great plan.”

He cleaned the area before closing the tent and putting a little lock on. He took the backpack from you and offered his hand. “You put enough sunscreen on?”

You nodded. “I did.”

“Promise?”

You grinned at him. “Promise!”

He pulled you against his side and huffed a little. “Good because I don’t want you burning.”

You walked down the beach a little before turning and walking alongside the shoreline. You turned your head and kissed Levi’s shoulder a few times. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” He held you against his chest and kissed your forehead. “I love you so much. I can’t believe we’re engaged.”

You giggled. “It’s perfect.”

He smiled a little. “So, what are your plans for the future? Other than marrying me.”

You hummed a laugh. “Well, I am really looking forward to graduating with my criminology degree. I want to help victims and I want to do some profiling, you know, so can work on crime prevention.”

“You’re really good at that. Your essays on statistics and crime are incredible. You have this way of understanding people.” He leaned and kissed you. “I am so proud.”

You blushed bright red. “Th-thank you.” You cleared your throat. “What about you?”

He released a long sigh. “Well, I would love to work my way up to be a detective, but I don’t want to worry you.”

You stopped walking and gazed at Levi with eyes wide. “Le…Levi…”

He reached over and caressed your cheek. “I just want you to live a life full of love and no worries. I want to take care of you. I don’t want you to be worried about a single thing.”

You lowered your head. “I don’t want you to give up on your dream for me. I will support you and encourage you every single step of the way.”

He wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close. “Thank you, but my darling bunny wife.”

You giggled. “I’m not your wife yet.”

He cupped your face. “Bunny wife.” He kissed the end of your nose. “There is another plan but it is a lot to ask of you.”

You tilted your head a little. “What’s the plan?”

He gulped a little and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ve been talking to Erwin and Mike and well…we’ve thought about maybe starting our own business.”

You hummed. “What kind?”

“Security.” He gazed at you as everything went silent. He felt the heaviness in the air. “I know starting a business will mean I’ll be working a lot and not having much money, but it’ll pay off in the end and it’ll do really well. We’re planning it all out. I promise it’ll go well.” He reached over and held your hand. “I promise.”

You cupped Levi’s face and kissed him. “I won’t stand between you and your dream. I love you and I will stand by you. If you want this business, then I want this business too. I’ll help and support you. Can I make donations of money?”

Levi welled up. “Bunny…”

“I want to! I want to help, so let me donate money towards this, please.”

He nodded and hugged you tightly. He sobbed your name. “Thank you.” He crashed his lips against yours and forgot all about people watching. He pushed his tongue into your mouth and squeezed you. “Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for being here for me. Thank you for offering to help.” He smiled. “And most importantly, thank you for loving me.”

You smiled sweetly through your tears. “Through thick and thin Levi. I will always support you and love you.”

“I’m the luckiest man in the world.” He grabbed your hips and lifted you making you giggle. “I can’t wait to finish university and marry you!”

You kicked your legs and giggled. “I can’t wait either. We’re going to have a wonderful future together.”

He lowered you down onto your feet and swayed with you. “We are.”

You held his hand and walked with him. “So, I need to get you an engagement ring.”

“I have one.” He showed you the ring you got him that he always wore on his ring finger. “You proposed a long time ago to me.”

You blushed. “Levi.”

He smirked. “So soon too. You swept me off my feet.”

You snorted a laugh. “Levi!”

He chuckled and led you to the shops. “Pick anything you want, okay?”

You nodded and looked around the shop, but then you stopped yourself when you thought about Levi’s dream. You hummed a little and didn’t pick a thing. “You know, I think I’m good.”

Levi frowned a little. “Don’t you want anything?”

“Well, we should save up money for your business.” You held his hands. “I don’t need anything as long as I have you.” You kissed his hands. “You’re all I need.”

Levi whined a little. “So cute.” He hugged you tightly. “I love you so much.”

“Love you too.”

He released you. “Just a few snacks then. I can show you the cheap stuff I loved as a kid.”

You grinned. “I’d love to try!”

Levi grabbed a basket, went around the shop with you, and grabbed treats he adored as a kid and some ice pops too. He walked back to the tent with you. He made you wait in the hammock for him while he put everything away. He returned to you with the ice pop and drinks. He mixed a few things and swung in the hammock with you. He broke the couple sharing ice pop in half and handed you on.

You snuggled up to Levi and smiled as you chatted and laughed together. “This is amazing.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“Thank you for sharing your childhood with me.”

Levi put his arm around you. “I’ll share everything with you.”

You tangled yourself in Levi’s arms. “I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us. I know it’s going to be rough sometimes, but as long as we have each other I know it’s going to be all right.”

Levi groaned a little. “Tch, damn cute bunny.”

You leaned up and looked at Levi as he covered his face with his arm. “Levi? What’s wrong?”

He moved his arm a little and looked at you as he groaned. “You get me all riled up saying such sweet things.”

You straddled Levi and swung the hammock a little. “Is your little bunny wife-to-be making you horny?”

Levi growled at you. “Yes.”

You placed your hands on his pecs and leaned down. “Do you want to watch your bunny bounce?”

Levi slapped his hands on your ass and smiled. “Where do you get your energy from?”

You giggled. “I suck it all from you.”

Levi grinded his hips up against you. “You also get regular injections too.”

You leaned down and purred at him. “I need another does.”

“I’m happy to provide.”

You giggled as you play fought with Levi in your tent. You smiled in delight at Levi chuckling at you as he barely fought back. You rolled and had him pinned below you. You sat up and began tickling him making him cry with laughter. You squeaked when he caught your arms and slammed you onto your back. You gasped when he shoved your top up and blew on your belly.

He stopped when you flinched at a loud crack of thunder. He leaned up and looked down at you. “Are you okay?”

You hummed and nodded. “I’m okay. It just surprised me.” You gasped at another loud bang and curled up under Levi. “Mm.”

Levi sat up and pulled you into his arms. “It’s okay.”

You clung to Levi. “I’m not scared of it, it’s just it’s really loud and we’re very out in the open.”

Levi held you close as the rain poured down on the top of the tent. “We’re safe, don’t worry. If it gets bad, I’ll carry you to the car and we’ll hide in there.”

You whined a little. “Okay.”

Levi pressed the side of your head against his chest. “Listen to my heart, okay?” He placed his hand over your ear. “That should help.”

You closed your eyes and listened to his steady heart beating. You smiled softly and enjoyed the wonderful sound. You slid your hand around his waist and squeezed a little making his heart race. You hummed a laugh. “Your heart rate just increased.”

“Cause you’re feeling me up.”

“You’re so warm, that’s why.”

He lay back with you and smiled at you. “Is that good?”

You nodded and kept touching him. “It is.”

He hummed at your loving and delicate touch. “Is it just my warmth you like?”

“You’re just so soft.”

“Good thing?”

You leaned up and looked down at Levi. “Yes. All of you is a good thing.”

He gulped hard. “Even my scar?”

You traced his scar over and over. “Yes.”

He smiled a little. “I’m glad you love all of me.”

“You’re my everything.” You flopped on your side on the floor and covered your ears. “Loud.”

Levi lay on his side and took your hand in his. “About our future.”

You gazed at Levi. “Future?”

He nodded as he massaged your hand. “The first few years will be rough for us if I’m starting a business with my friends.”

You hummed in thought. “We won’t have much money.”

“No, we’ll have very little but I will work hard so we have enough.”

You gazed at him. “I’ll get two part-time jobs and work every day to save up money.”

Levi gasped in horror at your declaration. “No, no please don’t.”

“Okay, so a full-time and then a weekend job?”

He shook his head. “No, I don’t want you working that much just for me.”

You pouted a little. “But I want to help you achieve your dream.”

“Not at the expense of exhausting you and draining you of money.” He shuffled closer to you. “I want you to not stress at all. I want to take care of you.”

“But I want to help.”

He rubbed your cheek before tangling his fingers in your hair and kissing your forehead as he fought tears. “I know, bunny, I know. I am so thankful to you for everything you’ve done for me and what you will do, but I don’t want you to go too far for me.”

You sighed a little. “Then what do I do?” You lowered your head. “I can’t just lie back and let you spoil me like you’re suggesting. I want to help more than just support you. You said I could donate money.”

He sighed. “Either one part-time job or one full-time, okay? No two jobs.”

You smiled at him. “Okay, one job.”

“And don’t give me most of your wages, okay?”

You nodded. “A third.”

“No.”

“Quarter?”

He cupped your face. “We’ll work it out when we get there, but for now I don’t want you giving me most of your money.”

You nodded. “Okay. So, what about a home?”

“We’ll be in a nice little apartment. It’ll be a cheap one and very small, but we’ll make it ours.”

You nibbled your lip as you thought. “Well, there is another option and please tell me if this is rude.”

Levi frowned. “What is it?”

“Well, we could live with your mother?” You cleared your throat and hid your face from Levi. “She loves us both and we will give her money for bills and everything. It’ll mean we can save more for the business side of things and she won’t be lonely.”

Levi lifted your head by your chin and kissed you. “I was going to suggest that too, but I thought you’d say no. You really don’t mind living with my mother?”

You shook your head. “I wouldn’t mind at all. I love Kuchel a lot.” You reached over and played with Levi’s shirt. “We’ll help her out a lot. I’ll do everything I can around the house and help her with money.”

Levi kissed you and hummed. “We’ll be a close-knit family.” He pushed his hand under your shirt and delicately dragged his hand over your soft delicate skin. “We’ll look after each other and take care of each other.” He pulled you closer making you giggle. “Together always. I promise that when the business does well I’ll take you on many holidays and buy us a nice big house.”

You hummed as Levi squeezed you and nibbled your neck. “Well, what about a nice house in the country? Imagine our kids running around having fun together, catching bugs, swimming in the lake and going for long woodland walks.” You blushed. “Maybe look up at the stars.”

Levi yanked you against his chest and whined. “So cute. I want all that.”

You hummed a laugh. “Am I making you flustered?”

“Yes.”

You pushed your hands under Levi’s shirt and enjoyed how soft and warm he was. “Levi?”

“Mm?”

“Thank you for distracting me with talks about our future.”

He rubbed your back. “You’re welcome.”

“I love you.”

Levi blushed as he felt adored by you. “I love you too. I love you very deeply.” He looked outside. “Think the storm has passed, but the rain is still heavy.”

You sat up and hummed. “Shall we go run around in the rain?”

“Bunny, you could get sick.”

You pulled your clothes off so you were in your underwear. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

He gasped. “Wait!” He sat in the tent and watched you run out into the rain. He panicked that maybe you’d get sick, or you’d get hurt. However, all his worries washed away when he saw you laughing and dancing. “Cute.” He pulled his clothes off so he was just in his boxers. He sighed and climbed out of the tent into the warm rain. “Too cute.” He ran over to you and tackled you into his arms. He spun around with you and chuckled. “Got you.”

You squealed in delight. “Isn’t this fun?”

“Yes, but we are half-naked right now. What if people see us?”

“We’re in our underwear Levi, we’re wearing the same amount of clothes as if we were going for a swim.”

He hummed at your words. “You have a point.”

You jumped into his arms and kissed him. “Let’s just enjoy the little things, okay? It’s moments like this we’ll remember fondly when we’re older.”

“You’re right.”

You leaned down and kissed him. “Part of me wishes we could stay on this holiday forever, but we do have to go back.”

Levi smiled at you. “We’ll make it a tradition. Every summer we’ll come here.”

You giggled at the thought. “Perfect!”

Levi let out a big yawn before rolling over in bed and putting his arm over you. He dragged you closer and nuzzled the crook of your neck and hummed in happiness. The rest of your summer had been perfect on the beach and at his mother’s after. You both then travelled back to university to move into the house that you shared with Erwin and his girlfriend, Athena and Mike.

Hange often was around but due to what she was studying, she needed a very big space to study and work. She also had a girlfriend who needed a lot of space. Mike was always over hanging out with both. You and Levi would go over to visit, but due to the huge number of plants and the slight mess in Hange’s area, you would only visit a bit for Levi’s sake and to stop him from cleaning up after her. Levi loved his dear friend Hange, but he really couldn’t handle the mess.

Levi perked up when he heard you waking up. “Bunny!”

You giggled as Levi covered you in kisses. “Good morning, bear.” You rolled over and faced him. “We have a few lectures this morning, right?”

He nodded. “Yes, but I just want to stay in bed with you.”

“We have to get going though.”

Levi wrapped himself around you. “No.”

You bit his pec making him flinch and release you. You climbed out of bed and ran away to your private bathroom. You cleaned up for the morning before leaving the bathroom to see a grumpy naked Levi standing gazing at you. You giggled and poked the bite on his pec. “Grumpy bear. You should go back into hibernation.”

“Not without you.”

You walked past him and started getting changed. “We have lectures today.”

He pouted. “We can skip.”

You looked over at Levi. “Summer holidays are over. We need to focus on uni.”

“I know, but I just want to be with you.”

You packed your bag and smiled. “We’ll be together all day except for one lecture.”

He whined a little. “I know, but one lecture is too long.”

You hummed a laugh and handed over his clothes. “You can last two hours without me.”

“No.”

“You can.” You helped him change. “If you manage it, I’ll reward you with anything you want.”

Levi’s eyes lit up. “Really!? Anything I want?”

You nodded and giggled. “Really.”

He pouted a bit and shifted on the spot. “Can I pick you up from your lecture?”

You leaned closer and kissed him. “Yes.”

“Perfect. I will accept this deal.”

You picked up your bag and walked with Levi. “Come on, lecture time.”

Levi hurried around with you all day going to different lectures and then came the one he was not looking forward to, one where he had to part with you. He held you tightly in front of your room and whined. “I’ll miss you.”

You rubbed his back. “I’ll miss you too.” You kissed him and smiled. “I’ll see you in two hours, okay?”

He nodded. “Yes. I love you.”

“I love you always.” You stepped back and waved to Levi. “Don’t give me that sad puppy look.”

He waved a little. “Have fun.”

“You too!”

Levi dragged his feet as he made his way to his business lecture. He pouted a little as he sat next to Erwin taking notes and planning a few things with the business they would start after university. When the lecture got to the end he smiled knowing he’d get to see you, hold you and kiss you. He blushed a little as his mind was flooded with images of you and your sweet voice. He jumped to his feet and hurried to greet you with Erwin chasing him.

Levi came to a sudden stop in the hall when he saw you laughing and gazing at a man. He whined a little when the guy looked like he’d walked right out of a pop group, or a K-drama. Levi clenched his jaw when he saw how the guy played with your hair a little. “Tch, that son of a bitch is touching my fiancée.”

Erwin stopped Levi from storming over. “Levi, don’t. Trust her, okay?”

Levi whined a little and touched his hair and looked down at his clothes. “Maybe I should get a haircut or something? I should buy better clothes…”

Erwin frowned a bit. “You don’t need to change anything about yourself, you’re perfect to her.”

“I know, but I want to be better.”

Erwin shook his head. “If only you saw the way she looks at you. Just watch.”

Levi looked over at you again to see you notice him. Levi blushed hard when your eyes lit up in pure delight before rushing over and jumping into his arms. He gripped you tightly and sighed. “Hello, beautiful. Was your lecture okay?”

You nodded and grinned. “It was perfect! I’m so excited about this class.” You jumped onto your feet and bounced up and down. “I’m learning so much!” You gasped. “Oh! I made some new friends!”

Levi glared at the man walking closer who’d been touching you too much for his likely. He took the guy all in. He was taller than Levi, slim build with some muscles. He was pale with almost black eyes that made him look deadly. His hair was a stylish mess with a red tint on his lips from some makeup. He had a few earrings in his ear and one was a long one. Levi was beginning to think again that he might get a haircut.

He offered his slender hand with no scars or cuts to Levi. “Hwan.”

Levi shook his hand. “Levi.”

You hugged Levi’s side. “This is the amazing fiancé I told you about!”

Hwan gazed at Levi. “Hm.”

You giggled. “He’s not normally this cold. Hwan, be nicer like you were in the lecture.”

Levi clenched up thinking this man in front of him was a better version of him. “Nice to meet you. Thank you for being her friend.”

You gazed at Levi. “How was your lecture?”

“Good. I worked very hard.”

You held Levi’s hands. “So, what do you want as your reward?” You grinned in happiness. “How about you tell me after dinner out?”

Hwan plopped his hand on your head. “BBQ and beer, my treat…” he glanced at Levi “peaches.”

You pouted hard. “Hwan.”

Erwin chuckled. “Peaches?”

Hwan poked your cheek. “Her cheeks are like them.”

“I suppose they are.” He offered his hand. “Erwin.”

“Hwan.” He sighed. “So? BBQ and beer?”

You gazed at Levi and saw he was up in his head and sad. “Actually, the dinner I mentioned is a date we planned.” You smiled at Levi. “Sushi, remember?”

Levi blushed and nodded. “Yes.”

You waved to Hwan. “See you next time and see you back home Erwin. Your girlfriend wants you.”

Erwin flinched and pulled his phone out. He slowly went bright red as he read the texts and saw the sexy picture. “I have to run home.”

You hummed a laugh as you walked with Levi. “She’s going to eat him alive. It’s best if we stay out for a bit.” You gazed at Levi with a bright smile, but it slowly faded. “Levi?”

He looked down at you. “Mm?”

“Are you okay?”

He hummed. “Can we go for a drive on my bike?”

You nodded as your heart weighed heavy. “Of course.”

He pulled you along back to the house. He led you around the back to his bike and grabbed two helmets. “Here.”

You took your helmet and put it on before climbing onto the back and hugging Levi. You squeezed him as he sped off through the streets until he reached the hotel where you both gave your virginities to each other. You climbed off when he parked and wondered what he was up to. You blushed at him going into reception to get a room key before returning to you.

You hugged your helmet and gazed at him. “Levi?”

He played with the card. “I just thought…” he gulped hard and welled up. “Forgive me.”

You dropped the helmet and cupped his face. “Oh, darling Levi, what’s wrong?”

He wrapped his arms around you and held you tightly. “I got jealous and was filled with self-doubt.”

You rubbed his back. “Really?”

He nodded shyly. “I know you love me and want to marry me, but I just had a moment of weakness.”

“Do you want to go to the room and talk?”

He nodded and pulled you along to the love hotel. He set the bath going inside the room and smiled softly. “It’s the same room.”

You giggled. “The things we did in here.”

He sat on the end of the bath and welled up again. “I’m sorry.”

You knelt in front of him. “It’s okay. I have a lot of self-doubts. I’m constantly beating myself up in my head. What I’m getting at is, you can talk to me.”

He rubbed his tears away. “He’s a better version of me.”

You frowned. “He? Who is he?”

He shook his head. “He’s all cool and chill and I’m just this jealous asshole. He is probably really smart, has lots of money and could spoil you and I’m just this poor muscle-brained idiot.”

You pulled Levi off the bath and held him against you. “Shh.” You played with his hair as he cried. “You’re not those things, okay? You’re so smart and handsome. Plus, I don’t care about money, okay? I love you, Levi.”

“I just love you so much. I’m scared I cling to you too much and you’ll hate me for it and run off. I can’t lose you.”

You rocked with him. “You won’t ever lose me, okay?” You wiped his tears and kissed his forehead. “You’re the love of my life. I want to marry you. I want to go to the ends of the earth with you. Levi, you’re my forever.”

He sniffed. “So, I don’t scare you? I’m not too clinging?”

“You’re perfect. I love you just the way you are. I love how you hold me so tightly and how you cherish me. You make me feel so beautiful.” You covered his face in kisses. “Besides, I’m clingy with you. Remember how I was with Heather before she lost her shit?”

He blushed a little. “Y-Yes.”

You gave him a little squeeze. “You’re mine, Levi. I won’t let anyone have you and I won’t give myself to anyone but you.”

He hummed and hugged you. “Bunny.”

“Bear.” You played with his hair a bit. “Anyway, who is this guy you’re comparing yourself to?”

Levi pulled his head from you. “What?”

You laughed. “Well, I don’t know who it is. I can’t think of a single guy…”

Levi gazed at you and saw you were perplexed. “You…you really don’t see anyone but me, do you?”

You smiled at Levi. “Well, of course. You’re just so handsome and I’m so in love with you.” You nuzzled your nose against his. “My cute bear.”

“Hwan.”

You pulled back. “Hwan!? Really?” You frowned in thought. “Him? Wow.”

Levi frowned. “You seem…shocked.”

“Well, I don’t really see him as handsome…” You pulled a face in thought. “He seems nice, but I just…I dunno I don’t see it.”

Levi was in shock. He chuckled a little before laughing a lot. “You are too cute.”

You patted your cheeks as you pouted. “Don’t laugh at me. I’m being honest. I just don’t see the appeal, okay?”

Levi hugged you. “Don’t ever change, my love.”

“Never.” You got up and pulled your clothes off. “Bath.”

Levi nodded and took his things off before climbing into the bath. He blushed when you sat behind him. “What are you doing?”

You washed his hair and hummed. “Taking care of my fiancé.”

He smiled as he fussed over him. “Um…I’ve been thinking about maybe having a haircut.”

You hugged him from behind. “Oh yeah? What are you thinking of having done?”

“Maybe an undercut and keeping the top bit long.”

You gasped in delight. “You’ll look so good! I will miss your fluffy locks, but you’ll pull off an undercut so well.” You nipped his shoulder and giggled. “You’ll look all grown up. Is it so you can look fancy in a suit?”

“Yeah.”

You rubbed his pecs. “You’ll look lovely, Levi.”

He blushed a little. “Thank you and thank you for hearing me out today.”

“You’re welcome, but I want you to know I will always listen to you because you’re the man I love. I want to be here for you in good times and bad.” You took Levi’s left hand in your left. “You and me forever. I will never leave you.”

Levi turned in the bath and faced you. “I love you so much. When I say that you are my life, you really are. I live for you.”

You tilted your head and kissed him. “I will always love you. Don’t ever forget that, okay? The man I see before me is the man I love and will always love. No matter what time does to us and how it changes our looks, I will forever love you.” You grinned. “All your hair can go grey, you can lose all the muscles and you could have health issues. Anything at all. I will still love you and still pick you.”

Levi whined and yanked you against him. He moaned your name as he held your wet naked body against his own. “I’m the luckiest man in the world.”

You hummed a laugh. “I am lucky too. I know you love me more than I could possibly imagine. You call me beautiful even when I have just woken up, my hair is a mess and there’s some drool.” You snorted a laugh. “You just love all of me.”

He nodded. “I do. I really do.” He called your name. “I love you. I love you so much.” His lips crashed against yours. “I love you.”