#personal shopper 2

[flash-from-the-past]

Personal Shopper 3

[ceilidho]

prompt: IKEA soap/reader fic. PART 4. (read 1, 2, 3) tags: dubcon; nsfw

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You only realize after the fact that you may have miscalculated in thinking that this could be a one-time thing between the two of you. 

After listening to Johnny bitch and moan during the Christmas party about having to take time off work to spend the holidays with his very religious family, you delude yourself into thinking you’ll finally be able to have some peace and quiet around the store. Not literally, of course. Working during the holidays is always a recipe for exhaustion—parents coming in at the last minute to demand toys that have long since sold out, fights breaking out in every other aisle as customers fight for the last palatable set of Christmas ornaments and boxed fruit cake. 

You’re not delusional enough to think that work will be a piece of cake, but you are selfishly a little happy that you’ll finally get some time to breathe without Johnny hovering over your shoulder at all hours of your shift. Seasonal shoppers are as exhausting as always, but you get to sit alone in the breakroom with a cup of coffee in the morning right before your shift without someone staring at you or breathing into your personal bubble. 

Johnny spends his entire time off blowing up your phone, sending you pictures of his childhood home, calling you during your breaks, and sending you weird videos that seem to have been filmed entirely in the dark where you can’t see or hear anything apart from some weird squeaks and one loud grunt at the very end of the video that sounds kind of like—you close the video.

You spend the first few days of January dreading his return. The day of is like a shock to your nervous system, the whole morning spent pouring coffee with a trembling hand. 

“Hiya gorgeous,” he purrs when you clock in for your shift. You’re somewhat used to Johnny sneaking up behind you, so you don’t flinch this time when you feel the length of his body press up against you at the time clock. 

“Johnny, it’s seven in the morning,” you mutter out through pursed lips, shoulders stiff when he puts his hands on them and digs his thumbs into the tender points of your back. You bite back a moan.

“Missed ye, kitten. Cannae believe I went a whole week without hearing you purr.”

He could’ve phrased that a thousand other ways, but he just had to choose the one that would make you wince. He digs his thumbs in again, trying to push the moan out of you, but you tamp it down. You hold back a shudder when he plants his nose onto the crown of your head and inhales, drawing your scent into his lungs. 

“Where’ye assigned ta today? Jeff owes me a favour—gonna ask him if I can spend the day with ye so we can catch up.” 

You go still when he drops a firm kiss to the side of your head. “I’m…not sure. I haven’t checked the schedule yet.” It’s a half-lie. You may not have checked the schedule yet, but you know from having briefly chatted with your manager this morning in the parking lot where you’ll be spending most of your day.

Still, it means that you get to shake off Johnny for a bit. “Lemme go check for ye, okay, hen? Stay here, a’right?”

You watch him jog off down the hall to the breakroom before finally leaving. It’ll be better for you if you’re gone before he comes back. 

The first hour of your day is spent on softlines until Priya in jewellery randomly comes down with a chill and gets sent home early, forcing you to cover her section. Usually that wouldn’t be such a bad deal—it means you get to spend your shift helping people try on bracelets and rings, restocking the earring display, and leaning against the counter for hours at a time. It’s not a particularly busy station.  

While you're assigned to the jewellery section though, Johnny pops out of nowhere as you're helping a customer contemplating a birthday ring for his fiancé. With the kind of confidence that you’ve come to expect from Johnny, he uses your hand to model some of the rings, but this time it feels oddly weirdly intense. When he slides the first ring onto your finger, you can feel the way he holds his breath, even shudders a bit. He presses himself right up against you behind the display counter, hardness pressing against your hip. 

It doesn’t take long for your customer to leave. Johnny’s demeanour is off-putting, concerning even. You can’t fault the guy for being rightfully repulsed by the way Johnny crowds up against you like you’re alone together. 

“What are you doing?” you hiss through your teeth.

“Cannae help it, hen. I ken ye wanna wait, but it jus’ makes me a bit emotional seein’ my girl wearing a ring I put on.”

He blinks down at you with big, blue eyes, the picture of innocence. You should’ve anticipated there being a danger in letting Johnny stew over that on his own. Of course he’d come to his own conclusions, even one as deranged as thinking of your hook up as a step towards dating. You can’t help but side eye him. 

“We—we’re not a couple, Johnny.”

He cocks an eyebrow. “Ye just let anybody eat you out in the supply closet then? S’that right?” It’s said rhetorically, like he knows the answer already. You flinch at the slight though.

“That was—” you cut yourself off to take a breath, an ache growing behind your forehead, “—that was a…it was a one-time thing. You can’t just act like we’re dating.”

His lips turn down in a pout, displeasure rippling across his face. You brace yourself for the inevitable argument, for shit to hit the fan, because obviously that’s what’s brewing under the surface. You brace yourself for worse too because when you happen to glance around, you realize how few people are actually milling around in the area. 

Then, instead of losing his temper, Johnny’s eyes grow smoky, heavy-lidded, and the pout lifts into a lazy, playful grin. “A’right, kitty, no’ dating then. That’s fine wi’ me.”

This time it’s you that frowns, staring up at him dubiously. “…Really?” It feels too sudden, quicksilver. Johnny’s fiery by nature, short tempered on his best days and more likely to grit his teeth and bear the displeasure of not getting his way than happily giving into it. His sudden smile is at odds with the version of him that exists in your mind, furious at you for denying him. 

Maybe you’ve got him all wrong. 

The gleam in his eye betrays nothing, however. “I swear.” He leans closer to you then, fingers fiddling with the name tag pinned over your chest on your work vest, straightening it. “Doesnae mean we have ta give the rest up though. Ye liked what we did in the closet, right, hen?”

It feels like he’s sucked the air out of the room, as big as it is. “I thought we weren’t going to talk about that.”

“Och, c’mon, kitty,” Johnny breathes, hunching just a little over and into your space, making the moment feel private, just the two of you. “Had to talk about it eventually. Did ye just expect that everything would go back to normal after ye let me eat ye out? Hey—” he catches you when you try to make a move to step away from him, wrapping a big hand around your wrist and tugging you closer to him, “—listen, kitty—it doesnae have to be anything serious, right? That’s what’s making ye all jumpy and nervous? I’ll lick your pussy, free of charge. Dinnae need any labels. How’s that sound, kitty? Dick on demand?”

It should repulse you. The way he speaks to you is crass, crude. His voice is hushed, haggard, fur stretched taut over stone—and yet, your hands tremble, just a little. It tempts you. Purring Scottish burr, lapis lazuli eyes, bristle cheeks that you still remember scraping up your inner thighs. He’s a package you can’t imagine sending back.

“You won’t get…you promise not to get weird about it?” you ask.

His smile curls up, impish. “Cross my heart, kitten.”

Maybe you’re delusional enough to think that you can have your cake and eat it too. There’s a voice in your head telling you to face the facts, but you disregard it as if you haven’t been working with Johnny for months. As if you aren’t aware of his penchant for saying or doing anything to get his way. It’s maybe naive of you. 

All you know is that he smothers a laugh when you tell him you’ll think about it. Knows he’s got you right where he wants.

You don’t fight when he drags you into the single-stall bathroom towards the end of your shift, letting him position you in front of the mirror before sinking to his knees behind you. Forces you to watch the way you come apart on his tongue, not giving you his fingers until you beg him to, the whispered plea a hairsbreadth away from becoming a scream. 

“Oh, did she miss me?” Johnny breathes, a happy laugh in his voice when he runs the broad side of his tongue over your entrance from the back. “Fuck, look at that. Winked at me ‘n everythin’. Hi darling, missed ye too.”

You don’t think you’ll ever be the same after hearing that come out of his mouth. You go hot all over again when you clench involuntarily, equal parts turned on and horrified. He sniggers before trying to cram his whole tongue up into you. 

There’s a moment of panic when Johnny draws up behind you after making you come and you hear him undo his pants. There’s nowhere for you to go with your pants still looped around your ankles, underwear pulled all the way down as well. You hear yourself hiss a startled Johnny when he slots a fat cock between your thighs, staring dumbly at the reflection of him behind you. At your back, he seems massive, lean and trim but towering over you, broad. 

He shushes you. “Dinnae be selfish, hen—gotta get mine too. Jus’ gonna fuck your thighs, dinnae fret.”

You squeak when he pushes your thighs together forcefully, dragging his cock over your folds to wet himself. Watching Johnny fuck is nothing like staring down at him when he eats you out. He pants harsh and ragged into the side of your head, nips at your ear. The glint in his eyes goes animalistic, vacant. Human desire recedes, subsumed into the animal part of his brain with the single-minded need to fuck. 

The only thing keeping him from driving up into you, accidentally or not, is the way you keep your thighs pressed together. A warm, tight channel for him to push his cock into. Thick fingers dig into your waist, sure to leave bruises. You wince when lean hips pound against your backside, growing frantic as need overtakes him. You flirt at the edge of panic, certain that at any second, he’ll pull your thighs apart and nudge the head of his cock up into you. 

“Jus’ like that, fuck,” he grunts. “Be a good little fuckin’ girl and jus’ let me—”

His tongue lolls out on a particularly rough thrust, hands groping over your belly and up to your chest, slipping his hand under your shirt and bra to pinch your nipple. He twists it mean, nasty, until you have no choice but to grunt through grit teeth, eyes watering. You feel like a doll meant for his pleasure, no choice but to grip the sides of the sink and let Johnny use you until he comes. 

“Fuck,” Johnny groans, eyes going half-lidded. “Love makin’ this pussy come. Love gettin’ her all messy and wet. Lettin’ me between your thighs even when I make ye nervous—fuck, ‘m gonna come, ‘m gonna—fuck, fuck, fuck—”

White come stripes the sink in front of you, thick and viscous. Paints the inside of your thighs as well when he drags his hips back until just the head of his cock sits nestled up against your sex. Hyperconscious of where it tags your inner lips, that there’s no barrier between the two of you, just come and skin. 

The full body shake shocks you, a ripple from your heels to the top of your head. 

His free hand grasps you by the hair when you try to slip away. “Ye gonna clean up your mess, baby?”

You glance back up at his reflection in the mirror, trying to suss him out. Shark-like eyes meet yours. Something you’ve seen in glances before finally staring back at you with full force. You reach for the paper towel dispenser with a shaking hand. 

“Nah,” Johnny scolds, giving you a shake. “With your mouth.”

The command hangs in the air, no joke or laugh to undercut it. His eyes read serious to you, still dark. No leniency present in the blue. 

You stare down at his come on the sink, slack-jawed. “You don’t seriously mean—”

“Jus’ kidding, silly,” he chuckles, giving a teasing bite to your earlobe and tugging. The tension in the air disperses. “Got ye, huh?” 

You force a laugh. “Yeah…got me.”

[puckinghischier]

Jersey Talk

nico hischier x fem!reader, jack hughes x platonic!reader, luke hughes x platonic!reader

summary: reader finds herself engaging in a lot of jersey talk

notes: part 3 of my lil unnamed nico series!! i loved writing this part and hope you enjoy it as much as i do 🥹 also, i didn’t really proofread so ignore any mistakes. and just a disclaimer, i don’t claim to know everything there is to know about any of the players mentioned in my writing, so if there’s inaccuracies on timelines or personality traits, just ignore them and assume it’s for the plot 😌

p.s.!! i’m thinking about starting a tag list for this/any of my writing i post so if you want to be a part of that, let me know!!

part 1, part 2, part 4

[6.4k]

You absolutely love how foot travel friendly New Jersey is. Coming from an area where foot travel is virtually nonexistent, the change is a welcomed one. You appreciate being able to simply grab your favorite totes, your headphones, and make the fifteen-minute walk to the small corner store. Surely in the winter you’ll feel differently about the five-block trek, but hopefully you’ll have your car by then. For now, the comfortable Autumn air makes the walk enjoyable. The fresh air, the beautiful buildings, and the surprising friendliness of the strangers you pass on the street make you feel like you made the right decision in relocating your life to the garden state.

Luckily this grocery run was fairly light, only needing to pick up some essentials until one of the boys gives you a ride to the larger chain grocery store on one of their upcoming off days. You really just needed the ingredients to make dinner tonight, making good on your promise to be their personal shopper and occasional chef in exchange for a place to live. You even stopped in a small bakery about a block from your apartment and picked up a few assorted pastries for a sweet treat later, knowing how much Luke loves his dessert.

As you walk into the apartment, courtesy of your shiny new key Jack gave you last week, you see both him and Luke on the couch, each with one hand on an iPad held out so both could view the contents on the screen. You assume they’re watching game film, preparing for their game later in the week against the Rangers. Your assumption is confirmed when you hear the unmistakable sound of sticks slapping against pucks and ice coming from the iPad in question.

They’re both so engrossed in the game film on the screen that they have no clue that you’ve even walked through the door. You make your way to the kitchen to unload what’s in your hands, putting away what little groceries you bought. Once you’re finished in the kitchen, you make your way back out into the living room, wanting to catch up with your roommates on how their midday practice had gone. As you walk towards the living area, rounding the loveseat adjacent to the sectional where the boys sit, Luke catches your moving figure from the corner of his eye. His body jerks slightly, clearly startled until he notices its only you.

“Oh my god you just scared the shit out of me,” you hear him exhale, holding his hand to his chest.

You just chuckle as you see Jack whip his head up, confused as to what Luke was referring to until he saw you sitting down, tucking your feet up under your legs to get comfortable.

“When did you get home? Have you been here the whole time?” Jack asks, pausing the game film and sitting the iPad on the small coffee table in the center of the room.

“No, you two were just lost in hockey land when I came in. I went to the corner mart a few blocks down to get stuff to make dinner, then put it all away before coming in here. Thought I’d give you guys a few more minutes before I came in here and interrupted,” you replied, resting your chin on your hands that are placed on the arm of the loveseat.

“Well, you have our full attention now. What’s up?” Jack leans back into the couch once again, stretching his arms above his head.

“Just wanted to talk to my boys. See how practice went today. Figure out how you guys are going to fare against the Rags,” you throw in a small dig at their biggest rival team.

“The Rags? Since when do you participate in hockey talk?” Luke chimes into the conversation, laughing slightly at your attempt to assimilate into the world of hockey.

“Since I overheard a conversation at this cute little bakery down the street. While I was waiting in line there was a man in front of me with a Devils hat on and the guy working the counter was asking him about his thoughts on the game this week. He was talking about how much he wishes ‘the boys can pull their heads out of their asses and beat the damn Rags’ and I thought it was funny. Figured I should probably adopt the local vernacular if I want to fit in around here. You know, participate in the Jersey talk,” you recall with a shrug of your shoulders.

The two brothers let out a little chuckle at your story, amused at your attempt to insert yourself into their world. The two of them and Quinn taught you a lot about how hockey is played and the rules over the years, but their hope of you fully getting involved in all of the aspects of hockey and the fanbase quickly dissolved. They would sit and force you to watch reruns of games with them over the summer at the lake, and you would sit there and whine because of how badly you wanted to go out on the boat or drive the golf cart down to the local ice cream shop, not listening to a single word the trio would say to you. Once you made the decision to move in with the two youngest brothers, you figured you should probably put a little more effort into the whole hockey fan experience, considering you would likely be attending games on a regular basis.

“Well, we’ve been preparing for the Rags, so that old man in the bakery can rest easy knowing we’re working our asses off, which our heads aren’t in, by the way,” Jack speaks, correcting the stranger’s statement.

“Yeah, we’re doing really well, actually. We keep splitting the team up and forcing one half to mimic the Rangers and some of their techniques, so we’re actually getting really good at stopping them from getting the puck into our zone. Plus, our goalies are putting out some insane stops during practice, so I really think we’ve got this in the bag,” Luke adds, excited to showcase their hard work.

You’ve noticed that practices must have been hard for the boys this week. A lot of naps and ibuprofen consumed. You haven’t really seen much of them, if you’re being honest. They’re usually gone by the time you wake up in the mornings and so tired by the time they come home that they go straight to the couch or their bedrooms and fall asleep. By the time they wake up from their naps you’re usually already cooking dinner, at least getting to chat a bit while you cook. After finishing dinner they’re back to the couch, watching game film or heading back to the arena for various events and strategy meetings. They go to bed fairly early, considering all of their early morning starts, so evenings are usually spent in your room by yourself watching tv or catching up with your friends back home. You suppose you should get used to spending time by yourself, though, knowing you’ll be here by yourself more often than not during the season.

They had a game in Boston a few days prior, leaving you with your apartment to yourself for the first time in the two weeks you’ve lived with them. They were only gone for one night, but it was definitely lonely. You really haven’t been here long enough to have an abundance of people to call up anytime Jack and Luke were unavailable, so you had passed the time by exploring the area around your apartment complex a little, finding the perfect park to go sit at to soak up some much-needed sunshine. You couldn’t hide your excitement when the two brothers returned home the next evening, though. You got up from the couch and ran over to the door, ready to greet them and ask them all about the game (you had watched it on tv, but you really just wanted to talk to someone after a full day with no one’s company but your own), but you were greeted with tired eyes and frowns, despite their win the previous night. You simply gave each of them a hug and then sent them off to bed, knowing once they got some sleep they would be up for conversation.

This is why, right now, even though you have zero knowledge of what preparing for a rival hockey game consists of, you’re taking in every word the two have to offer about the subject. You’re just happy to have a few uninterrupted minutes to sit and talk with them.

“Good! That’s great! Really…good,” you say, giving a thumbs up and awkward smile after failing to come up with a better response to Luke’s statements.

Luke just laughs, appreciating your attempts at interest in their jobs.

“You’re coming to the game, right? We put back a ticket for you, but if you can’t make it that’s okay, too. Got you a pretty sick seat, though. Glass seat, right beside the net,” Jack reveals, raising his eyebrows a bit, as if trying to convince you.

“Of course I’ll be there, I wouldn’t miss it for the world!” you exclaim, a little offended at the mere thought you’d skip out on such a big game for them.

“You won’t be disappointed, I swear. We’re gonna kick some major Rags ass,” Luke adds, excitement showing at the idea of you being in the crowd.

“The real question here shouldn’t be if I’m coming to the game or not. It’s whose jersey am I going to wear?” you throw out, poking fun at the two.

“Pshh, c’mon that one’s a no brainer. You’ll obviously wear mine, I’m your favorite,” Jack waves off your words, fully confident that you’ll agree with him.

“I don’t know, Rowdy. I feel like plenty of people will have 86 jerseys on. It is Moose’s rookie season, maybe I should wear his so he feels included.”

“Yeah, dickhead. You have a whole arena full of people wearing your number, she should wear mine. We all know it’s the better number anyways,” Luke retorts.

Jack rolls his eyes, opening his mouth to fire back an insult at Luke, but he’s cut off by a knock at the door. You look over at the two boys to see if they know who might be at the door, but both of their faces mirror your confused look. So much for your uninterrupted time with them.

“Did you guys invite someone over? Or should I be worried that there’s a murderer standing on the other side of our door right now,” you ask.

“Well first of all I don’t think a murderer would knock on the door. They would probably pick the lock or something. Isn’t the whole point of murdering someone to do it when they don’t see it coming?” Jack responds, standing up. “Second of all, it’s probably just Nico. I had mentioned watching game film together at practice earlier and he told me he’d see how he was feeling later. Kinda forgot about it, if I’m being honest, but this is around the time he wakes up from his post-practice nap.”

You sit up a little straighter when Jack mentions his teammate and captain. You hadn’t seen him since your first night in town about two weeks ago. You’d caught little bits of information about him in passing from both Jack and Luke, but tried to keep your questions about him to a minimum. The two of you were still practically strangers, not having had any reason to communicate after that night. You assume he’s been as busy as Jack and Luke, coming and going far more than you. Still, you’re surprised you haven’t even run into him once. You figure his captain duties keep him far busier than even Luke and Jack.

You hear the front door open and then two sets of voices making their way down the short hallway. You look over to see Nico in a hoodie and sweats, a hat hiding his long hair. You think back to that night at the bar when his hair was uncovered and he was having to push it out of his eyes for most of the night, wishing you could catch a glimpse of the brown locks right now. The two were continuing their short conversation from the door, so Nico had yet to acknowledge you or Luke yet. You look away, starting to pick at a loose thread on your socks, knowing you needed to avert your eyes before you were caught staring.

Unknown to you, Luke had already noticed your stare, observing how fixated you were on his captain. You look over to find Luke staring at you, an undecipherable expression on his face. You give him a puzzled look, as if to say ‘what?’ and he responds by simply shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders a bit.

“Oh, hey you two. How’s it going?” Nico’s voice pulls you from your silent conversation with Luke, noticing Jack was no longer next to him.

“Hey, man. How was your nap? Your shoulder okay?” Luke asks him, adjusting his body slightly on the couch to make room for Nico to sit down.

You turn your head to look at Nico once again, a small hint of worry surfacing. He doesn’t look injured? His arm isn’t in a sling or anything, and he’s not holding it in pain. You watch as he sits down to see if even the smallest wince makes its way across his face as his back comes to rest against the plush cushions. If he’s in any sort of pain, he’s not letting it show in his actions.

“Yeah, perfectly fine. Don’t give yourself that much credit, kid. You don’t hit nearly as hard as you think you do,” Nico chuckles, taking his hand and tapping Luke on the knee a few times.

“Trying to hurt your captain before a huge game, Luke?” you speak for the first time since Nico entered the apartment. “Maybe I should wear Jack’s jersey on Saturday.”

“I knew it! See, my jersey is clearly the better choice, Moose. Sucks to suck, huh?” Jack interjects with a grin, walking from the direction of the kitchen, glass of water in hand.

“Now c’mon, Y/N, that isn’t even fair. It was an accident!” Luke cries out. “We were running drills and I was trying to stop, but I misjudged and ran into Nico. He didn’t even hit the glass that hard, you heard him!”he argues, looking between you and his brother.

“All I’m saying is, it won’t look good if the rookie is the reason the captain can’t play against public enemy number one. Then you’ll become public enemy number one, and I can’t be caught at a game wearing the new public enemy’s jersey. I’m already a newcomer, I can’t tarnish my reputation this early,” you hold your hands up in defense.

“What have I just walked into?” Nico asks, eyes darting between the three of you.

“Well, right before you walked in, we were talking about which jersey Y/N was going to wear to the game on Saturday. I told her the obvious choice was mine, but she decided to spew some bullshit about there being too many 86 jerseys already, so she should wear Luke’s since he’s new and needs to feel included,” Jack uses finger quotes around the last part of his sentence.

“Well, she has a point.”

“See! Even Cap thinks so! That’s it, you’re wearing my jersey, Y/N. Cap’s word is final,” Luke leans back, taking in his assumed victory.

Your mind wanders back to Nico’s words he spoke to you at the bar a couple of weeks ago, wondering if Luke’s statement includes those words, too.

“Maybe I should be fair and not wear either jersey. Just go down the roster and pick a random name and then buy it,” you joke, watching the brothers widen their eyes like you just told them you ran over their childhood pet.

“That’s…not even funny. How dare you even joke about something so important,” Jack stares at you, seriousness painted on his features.

“C’mon, Y/N, that’s just…that’s just cruel,” Luke emphasizes the last word dramatically.

“I think you should do it. In fact, I have a spare jersey I think you can wear,” Nico adds, looking at you with mischievous eyes.

“Oh, well that actually sounds lovely, Nico, thank you! What better way to show my support at my first Devils game than sporting the captain’s jersey?”

Jack and Luke both turn their heads to glare at their captain sitting between them. If looks could kill, the poor Swiss man would be six feet under right now. The Hughes brothers don’t play around when it comes to their jerseys. You remember when you had gone to one of Luke’s games while he was playing for Michigan, wanting to buy a Michigan jersey in support, but the gift shop had run out of Luke’s number once he announced his contract with the Devils. You knew you could have simply asked him for a jersey, knowing he had several lying around his dorm room, but the trip was supposed to be a surprise.

You were forced to buy a random jersey with some lesser known last name on it, because you still wanted to show up in Michigan attire. You don’t even remember whose name and number it was, but you remember the look on Luke’s face when he saw you during warm ups, going from pure joy to disgust in seconds. He skated off, going to the locker room briefly before returning with a yellow Jersey that he then threw over the glass to your seat, motioning for you to put it on. You just laughed and did as you were told. You’ve had similar arguments with both Jack and Quinn over threatening to wear a teammates jersey over the years, but you just like to poke fun at how protective the three are over you. Jack explained to you that they want you to wear their jersey’s because it shows their teammates that you’re to be left alone, knowing the reputations of their fellow players.

“Cap, please don’t make me kick you out of this apartment right now,” Jack looks at Nico with complete seriousness.

“Maybe I need to work on my body checks in practice tomorrow, Cap,” Luke tries to threaten.

Nico simply laughs, shaking his head at the sudden unity between the two bickering brothers.

“Alright, chill out you two, all jokes. Unless…” You trail off, standing up.

“No, no unless. You’re wearing one of our jerseys, preferably mine. Hey! Where are you going, this is serious!” Jack yells after you as you walk towards the kitchen.

“Unless you want to starve tonight, someone has to start making dinner. Plus, I have some jersey shopping to do,” you say, hearing Nico’s laughter ringing out once more as you enter the kitchen.

———————————————————————————

“Hey, Nico! Are you staying for dinner? I need to know how much pasta to make!” you shout from your spot by the stove, having just sat down a large pot of water on the hot eye.

You walk over to the cabinet to grab the box of pasta and a couple jars of sauce, waiting for an answer from the living room. You decided to go with just simple spaghetti and salad tonight, not really in the mood for having to prep a ton of food and spend an hour and a half cooking. Jack will probably complain about the amount of carbs he’s consuming, but he’ll get over it. As if he doesn’t burn enough calories from practice and his personal workouts he does on a daily basis. Luke will just be happy to have something that isn’t chicken, seeing as that’s all you made for the first few days of your new living arrangement, trying to stick to the meal plan Jack had the nutritionist send you.

After the third night of some form of chicken and vegetables, Luke was quick to inform you that no one on the team follows the meal plan so strictly. You also learned that Jack is going through some phase of eating nothing but chicken or steak and brown rice, Luke revealing that’s what the two mostly lived on during the weeks leading up to your move. You had told Luke he should learn to cook for himself, and then he wouldn’t be forced to eat what Jack or you decide to make if he doesn’t like it, but he had rolled his eyes and told you “this was the agreement, right? We won’t let you pay rent, so you told us you would contribute by cooking. So really, I’m just helping you fulfill your roommate duties.”

You still don’t have an answer from the three in the living room. You figure they’re too busy with game film to hear you, so you decide to just make enough for Nico, too. You can always pack up the leftovers and have them for lunch the next few days if needed. You dump what you think to be the proper amount of pasta for four people into the pot once it reaches a boil, then work on pouring the sauce into a pan to let it heat up. You cheated on the salad, too, deciding to just buy two bags of salad mix, dumping the bag into a large bowl and adding the small packets of toppings. You’ve just dumped the now done pasta into the colander in the sink, turning to put the pot back onto the stove to cool off a bit when a voice causes you to nearly drop the hot pot in your hands.

“It smells delicious in here,” Nico announces his presence, walking through the doorway towards the fridge.

You settle yourself before setting the pot down safely on the stovetop before speaking. “You know, I really need to get on ordering those squeaky shoes if I want to avoid a heart attack by 25.”

Turning your body, you see Nico hunched over looking in the fridge, arm reaching towards a water bottle before raising up, flashing you a smile.

“Nah, even if you buy them I wouldn’t wear them. This is like, our thing now. Me sneaking up on you, you getting mad, me getting a good laugh out of it,” he stands back at his full height now.

“How comforting that you find enjoyment out of my jumpiness. Such an admirable trait to have,” you grumble, taking the pasta from the sink and transfer it into the pan filled with sauce. “I was going to ask if you wanted to stay for dinner, seeing as it looks like I made enough to feed the entire team, but I think I’ll just leave you to fend for yourself. See how funny that is.”

This earns another laugh, Nico moving to lean against the counter opposite of you, watching you try to combine the sauce and the pasta without making a giant mess.

“Why don’t you just put it back in the pot you cooked the pasta in. You’ll be able to mix it easier.”

“Because apparently that would have been too easy,” you step back and huff, wondering why you didn’t think of that before you created an overflowing mess of sauce and noodles.

Nico makes his way over to you, placing his hands on your shoulders to move you out of the way. He picks up the pan and dumps the contents into the pot sitting next to it, not spilling a single drop.

“There, now you can mix it easier and it won’t spill out over the sides and cause an even bigger mess,” he states, placing the dirty pan in the sink behind you.

“Okay, captain chef, next time you’re cooking dinner, since you clearly have more kitchen skills than me,” you tell him, making your way across the kitchen to collect plates to sit on the table.

Nico just chuckles as he watches you grab the plates, sitting one in front of each chair around the small dining table that sits in the kitchen.

“It smells so good in here, please tell me its almost done,” Jack enters the kitchen, Luke trailing behind him.

“It is, just finished actually,” you look up, Nico carrying the pot of steaming pasta from the stove to the table, careful not to drop it.

“Rowdy, grab the salad over there by the sink for me while I grab some forks for everyone,” you move towards the silverware drawer, walking around the Swiss man in your kitchen, having to turn your body slightly as he steps back from the table.

“Well, I better get going, my leftovers aren’t going to heat themselves up,” Nico announces, starting to make his way out of the kitchen.

“Cap, are you crazy? Do you not see how much food Bouy made?” Jack places the bowl of salad next to the pot of pasta, taking his seat at the table.

“Jack, I’m being so serious right now, if you keep using that stupid nickname for me I will sneak laxatives into your protein shakes.” You take the seat across from Jack, Luke falling into the seat to your left.

“Well, as long as it’s okay with Bouy, I’d love to stay.” Nico walks back over to the table, taking the seat next to Jack, smirking while avoiding eye contact with you.

“I know where you live, so the threat extends to you too, Cap” you glare at Nico.

The rest of the meal is mostly filled with talk between the three hockey players, you chiming in here and there, until Jack shifts the topic of conversation to you.

“So, what’s the update with your new job? You have everything lined up and ready to go?”

“Yeah, talked to them earlier today, actually. They said they’d have my office ready in about a week, so I should be starting not long after that.” You shrug, not wanting to bore them with the details of the corporate scene in New Jersey.

“Where are you going to be working?” Nico asks, genuine interest present in his tone, wiping his mouth with his napkin.

“I got offered a position with a small publishing company not too far from here, actually. Mostly independent, up and coming authors, but still exciting,” you reveal, perking up a bit at the opportunity to talk about your passion.

“Was super worried I wasn’t going to be able to use my degree after college, seeing as the market for English lit degrees isn’t too wide unless you want to teach. At least, that’s how it is back home. After I graduated and Jack offered the spare room here, I applied to a few positions here in Jersey and a few in New York, willing to make the commute if needed. Only heard back from one place, though. And it just so happened to be a thirty-minute drive from here, so I accepted and started packing,” you explained.

“It was meant to be. The gang back together once again,” Jack beams.

“Well, the gang minus Quinn. The fucker just had to end up in Vancouver of all places,” Luke grumbles, still upset the oldest Hughes is so far away.

“Lucky for us I can work remotely if I ever need or want to, so this summer at the lake we can all be together again,” you try to cheer Luke up, knowing how much he wishes the three brothers could have played on the same team while making their dreams come true.

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Jack celebrates. “This is going to be the best summer at the lake house yet. We’re all grown, most of us legal drinking age, but don’t worry, we won’t tell if you won’t, Lukey,” Jack winks over at Luke, knowing the underage drinking rule has never really applied in the sacred space of the lake houses, “and we’ll all finally be there together again after, what, like 6 years?”

“It’s been awhile, at least that long,” you try to think back to the last time everyone was there together.

It was the summer before Quinn got drafted. Quinn had signed to play hockey at Michigan a few months before everyone was set to arrive at the summer oasis. You remember being so proud of him. You couldn’t wait to finally see him and congratulate him in person, knowing how hard he had worked for it. You figured things would stay the same for a few more years, expecting him to come home every summer for the next four years before moving on to the NHL. You had no clue that he would be drafted only a summer later and that it would be the beginning of the end for the summers of fun at the lake house.

“Nico, you should come up this summer! It’s always such a good time!” Jack pulls you from your reminiscing.

“I mean, maybe. I’ve been talking to my parents about flying home during the off season this year, since I didn’t make it over there last year. But I could probably come for a few days, at least,” he shrugs his shoulders.

You try to picture Nico at the lake house, hat covering his hair, swim trunks and a t-shirt covering his body. You picture him lounging on the boat in the sun while Jack takes everyone out for a midday ride, finding a secluded spot somewhere on the lake to stop and swim for a while. You picture him trying to wake surf, wondering if he’d be instantly good at it or if he would end up wiping out in the water. You picture him sitting around the fire at night, a light hoodie on to the mask the chill that never fails to make an appearance on Michigan summer nights, the glow from the fire illuminating his face just enough for you to admire him. You picture him with a slight sunburn on his nose, tan skin glowing from being in the sun so often.

You must have been lost in your thoughts for longer than you realized, because you came back to the conversation with several calls of your name from the seat next to you.

“Are you even listening to us anymore? Or do you really not want Cap coming to the lake house?” Luke looks over at you, slightly waving his hand in front of your face.

“What? No,” you say, looking around at the expectant faces surrounding you. “I mean, no I don’t care if he comes. It would be fun, yeah. If he can make it, of course. You heard him, I’m sure he’s excited to see his family.”

“I’m sure I can work something out. Have the best of both worlds. These two have talked about the infamous lake house so much I’m curious to see if it really lives up to all the hype,” Nico leans back, nodding his head towards both Jack and Luke.

“Then its settled! Cap is coming to Michigan this summer!” Jack cheers, throwing his arms up in celebration.

You laugh in response to Jack’s excitement, noticing that everyone seems to be done eating, plates clean and glasses empty. You stand up and start to take some of the dishes to the sink, setting them in there before walking back over to the table.

“Since you’re in such a good mood, I think now would be the best time to tell you that you and Luke have dish duty tonight.” You clear the last of the dishes off the table.

You watch Jack’s face fall, while Luke’s does a sharp turn in your direction. You turn your back to them to walk back over to the counter, opening the cabinet below you to find Tupperware to store the leftovers in.

“On that note, I better get going. Have some laundry I need to get done before practice in the morning,” Nico stands, bringing over a few stray pieces of silverware you seemed to have missed.

“Oh, no you don’t, Cap. You heard her, she cooked, we clean,” Jack turns to look at his captain as he makes his way to the sink.

“No, I said you and Luke have dish duty tonight. Nico’s name was never mentioned. Guests don’t do the dishes, Jack. I know Ellen raised you better than that.”

“Nico is hardly a guest. He’s over here all the time!” Luke chimes in, opening one of the drawers by the sink, grabbing a towel to dry dishes with.

“He doesn’t pay any rent for the apartment, therefore he’s a guest. Just accept your fate, you two. You’ll survive, I promise.” You hand the pot you just emptied to Jack, taking the food in your hands to the fridge a few steps away.

“You don’t pay any rent, and you’re not a guest,” Jack mumbles, hands covered in soapy suds.

“Exactly! That means I don’t do the dishes, either. I knew you’d catch on eventually! And they say you’re just a pretty face,” you shut the fridge door, looking over at Jack with an amused grin.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it!” Jack whines.

“C’mon, man, you walked right into that one,” Nico adds, laughing at his teammate.

Jack glares at the taller man. “I thought you said you were leaving, that you had laundry to do or some shit.”

“I am, I am,” Nico throws his hands up in defense.

“I’ll walk you out, Nico. Leave the children to pout while doing their chores,” you jest, walking toward the kitchen’s exit.

“Thanks for dinner, Y/N. Ten times better than whatever I would’ve found in my fridge,” Nico says as you pass through the living room.

“Anytime, Cap,” you use his title, blaming Jack and Luke for the new habit. “After all, I owed you for rescuing me from sleeping in the hallway.”

This earns another one of those laughs you love to hear fall from his mouth, smiling to yourself as he follows you down the small hallway towards the front door.

“I feel like you definitely had to put in more effort on your end of that deal,” he steps through the door you’re holding open.

“I’ll just wait until you owe me a favor, then I’ll make sure to cash in some extravagant request,” you joke, leaning against the door as he stands in the hallway.

“I’ll be eagerly awaiting the day.”

Nico takes his apartment key from his pocket and unlocks his door, opening it and stepping inside, turning around to face you once again, his stance mirroring your own in his own doorway.

“So, I’ll see you at the game on Saturday, then?” He stalls a goodbye.

“Yep, I’ll be there. Still deciding which brother I’m going to piss off,” you reference the earlier argument over whose jersey you’ll wear.

“Oh, that reminds me-“ Nico says before propping his door open, leaving you alone in your doorway, confused as to where he could’ve gone.

After about a minute of you standing there, wondering if he was going to come back, he returns, holding a red jersey in his hand.

“Here, figured there’s no sense in you going out and buying one if you really wanted to mess with their heads.”

He hands you the jersey, stepping back into his doorway. You unfold the jersey and notice the big black C on the upper left corner of the jersey. It was a solid red jersey, the team’s symbol in the middle, two black stripes on the forearms of each sleeve, more black accents on the shoulders of the jersey. You look up at him, a little surprised.

“I- I can’t take one of your jerseys, Nico. What if I mess it up, or spill something on it? I’ll just wear one of the ones I have. This looks too nice to risk it,” you attempt to hand the jersey back across the hallway.

“No, I insist. I think it’ll be fun to mess around with them a little. Especially Jack, since he seemed so convinced you were going to wear his. They’ll never even see it coming,” Nico refuses.

You run the idea through your head for a second, thinking about how it would be a funny little dig at the boys. You also think about the implications of wearing a jersey that doesn’t belong to one of Hughes brothers. It’s harmless, though, right? Nico said it was just a fun way to get under their skin. ‘Don’t jump to conclusions, Y/N’ you think to yourself, trying to kick your habit of creative narratives in your head.

“Okay, but if I end up getting kicked out of my apartment I’m knocking on your door to sleep on your couch,” you finally agree.

“My door’s always open for you.”

You look back down to the jersey in your hands to hide the blush that appears on your face at his words. You know you’ve only known him for a short period of time, tonight being the first real chunk of time you’ve spent in his presence, but Nico is making it really hard for you to keep your feelings for him casual. You’ve always had a habit of getting a case of the heart eyes fast, but you’re trying to be normal, for once.

He’s likely just being his normal, personable self and you’re letting every smile and joke go to your head, placing more meaning on them than is warranted. There’s just something about him, though. He’s extremely attractive, for one. But it’s more than that. From all that you’ve learned about him through Jack and Luke, and the easy conversation that has flowed between the two of you from the moment you first spoke to him in the hallway, you can’t lie to yourself and say you’re not drawn to the Swiss captain.

Your mind circles back to the idea of wearing his jersey this weekend and what Jack and Luke will think. What if you seriously hurt their feelings? What if it affects how they play because they’re mad at you? What if they ignore you the whole game? You know the two brothers love you, but you also know how petty they can both be when mad.

“Stop overthinking it. I can see you getting lost up in that head of yours. It’s a harmless joke. They’re not going to freak out on the ice or anything. And if they do, I’m in more danger than you are,” Nico reassures you, pulling you from your thoughts.

“You better at least score a goal if I’m risking being homeless for you,” you tell him, looking back up at his face.

“How about I do you one better. If you promise to wear my jersey, I’ll score a hatty for your first ever New Jersey Devils hockey experience,” Nico offers, his eyes flashing with something you assume is delight at a challenge.

“Well then you better work on your slapshot tomorrow morning, Captain. I’ll be holding you to that Saturday night,” you take the bait, knowing how difficult a hat trick is to pull off.

“No need, I know I’ll have the right motivation night of to get it done,” he winks at you, causing your stomach to fill with butterflies. “And if I don’t, consider it your IOU for that extravagant request you might need one day,” He responds, crossing his arms and shrugging his shoulders, the nonchalance of his body language making you hope for his failure, just so you can think of some ridiculous task for him to perform.

“Thanks for the heads up, I’ll get right to brainstorming,” you respond, trying to prevent your thoughts from spiraling yet again.

Nico lets out a small laugh, standing up straight and placing his hand on the handle of his door. “Think hard. Let me know what you come up with. Have a good night, Bouy, see you Saturday.” He shuts the door before you can berate him for using the nickname you hate.

You walk back into your apartment, door shutting behind you, going straight to your room to hide the jersey before either of the boys see it. You think back on the entire interaction, a smile on your face at the possibility of being able to have Nico do anything you ask him. As you’re walking past the kitchen you hear Jack’s voice.

“Luke, am I stupid or did Y/N call me stupid earlier?” he recalls your earlier comment about him being ‘just a pretty face’.

“Think about how you worded the first part of your question and you’ll have your answer,” you hear Luke respond as you make it past the kitchen unnoticed, making you stifle a giggle so you won’t be discovered.

Oh how you loved being back with your boys.

[sageandred]

*(These aren't for me.) I was bored and made 1 of my own of these (:

(made specifically for all who reblog) >>>

OTP + CHARACTER ASK

Send a ship + a number and get an answer.

1. Who is the better cook?

2. Who gets up to cook at 2am?

3. Are they into PDA? Who initiates most?

4. Their favorite show to watch together?

5. Who is the cheesier one of the two?

6. Who is always, always running late?

7. Who's clumsier?

8. Who is a morning person? Who is a night owl?

9. Who travels lighter?

10. Who is always reminding the other not to forget important documents/general things before leaving out the door?

11. Who leaves notes in the other one's lunch? (Bonus: what do they say?)

12. Who prefers calling to texting (& vice versa)? Bonus: Who is so bad at texting it made the other think they weren't interested when they first started hanging out? [This could be hypothetical as much as real].

13. Stay home/go-out? What are their date nights like?

14. Who falls asleep during a movie?

15. Who's the first to cry during movies that don't seem sad?

16. Who hogs the covers?

17. Who is more competitive?

18. What are they like when they're drunk? How do they act together? & when 1 is drunk, while the other one's sober?

19. What do they fight about most often? (Alternative: what was their biggest fight?)

20. Who randomly brings home a stray puppy/kitten to adopt?

21. Any routines one has that the other had to get used to (ex. morning, nighttime, sleeping habits)?

22. Love languages? How do they get around differences, if any?

23. Who initiates cuddling more?

24. Sleeping/cuddling positions? (Big spoon, little spoon, etc.)?

25. (a lil sappy, but..) What do they like about each other?

26. Who is prone to road rage?

27. Craziest place they had sex?

28. Who always steals the other's food? How does their partner react to it?

29. First date? (Give as much or little detail)

30. Pet names? Yes or no?

31. How do they spend their anniversary?

32. Who's so affectionate they can't stop touching the other?

33. What is their wedding day like?

34. How do they cheer the other one up during sad times?

35. What are their tastes in music?

36. Who is more protective?

37. Who wanted to see Oppenheimer; who Barbie? Did they switch opinions after?

38. If/when they have kids, what is their parenting style (or pets-who does what)?

39. Do they get along with the other's family? If not, how do they deal with the other's family?

40. Who is the skilled shopper for holidays? Who always waits 'til the last minute to get all of their gifts? (Which one gets stressed out easily)?

[reasonsforhope]

"For generations, the people of Erakor village in the Pacific nation of Vanuatu would pass their time swimming in the local lagoon. Ken Andrew, a local chief, remembers diving in its depths when he was a child, chasing the fish that spawned in its turquoise waters.

That was decades ago. Now 52, Andrew has noticed a more pernicious entity invading the lagoon: plastic.

“The plastic would form a small island inside the lagoon, it was so thick,” Andrew says. “We used fishing nets to pull some of the trash out, but we didn’t know how to get rid of it all. We couldn’t conquer it, there was just too much.”

While residents were struggling to empty Vanuatu’s waters of plastic, the country’s politicians were considering another solution. Could they stop the waste directly at the source?

Small island nations like Vanuatu face a series of unique challenges when it comes to plastic pollution. Many rely on imported goods to sustain their populations, and receive tonnes of plastic packaging every day as a result. Ocean currents pull plastic waste from around the world into Pacific waters, which eventually end up on the shores of its islands.

Few Pacific island governments have adequate recycling or waste management facilities on their narrow strips of land, so rubbish is often burned or left to wash up in rivers or lagoons like the one in Erakor. It is estimated that Pacific countries generate 1kg of waste per person a day, 40% higher than the global average.

In an attempt to drastically limit the amount of waste generated in Vanuatu, in 2018 the government became one of the first in the world to outlaw the sale and distribution of certain single-use plastics – including a world-first ban on plastic straws.

In the six years since, the results have been impressive. Thin, plastic shopping bags are hardly ever seen, with most shoppers carrying reusable bags at their local market or grocery store. At festivals and outdoor events, food is more often served wrapped in banana leaves instead of polystyrene takeaway boxes. Now-banned items used to make up 35% of Vanuatu’s waste, but now make up less than 2%.

Pictured: Pandanus leaves are now used instead of plastic bags at markets, but supply of the crop can be affected by storms and cyclones, vendors say.

The plastic islands that once choked Erakor lagoon are also shrinking.

“Since they started the ban, you can see the lagoon has become cleaner,” says Andrew.

It is a massive victory for a small island nation made up of just over 300,000 people across 83 islands...

In 2020, a second phase of the policy added seven more items to the list of forbidden plastics, which now covers cutlery, single-use plates and artificial flowers.

“It’s quite difficult to enforce because of the very low capacity of the department of environment,” Regenvanu says. “So we try to work with the municipal authorities and customs and other people as well.”

Compromises had to be made, though. Fishers are still allowed to use plastic to wrap and transport their produce. Plastic bottles are also permitted, even though they often litter coastlines and rivers.

Secondary industries have now developed to provide sustainable alternatives to the banned items. On the island of Pentecost, communities have started replacing plastic planter pots with biodegradable ones made from native pandanus leaves. Mama’s Laef, a social enterprise that began selling fabric sanitary napkins before the ban, has since expanded its range to reusable nappies and bags.

“We came up with these ideas to reduce the amount of plastic in Vanuatu,” says the owner Jack Kalsrap. “We’re a small island state, so we know that pollution can really overwhelm us more than in other, bigger countries.” ...

Willy Sylverio, a coordinator of the Erakor Bridge Youth Association, is trying to find ways to recycle the litter his team regularly dredges up from the lagoon.

“The majority of the plastic waste now comes from noodle packaging or rice packaging, or biscuit packets,” Sylverio says. He hopes the plastic ban will one day include all packaging that covers imported goods. “Banning all plastic is a great idea, because it blocks the main road through which our environment is polluted.”

The Vanuatu government plans to expand the plastic ban to include disposable nappies, and says it will also introduce a plastic bottle deposit scheme this year to help recycle the remaining plastic waste in the country."

-via The Guardian, June 20, 2024

[novemberheart]

Chapter 2 <- Chapter 3 -> Chapter 4

{Overview} An interaction between Kyle and Johnny opens your eyes to your roommates.

{warnings} Soapgaz!!!!! Depictions or break ins and uncomfortable situations, reader being harassed, no s/a but intimidation and stalking written

You’ve always had a hard time finding your way in life. It felt as though everyone around you just gets up everyday and knows exactly what they are going to do- what they are going to accomplish. Take your work life for example. You’ve done just about every job in the book. You’ve been a barista, you went to fashion school (for a month). You’ve been a dog walker, a nanny, a personal shopper, person stylist, you even worked at a campsite. After facing pressure from your family you finally decided to go back to school and ended up getting a degree in psychology. You completed about seven months of your supervised training before you felt like you made a mistake.

Your mentors were decent, but you always felt like they could tell you were a dropout. They offered you little support- likely knowing it would be a waste.

Lucky for you, you have an Aunt Kate. Whilst she never understood your inability to settle she supported you nonetheless. So when she heard the veterans facility down the road needed a new art therapist, who else was she to think of?

They didn’t care that you lacked some much needed and required experience. You weren’t particularly crafty, but you were a quick learner. You were hired nearly on the spot (which could be perceived as a red flag) and you quickly hopped on a plane to England(or drove).

Your first day you realized why it had been so challenging for them to fill the spot. They were insufferable. Grumpy, angry and entitled. It was like that for weeks. They would never do any activities you set up, just lash out and complain. Then one day you lost it. You yelled at them. A room filled to the hilt of 20+ veterans who stared at you, a young woman, with their eyes like saucers.

You quickly became their favorite after that.

For the first time ever you found your niche. The last thing you wanted to do was loose it. But problems arose at home. The first break in was “your” fault. You had burned some popcorn and had left the window open, forgetting about it as you popped over to the store. When you came back your microwave, TV and charging cables were gone. You couldn’t sleep for weeks after that. Every little sound caused you to fly straight up in your bed. You slept with the lights on and barricaded your door every night. You hid it from Kate and your family- not wanting to worry them. You had finally began to feel safe again and Kate invited you on a weekend away in the countryside to celebrate a pay raise for her and two months at a job for you. When you came back your door was ajar.

This time Kate was with you. You were thankful for that. Nothing was missing, but your apartment had been turned upside down. Rotted food from the fridge being left open. They had smashed all your lamps and lightbulbs. Your bed had been flipped, your sheets shredded. They had also flooded your toilet with tissue paper. It felt hateful. You had no idea if it was the same people as before or maybe your apartment was just a target now.

The outside world started to turn against you too. You never minded taking public transportation, until people seemed to recognize your pattern. One night a man who had always sat rows in front of you decided to sit right next to you, sandwiching you between the window. While his hands never touched you, he slowly scooted closer and closer and closer. You were tired of feeling helpless. You stood up and screamed. As loud of you could. It was effective. The man tumbled away from you as fast as he could and you never saw him again. You filed a report with the police- well you told them about it but who knows if it actually went anywhere.

A few days later you were followed. You had gotten on the train that morning and noticed a hooded figure that you hadn’t seen before. Just the sight of it put knots in your stomach. You made it into work and had forgotten about it, until the next morning.

You called the police later, not that you could give much of a description. You stayed with Kate in a hotel that night, spilling your guts. She remained tight lipped, trying not to scare you. She felt sick. She had always been so protective of those she loved and she felt as though she had failed.

“I might know a place you could stay. Until you get enough cash for a down payment.”

You quickly shot down the idea.

Until the third break in. It happened at night. Interestingly enough on a night you felt comfortable. It was early in the AM when the creak of the window hinges woke you up. You didn’t even need to see what was going on before you started screaming. It had become a defense mechanism now. It had worked for you before, why not now? You sprung out of bed and grabbed the bear spray that laid next to you, charging out into the living room. You refused to go down without a fight. Two large figures had just crossed the threshold and you quickly made yourself known. You grabbed the crowbar next to the bedroom door and started swinging- all while spraying bear spray and screaming. It was like something out of the exorcist, but you didn’t care. This could be life or death. One of them reached for you, but was quickly pulled away by their friend, scrambling back out the window. You didn’t stop til they disappeared down the street.

You didn’t need to call the police this time. About six of your neighbors did it for you.

You had no other options. Everything was out of your price range and you were still a paying off student loans. The few places that were available were too far away from your beloved job or in just as bad areas as the one you were in now.

You called Kate with a hoarse voice begging her for help. She didn’t hesitate.

“How’d you sleep?” John asked, just as you passed the threshold of the kitchen.

“Good, thank you.” You chirped, beginning to stuff some snacks into your bag for work. “Got most of my unpacking done, not that there’s a lot.” You sighed.

“That reminds me, we each have our days for laundry. Does Wednesday or Friday work for you?” Your lips quirked out how well organized they were. You could easily imagine how they ran at work. “Honey?” He added, shaking you out of your thoughts.

“Wednesday. Wednesday works.” You smiled. He nodded his head in affirmation going back to his bowl of cereal. “I didn’t take you to be a cereal for breakfast type of guy. You seem more like bacon and eggs.”

He chuckled, tapping the box of cinnamon flavored cereal. “Guilty pleasure. Breakfast number two comes in around nine.”

You rolled your eyes playfully, filling up your water bottle. “See you later?” You questioned. He nodded his head quickly, a raspy ‘have a good day’ escaping him.

“Sooooooo Bon. You never quite explained to us what you do?” Johnny hummed.

“Let her get in the door, Johnny. Christsakes.” Simon huffed from the couch. You slipped off your shoes placing them neatly next to a pair of work boots. Johnny felt his chest tighten at the sight. He was half tempted to race upstairs and grab his sketchbook. Your prim and proper shoes next to their beat up death boots. Just looked right.

“I’m an art therapist at the veterans center.” You replied. He pulled himself out of his head, an even wider grin spreading across his face.

“That’s sick, Bon.” He followed you to the kitchen, where you began unloading your takeout. You still didn’t know what time they cooked dinner and you didn’t want to be in their way.

“Glad you think so. I really love it, well at the beginning I hated it.” You admitted.

“Forks are in the drawer next to the fridge.” Simon said, standing up from the couch. He made his way towards the kitchen grabbing a protein bar from the pantry.

“Thank you.” You dug one out of the (of course) neatly put together drawer.

“You hated it?” Johnny pressed, sitting down at one of the stools.

“Yeah, they were so mean to me. They would seriously tell me to “fuck off.”” You gawked. Simon snorted. Your eyes glanced up to meet his, before settling on Johnnys wide eyes.

“Way to represent.” The Scot muttered. You giggled, waving a hand in dismissal.

“That was just the older class. Most of them are seventy five and up. They have no patience for anything.” You snickered. “They like me now though.”

“How’d you manage that.” Simon interjected.

“I yelled at them. You all respond very well to negative reinforcement.” You hummed.

“What about your other groups?” Johnny asked. “What are they like?”

“Well they switch out of lot. Most of my other groups are soldiers who are required to take the class, as a ‘rehabilitation’ of sorts. We mostly just try to focus on healthy coping and self regulation methods. The art is just a distraction to get down to how they really feel.” You explained, beginning to dig into your spaghetti.

The men before you softened, sharing a quick glance with each other when you weren’t looking.

“Can I take the class?” Johnny asked suddenly. Your head shot up. Your first reaction was to tell him no. You didn’t want any judgment. Then you realized how unethical it was to deny someone.

“Of course.” You scrambled. “Although I recommend you come to the old timers club that meets every Tuesday and Thursday, eight am. They love talking to people in active duty.”

A sweet smile spread across Johnny’s features as he tapped his hand against the counter.

“It’s a date then.”

You fought hard against the blush and lost.

After you finished your spaghetti you worked your way upstairs. You were at the top of them when the front door opened. You dodged out of sight, but stayed close enough so you could peak down. Kyle and John were just getting home, both wearing workout clothes. You could hear someone bounding through the house and watched as Kyle steady himself, bracing for impact. Your eyebrows nestled together, waiting. Finally, Johnny came into view, throwing himself at Kyle. You smile grin spread on your face at the affection, but quickly turned into one of shock as Johnny opened his mouth, licking from Kyle’s neck up to his cheek.

“Shove off.” Kyle gagged, wiping at his face with his own grin. “Disgusting.” He grumbled, still trying to work out of Johnny’s grasp.

“I just love you.” You faintly heard Johnny murmur. He began peppering kisses on any skin he could reach and you watched as Kyle’s muscles relax.

“Not in the hallway you two.” John spoke up, patting both men. They whined- both for different reasons, stumbling into the living room still connected. John followed after them but not before his eyes darted up the stairs. He must’ve felt eyes on them. You dodged out of the way as quickly as possible, holding your breath. You stayed still for a moment before tiptoeing to your room.

As you laid in bed you wondered how you didn’t connect the dots sooner. All the things you witnessed but didn’t think twice about. The soft glances, how they always seemed to have a hand on each other. You wanted to know the dynamics.

How did this start? Whose idea was it? Do they all fuck each other or is it just a one on one situation? Maybe the room arrangements were the answer. Based off of that it would be Kyle with Johnny and John with Simon. But John and Simon were affectionate with the other two as well.

Your mind wandered through the late hours of night. Your mind growing more and more exhausted. You could almost imagine it. Them together. Tangled together, their muscled bodies rippling from pleasure and exertion.

You assumed John would be in charge. You could imagine him making sure everyone was getting the attention they deserved. Or maybe he would want to take the back seat for once. Who would step up then? You want to say Simon just based off of his demeanor, but you think Kyle would be good in that position. He is calm, gentle, but has underlying passion in everything he does. You could also picture Johnny running the show in his own way. Or maybe you were making this kinkier than it was. Maybe it was a mutual give and take? That’s how they seemed to be. Everything from their style to personalities blended seamlessly together.

You ignored the tightening in your stomach and rolled over pressing yourself further in your cozy bed.

“Sorry about last night.” Your head perked up from your laptop, to stare at John. You stared at him expectantly, before realizing what he was talking about. So you weren’t as slick as you thought you were.

“Please don’t apologize. This is your house.” You insisted, waving him off gently. He looked a bit relieved, as he sat down from across from you, his own laptop in his hands.

“Johnny likes to make a show.” He explained, a quirk in his lips. So Johnny knew you were there? Of course they did. These were men who had years of training under their belt. To think you were being sneaky.

“Well I should be the one apologizing. Creeping around like that.” You huffed in apologies. He chuckled, softly shaking his head in disagreement.

“Not to worry, Honey.” He assured, opening up his laptop.

“If you want another show I’ll be happy to provide.” You jumped as Johnny snuck around the corner. You could feel your ears begin to burn and the only thing you could think to do was giggle. John shot him a stern look, but Johnny paid little mind. He plopped down next to John spreading out various sketchbook and opening a silver tin filled with different sizes of charcoal.

“You get that all over the table again Simon’ll get you.” John warned.

“He’ll have to catch me first.” He hummed without a worry. All of you worked in a comfortable silence. John typed away on his computer, drifting away every so often to grab a new stack of papers to work on. Johnny was zeroed in and you doubted a tornado could break his concentration. His eyebrows furrowed and eyes squinted as he leaned over the table. His hands were blotched with black marks, and his tongue poked out of the very corner of his mouth. Your finger itched to rub the creases out of his brows and crows feet.

Suddenly his eyes glanced over to you, causing you to quickly shift back to your computer. You waited for him to call you out but it never came. Instead when you peaked at him over your computer he flashed you a smirk, his eyes swirling with mischief.

“Would you like to join us for dinner, Honey?” John asked, breaking your stare down with Johnny.

“Oh that’s okay. I don’t want to intrude.” You said a slight grimace on your face. The two men looked slightly offended.

“It’s Tuesday, Bonnie. It’s pizza night.” Johnny whispered like it was a secret. John nodded his head.

“We’re going to eat out back again. It’s a nice night out and we have all the ingredients.” John coerced. Your teeth sunk into your lip, your stomach twisting in hunger.

“If it’s no trouble.” You pressed. The last thing you wanted was to become a burden.

“It’s only trouble if you like pineapple on it, Bon.”

Hi friends! Hope you liked this chapter. (sorry it took so long to get up!) This was more reader based and kinda boring but it’s a necessary evil! See you next time! 🥰

[muddyorbsblr]

gestures & rain checks

See my full list of works here!

pre-story author's note: Yes I am very aware that it's been a solid month since Valentine's Day. Yes I am still posting this 🫡

Summary: It feels like your friends are getting plucked away from you one by one as their respective (or in Nat's case prospective) partners make grand gestures to ask them to be their Valentine.

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Word Count: 4.8k

Warning/s: language (nope still not sorry, Rogers); mentions of alcohol; tooth-rotting fluff; gun use [let me know if I missed anything!]

Things to be aware of: Morgan being a precious beb; himbo!Thor hours; lowkey sad Reader hours; chaotic group chat vibes in the end

You always had a distaste for this day. Valentine's Day. To you, it was the one day a year that you would do everything in your power not to step outside because it reeked of flowers and chocolate marked up to the heavens for merchants to take advantage of last minute gift shoppers hoping to make a gesture big enough that their crush would let them score at the end of the night. Or guys buying extravagant and ridiculously large arrangements to make amends for wronging their partner as if a 10-foot tall teddy bear was gonna magically press some Undo button of him going on Hinge or Tinder and talking up a dozen other girls on the side.

There was one year that you let slip around Nat and Wanda that this day "smelled like a cemetery" with all the bouquets that bombarded you the second you exited the perimeter of the Compound. Hell, the second you left the main section that housed you and the rest of the Avengers. And you stood by that opinion stubbornly, mostly because you'd only ever witnessed flowers being given when someone was desperately trying to glue back together the pieces of a severely damaged relationship.

And also because no one had ever given you flowers in your entire life. Or chocolates. Or a teddy bear. All your past relationships were with men who were still mentally and emotionally boys that believed emojis and gifs sufficed and were as good as the real thing. Nary a single soul had ever actually spent a lick of time or effort to give you something that told you they deserved your time and effort in turn.

And after so many years of being barely an afterthought, the day just felt like this entity that you resented to an irrational degree, where all you wanted was to lay in bed and wait it out until the clock struck 12 and it was February 15th. Then you could go on a hunt for all the overpriced chocolate that suddenly got their prices slashed by 50% or more.

That was the plan again for this year, had it not been for both Nat and Wanda barging in to your apartment and practically dressing you up like you were their own life-sized definitely seen some better days Barbie doll. "Come on, we can go and have a Galentine's Day 2. Maybe hit up a club and get some free drinks…" the assassin trailed off, zipping up your dress and playfully swatting your ass to nudge you forward. "March on, soldier."

The common area was nearly bare and eerily quiet when you all got there, which made perfect sense considering that most of your teammates who were happily committed to someone were off spending their day together, probably executing their own personal twists on those cliched gestures of adoration. Knowing Tony, that would probably consist of a two-storey tall stuffed bunny or a lavish new vacation house as a nice private little getaway spot for him and Pepper when they wanted to have a date night.

Only Morgan and Shaun were at the big dining table by the kitchen, the little girl working on bracelets with the martial artist nursing a cup of coffee while he handed her beads to add to her work. "Whaddup, Ten Rings…Baby Stark," you greeted them, ruffling his hair and pressing a kiss to the top of your goddaughter's head. "What're you two up to this fine completely ordinary day?"

"Oof, I take it you're gonna be spending the day watching a bunch of couples be all extra lovey dovey just like me?" You threw him a look, squinting your eyes at him that had him throwing his hands in the air in surrender. "No need to mentally squish my head, Y/N, we're on the same side, I swear," he chuckled, scooting over to the other seat so you could sit next to Morgan. "How about this, karaoke later tonight? Just us and anyone else that doesn't have a date with dinner and co--" You swatted his arm to get him to stop talking, not so subtly signaling in the little girl's direction. "I mean…adult balloons?"

"Wait how come you have special balloons?" Morgan asked, looking up from her activity book and earning barely stifled chortles from both Nat and Wanda. "Why can't I play with them? I like balloons."

You leaned back in your seat, making a motion with your hands as if you were wiping them clean of the whole conversation. "I'm not helping you out of this one, buddy."

He scratched the back of his head, obviously backed into the corner with his own words. "Eeeeeh…put a pin in that and ask me again when you can order a beer, Baby Stark."

The child pouted at both of you, slumping down in her place at the table and slipping back on her princess pink headphones before focusing all her attention on her activity book again, grumbling something about how grownups shouldn't have conversations around her if they didn't want her to ask questions. Valid enough point, but you still weren't going to be the one to give her her first lesson in Sex Ed class a good decade ahead of time.

"Anyways…" Shaun poked at your side, calling your attention back to him. "Karaoke, ladies? We can pick up Katy and Wong before we head over and sing some Disney duets and gorging ourselves on shots and nachos--"

"Hold up, Wong?" You all turned your attention to Stephen, who'd just walked in to the common area. "This I gotta see. You guys have room for one more?"

"Sure thing, as long as you use your sling ring to help us get into Tony's private stash," you quipped, taking a sip of your coffee. "There's no way I'm getting through this day stone-cold sober."

"Or we could go for the really hard stuff and break into Thor's stash of mead from Asgard before he depletes his supply." He showcased the ring in question with a wiggle of his fingers. "Just a portal away."

"I like the way you think, Strange."

"You can all cease your scheming to pilfer my liquor, my friends," Thor's voice boomed into the area, a bounce in his step as he made his way to the coffee pot. "I would happily supply you all with two barrels if that would be enough for your gathering?"

"That's perfect, Thunder. Thanks." You started to tuck into the breakfast plate served by the Compound kitchen staff, mumbling your next question to the blond god. "What've you got planned with Jane for today?"

"Ah." A wide grin stretched across his face at the mention of his girlfriend, the sight both warming your heart and pinching it at the same time. A bittersweet reminder that in the midst of romantic plans with sentimental or grand gestures, your plans involved getting shit-faced with your fellow single friends. Plus Wanda and probably Vision. "Well, I have employed the aid of Wilson to order an ornate bouquet of Jane's favorite flowers which should arrive this morning. Then for lunch I shall prepare her a meal."

"Lunch?" Wanda questioned, tilting her head to the side. "Forgive me if I overstep, my friend, but aren't the romantic plans usually made for dinner?"

"Well, yes…but Jane has graciously agreed to adjusting our schedule for this day so that I may spend the time after lunch aiding my brother in a gesture of his own." A lump formed in your throat at the words. "It seems he wishes to get into the spirit of the holiday, and I am simply ecstatic that he came to me asking for a helping hand."

"I asked nothing of you, you over-muscled oaf," you heard the raven-haired god call out from the main entrance, two large packages hovering a few inches above the ground blanketed with a glow of green from his magic. "You volunteered when you imposed yourself in my space and hovered over my phone."

"Pfft, semantics," Thor waved off, already making his way over to Loki so that he could do some more apparently unnecessary volunteer work. "Are the flowers in one of your parcels?"

"I like flowers!" Morgan chirped from her seat, bouncing in place with bright excited eyes. "Prince Loki, can I help? Please?"

He let out an exaggerated sigh, a trace of a fond, amused smile betraying his facade. "Very well, little Stark. Come along."

Your goddaughter squealed, skipping over to Thor and placing her tiny hand in his. "Uncle Barbie, tell me who his princess is?" He leaned down to whisper the answer in her ear, making her sprint in place with even more excitement. "I promise I won't say a word."

"Barbie? Like your doll, little Lady Stark?" You could practically see the wheels turning in Loki's head from learning about the nickname.

Morgan nodded her head vigorously. "Auntie Y/N came up with it. She calls him Macho Barbie." She proceeded to talk about how you came to give the blond Asgardian the nickname that bizarrely stuck to him more than "Point Break" ever did, said god looking like he already dreaded the coming days -- maybe even years -- now that his brother knew that little tidbit of information.

Once they'd all made their way up the stairs and you could no longer hear the little girl's chipper tone, realization sat heavy in your heart from her reaction to whatever Thor whispered to her just a few seconds ago. Whoever it was that Loki was going to make this grand gesture for, it was someone that Morgan knew enough to the point that she couldn't contain her excitement finding out who the woman was.

It was someone in SHIELD. Maybe even someone in the Compound.

"You good, Babes?" Nat's tone was cautious, approaching you like you were a wounded animal, teeth bared and ready to pounce if she so much as breathed wrong.

You answered with a terse nod of your head. "There is absolutely no fucking way I'm getting through today sober."

"Y/N, dude, I'm sor--"

Bang

"What the fuck?" All eyes grew wide at the sound, your body stiffening as another shot rang out, reverberating throughout the common area. "FRIDAY? Threat assessment," you called out, already readying yourself for combat once whoever was outside made their way to you in the compound.

"No threats have been detected," the AI answered simply. "There seems to be no living target for the gunman."

You could only manage to repeat your words. "What the fuck?" Shot after shot rang out, an interval of three to five seconds between them. Each deafening bang making you flinch, your head spinning with possible explanations on why FRIDAY didn't deem the supposed attacker as a threat. "Where's the target then?"

"Shots are being fired at the training area, by the track field, Agent Y/L/N." You all started to make your way to the area, everyone still on high alert despite FRIDAY's findings.

"Y/N?!" You shared a look with everyone else in the room at the sound of Loki's voice calling out for you, the god looking frantic as he appeared at the top of the main staircase, a sigh of relief escaping him once he saw you standing at the bottom. "You're alright," he exhaled, hurriedly making his way down. The quickening pace of the gunshots had him squaring his shoulders, stepping in front of you and marching toward the sound.

"We've handled way worse than gunfire, Laufeyson, you don't have to lead the defense," you told him with a touch more bite to your tone than you intended, irrational jealousy coursing through you knowing what he was preparing for before he started charging down the stairs. You sidestepped him and started walking toward the training area, brows furrowing together when you saw that from where you stood, the marks from the bullets digging into the ground where forming some sort of shape.

"It's a message…" Wanda mused, angling her head to and fro to see if she could get the whole picture from the ground. "I'm going up, I wanna see what's worth risking Pepper's wrath with all the lawn work she has to commission now." She held her hand out to you, wordlessly offering to take you up with her, an offer that you gladly took, clapping your hand over hers, both of you giggling as your feet lifted off the ground.

Once you two had risen high enough, it was clear what the message was. The shots had been positioned so that the markings would take on the shape of a heart, and the ongoing shots were creating initials. "N…" you read along, barely able to contain your excitement when you saw that the next letter was an R. "Natasha Romanoff!" you yelled out, the assassin's eyes lighting up with a mix of giddiness and curiosity as she tried to look at where the gunshots could've been coming from.

You did your best to turn your head, trying to see who was behind the gesture, kicking your feet in the air once you saw the gunman. "What? Who is it, Y/N?"

"It's Barnes," you squeaked, giving Rogers a reckless wave when you caught sight of him jogging toward all of you with a megaphone in hand.

"Natasha Romanoff," Bucky's voice boomed through the speaker system, making the usually cool and collected former Russian spy put a hand over her mouth to hide the way she was steadily turning pink from how flustered she was. "I know I have a long way to go to make up for how we first met, but I think you're swell and I'd like to try starting it off with maybe dinner tonight?" Both you and Wanda squealed and held each other tight mid-air watching her nod her answer, running over to her once your feet touched the ground again.

"You two won't be pissed if I take a rain check for tonight, will you?" she cautioned, still a wistful tone in her voice from processing what was happening.

"Absolutely not, you go enjoy your date. More drinks to go around and all that," you told her with the biggest smile. "But tomorrow night we're all staying at my place and you're giving us a full report."

"And remember to wear the red lacy underwear," Wanda teased with a comical wiggle of her eyebrows, earning her a poke to the ribs from both of you.

Nat pulled away from the two of you, walking back toward the indoor gym with Steve walking alongside her, starting to talk about how his best friend had been trying to work up the nerve to ask her out since he got sworn in to the team nearly a year ago. From the sound of the conversation, it seemed that Rogers was divulging some information that Barnes probably swore him to secrecy not so long ago.

"And then there were seven," Shaun spoke up, walking toward  you and the sorceress and clapping a hand on each of your shoulders. "Thor came through and left the barrels in the kitchen for us."

You were about to start talking about the food arrangements when the sight of Wanda's husband flying toward you all with a bouquet of camellias and hydrangeas in his hand. "Wanda, my love, I owe you my deepest apologies."

"Whatever for, Vis?" She broke away from you and Shaun to greet the synthezoid, placing her hands on his upper arms as he pulled her in for a chaste kiss.

"It did not occur to me that you might have wanted to make plans for today until Mr Stark had gone into detail of his own itinerary today for his wife," he explained, handing her the bouquet. "Unfortunately I cannot procure a reservation for us tonight, but I still wish to do something for you. Would you allow me the honor of making you a meal and perhaps watching a movie in the private theater?"

You and Shaun gripped each other's hands like you were high schoolers watching their best friend get asked out on their first big date, shaking and pushing each other over the sweetness of the gesture. "I don't need fancy restaurants or pretty flowers, Vis. Getting to spend time with you, especially after everything that's happened to us, is more than enough. I just need you."

The Sokovian turned back to face you and Shaun, a touch of guilt in her expression. "Rain check? I'll bring extra snacks tomorrow night to make up for it?"

"Don't worry about it, Babes," you reassured her, both you and the martial artist waving off her worries. "Enjoy your evening."

The couple have you a curt nod and a smile before happily flying away hand in hand back to their apartment.

"And then there were five," you and Shaun said in unison, walking back to the common area to load up those barrels that Thor left for tonight's 'festivities'. When you got to the kitchen area, Morgan was adorably sitting atop one of the barrels in question, feet happily swinging in the air with a big smile on her face.

"Off the goods, little Stark, we're not risking you getting drunk your dad's gonna kill us," Shaun said in a panic, already lifting the little girl up and off the barrel and making her squeal and giggle as she giddily exclaimed "I'm flying!".

"If you really think that she can get drunk from osmosis, we have a lot to talk about, sweet little summer child," you joked, walking up to one barrel and starting to push it toward the garage. "Think you can use that ancient mystical ring magic for makeshift wheels so we don't bust out our lungs lugging this all the way to your truck?"

"I can assist you, darling." Your skin bristled at the sound of Loki's voice, taking every ounce of strength you had to not stiffen or recoil at his use of the word. He was only saying it out of habit. Probably a remnant of his upbringing as a prince on Asgard.

He didn't mean it the way you wanted -- more than anything -- for him to mean it.

"No need, Laufeyson, I've got it from here," Strange butted in, conjuring an energy shield with his magic that he slid under the barrels, starting to wheel them toward the garage. "Carry on. Oh and friendly advice, man to god? Your future girlfriend, you know, the one you're making this big gesture for? She might not appreciate you calling other women 'darling', so I highly recommend kicking the habit while it's still early. Avoiding future battles and all."

The god sucked his teeth, the action causing his jaw to clench and sending your thoughts someplace they had no business being. You had no business thinking about another woman's man that way, no matter how hot he was.

"I will remember that. Thank you, Strange," he said softly, making his way back up the stairs.

"Thanks for the save," you muttered, opening the door to the garage for the sorcerer to guide the barrels through. "Don't think I could've gotten away with being on Bitch Mode with him a second time today. Not like I can help it, though. Some lucky Midgardian bitch is gonna be his by the end of the night."

"Pretty sure you're the only woman I know that considers being Laufeyson's girlfriend a good thing."

"Yeah, Y/N, like I know he's on our side and everything but most days he still has me on edge. Like passing him on a bad day's gonna get me a stab in the ribs, not a death glare like normal people," Shaun concurred, nudging your shoulder to hopefully stop your lamenting before you got in too deep. Again.

"I'm really down bad, huh," you sighed, letting out a little yip when a portal to the dark dimension appeared just a few feet in front of you. "The fuck--"

"Hey Strange," a reverberating ethereal voice called out from the portal, and then a tall woman with platinum hair with beauty that you could only describe as 'dark celestial' stepped out. Her eyes trained on the sorcerer next to you. "Heard that today's something of a holiday in this dimension. Figured it might be a good idea to stop by and maybe you could show me around your uh…" She turned to you and Shaun, both your jaws slack on the ground. "What's this place called again?"

"Avengers Compound?" Shaun said at the same time that you blurted out, "New York?"

"Compound York?" She raised an eyebrow at the two of you, amusement coloring her face as she gave you both a once over.

"Eherm…no," you answered her, chuckling nervously and shifting your weight between your feet. "This structure here is Avengers Compound, which is in Upstate New York. New York is a city, but also a region…and a state…?" you drifted off, already feeling a pinch in your head from trying to explain the best you could. You looked over to Shaun. "The more I try finding the words to explain, the more I realize how complicated it actually is. Save me."

Stephen stepped forward. "How about I just take you on a tour around New York, then?" His face stretched out into a wide grin, clearly unable to hide his giddiness over the knowledge that she crossed dimensions to be with him today.

"Is that…New York the city, the region, or the state?"

"The city. New York, New York. There's a whole song about it and everything I can play it for you in the car." He proceeded to drape his arm around the dark sorceress, leading her to his car further down the expansive garage.

"Your little human friend is right, things here are complicated. Downright confusing." She looked back at you and Shaun again as they walked away, hand in hand. "It was nice meeting you both! Stephen speaks highly of you all," she called out, her majestic voice echoing throughout the area.

"You're really pretty!" you blurted out in response, causing her voice to melt into a chuckle, telling her partner how she found you 'adorable'. You threw your head back and groaned toward the ceiling. "I'm a fucking dork."

"At least you're an adorable dork," Shaun shot back, nudging your shoulder and lightly touching the back of your head to get you facing forward again. His phone chimed with a text notification. "Katy. Her shift's over, she said she'll get us a room for eight. I'm texting her now to get a smaller one." He held up his hand, palm facing you. "And then there were four?"

You sighed, clapping your hand against his, your friend giving you a reassuring squeeze once you did. "And then there were four." You jerked your head toward the apartments. "I'll just go change into something that involves 'eating pants' and I'll meet you down here in ten."

The walk back up to your apartment wasn't that long, but it still felt like it with how quickly you slipped back into your lamenting over how your friends had such an eventful day today. Nat had her very public grand gesture. Wanda had her husband trying to cook human food in the name of spending time with her. Strange had his girlfriend literally rip a hole between dimensions to get here.

"And all I have waiting for me are two barrels of mead and karaoke microphones," you muttered, walking through your front door and begrudgingly unzipping your dress from the back. You were just about to half-stomp your way to your closet when something on your bed caught your eye.

Three shiny roses lined with gold, tied together with a gold ribbon at the foot of the bed. A large heart-shaped box of chocolates at the center. And a little teddy bear dressed as a bee with red antennas that had hearts at the end, at its fluffy little feet was an embroidered message. "Bee mine".

"What theeeee fu--"

"Y/N," an all too familiar voice called out from behind you. The air left your lungs at the sight of Loki in a form-fitting forest green button-down tucked into onyx black slacks, tucking his hair behind his ears before smoothing his hands over his shirt. "You're early--"

"What're you doing--Was this you?" you babbled, gesturing at the gifts on your bed. For a second, your heart beat erratically, the thought that maybe this was for you, before reality and logic sunk in. "Okay I think I know what's happening…"

"You do?"

"Yeah, you got the wrong apartment. Gimme a minute to change and I can help you move all this over to--"

The rest of your words died in a little squeak at the back of your throat, the god closing the distance between you two with a few long strides, framing your face in his hands and placing a tender fleeting kiss to your lips.

"Those tokens of my affection are exactly where they belong, little mortal," he murmured against you, tracing up the bridge of your nose with his lips until he pressed a kiss to your forehead. "As am I."

You let out a shaky breath, fighting against the urge to melt in the god's embrace as he snaked his hands around your waist. "The gesture your brother mentioned this morning…this?" He proceeded to press kisses down the side of your face, his warm exhale as he whispered 'yes' into your skin making you light-headed. "This is for me?" you gasped out, whatever was remaining of your logical brain smacking the rest of you with how stupid a question that was.

"Who else would it be for, darling?" He pressed a kiss to your jaw, tightening his arms around you and pressing your body against his. "There is no other in this or any other Realm that could have captured my heart so completely." He kissed the corner of your jaw, making his way down the side of your neck, holding you tighter to keep you up when your knees finally buckled from the sensation. "I did this for you, because I wish to ask something of you. That you become mine as much as I am yours."

"M-Mine?" you stammered. "Y-You're mine?" Since when? How come you didn't get this particular memo? Could've saved you a lot of turmoil and nights spent alone staring up at the ceiling trying and failing to hypnotize yourself out of being into him.

He kissed the tip of your nose, resting his forehead against yours. "I have always been yours, darling."

Your hands traveled up the length of his arms, like you were grounding yourself and trying to tell yourself that this was real. He was really here and he was telling you the words you wanted more than anything to hear for who even knew how long at this point.

He's here, you thought to yourself. And he's mine.

There was only one word that you could muster up in that moment. "Yes." I've always been yours, too.

Karaoke Dreamin' on Such a Winter's Day group chat

myfirstnameisagent: Don't kill me but…rain check?

busboy10: Are you kidding me, Y/N?? You said you'd be down in 5 minutes tops and we're gonna meet up with Katy.

nromanoff: Sweet, now you're gonna have a story to tell tomorrow night, too.

myfirstnameisagent: Actually about that…rain check on tomorrow night, too? I'm kinda not there right now…

busboy10: There?? What do you mean "There"?? How'd you get out the Compound without me seeing you? Or whoever the hot date you're ditching me for is?

imjustwong: Where is everybody? We ordered nachos.

myfirstnameisagent: Yeah…I'm not in the Compound…or in New York…any of the "New York"s. Might not be for the next week. Maybe more. The three of you better not drink all the mead in one go.

busboy10: ??????

thevision: Agent Y/L/N, my wife is showing many signs of distress over her inability to contact you. Your phone seems to be going straight to voicemail.

thewanda: Y/N WHERE ARE YOU I HEARD A BANG FROM YOUR APARTMENT ARE YOU OKAY??

myfirstnameisagent: Babes, I'm fine. That was just the Bifrost.

thewanda: EXCUSE ME??

nromanoff: BABES WHAT--

pointbreakbarbie: My friends, I heard the Bifrost be summoned near Lady Y/N's abode. Is there an emergency? Must I make my way to Asgard to assist?

myfirstnameisagent: Thor your brother said if he finds you here I have permission to stab you, don't even fucking think about it.

thewanda: I REPEAT. EXCUSE ME???

busboy10: Y/N are you in Asgard?? With Loki??

myfirstnameisagent: Yes. And yes. See you in two weeks.

thewanda: He better use that healing magic on your legs so you don't walk funny.

A/N: It took me a whole month to write this because real life was trying TKO me in the work department and also I got sucked in to the worlds of Hello Kitty Island Adventure, Disney Dreamlight Valley, and Delicious World and I've been too weak to even attempt time management 🤣

I'm working on stuff tho I swear it 🫡 Horny bitches cuts are in progress, stories are in progress…lots of progress 😅😅

Also for reference, this was the lil stuffed bear that Loki gave Reader:

and the roses looked like this:

'everything' taglist: @simplyholl @loopsisloops @imalovernotahater @coldnique @loz-3 @huntress-artemiss @salempoe @vickie5446 @athalialaufeyson @lokiprompts @kats72 @kikster606 @asgards-princess-of-mischief @lokixryss @thomase1 @mischief2sarawr @lovingchoices14 @goblingirlsarah @iamlokisgloriouspurpose @creationsbyme @maple-seed @mjsthrillernp @ladyofthestayingpower @mygfloki @sititran @glitterylokislut @ozymdias @fictive-sl0th  @lokidbadguy @mochie85 @silverfire475 @joyful-enchantress @elizabethmidnight2017 @holdmytesseract @smolvenger @gigglingtiggerv2 @lokidokieokie @lunarnights95 @superficialdomina @kmc1989 @november-rayne @goddessofwonderland @buttercupcookies-blog @peaky-marvel @lokiified @tom-hlover @dryyoursaltyoceantears

[flemingsfreckles]

Master List :)

Jessie Fleming

Long Series

Be a Good Teammate: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 Better Boyfriend than Him (18+): Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

Physio’s Daughter: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13

Replacement: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8

Drunk Dial: Part 1, Part 2

Short Fics

Officially Off Season

Don't Be Sad

Not Just a Teammate

Puppy Love

He’s Ours

Helping Hand

Newlyweds

Trying Again: Part 2

Personal Shopper

House Party

Accident

Grandkids: Part 2, Part 3

Dress

Too Sweet (18+)

I Hate You (18+)

Perfect To Me (18+)

Something New (18+) Part 2

Made From Love (18+)

Kind of a Big Deal

Mic’d Up

Surprise (18+)

Under the Weather

Morning After

Mine (18+)

Koala

Defending You

Armband (18+)

First Snow

Be Home Soon

[taesanrot]

[twenty questions] sungho x f!reader | 2.3k words college au, coworkers 2 luvrs, e2l kinda, forced proximity lolz note. thank uuuu to lovely anon who requested this <3 i need to write for sungho more this was sm funnn. nini’s summer writing era starts NOW.

park sungho is an actual fucking dumbass. he decides this as he stares at the newly formed wet spot at the front of your sweater, wincing at the deathly glare you're shooting him.

"you're kidding." you grumble, watching your wide eyed coworker scramble to the bathroom in search of napkins, and perhaps a baseball bat to knock himself out cold with.

for the longest time, you'd been the sole employee at your university's bookstore. it was a small store your uncle owned, and with how many other bookstores that ran in your college town, you didn't have much work to do or much foot traffic to counter.

but with your uncle and aunt travelling to spain for the majority of your semester, they decided to take on a couple more employees in consideration of the fact that you were just one person and the fact that you were starting university.

one of these new employees was none other than park sungho. the first time you met the boy, he was already 10 minutes late to his training shift. you let it go pretty easily though, seeing the panic on his face and the way he explained how he got lost on the way in between heavy breaths.

you found his nervous demeanor pretty cute at first, not to mention his raven hair that draped over his ears and framed his face prettily. sungho, on the other hand, was floored by you.

so floored in fact, that he'd found himself with a pretty bad habit of dropping whatever he was holding or tripping on air when he saw you.

you two had gotten into the routine of always nitpicking each other's mistakes, picking apart any little thing each other messed up. sometimes that was a mislabeled box, a mistake in the cash transactions, or stumbling on the stepladder while shelving new arrivals.

it was like you two were keeping a mental scoreboard of who was the clumsier employee, and most of the time you came out victorious, including today

the day had been nothing but ordinary, both you and sungho a bit bitter to have to be working on a saturday afternoon.

you walked up to the bookstore entrance to see sungho already leaning against the wall next to the door, scrolling on his phone before looking up and noticing you. upon your arrival, he sighed, causing you to turn and look at him as you typed in the security code into the entrance's keypad.

"look who’s finally here." he droned, glaring at your pretty fingers gliding across the buttons.

"oh, shut the fuck up." your eyes nearly rolled into the back of your head as you yanked the door open, nearly whacking sungho with it.

the shift dragged on as usual, boring and uneventful. you'd like to think you mentally jinxed it when you were smiling to yourself at how well the day was going. because less than a second later, sungho's chest was in your face and his cup of water from the break room was spilling onto you.

you didn't get the chance to hear what he had to say, groaning and tugging off your sweater and stomping into the break room.

after the whole water cup incident, sungho had definitely taken the brunt of the tormenting today. checking the time, he sighed and stretched out his arms. the final few shoppers were filing out and he followed behind them to lock the door after, tapping on the keypad and listening for the familiar beep and click.

cracking his knuckles, he walked behind the counter to begin closing the registers while you, now in just a tshirt, cleaned up around the store.

it was still light and balmy outside, the last rays of the sun resonating through the clear sky and casting a pinkish purple glow into the store, as you slowly found yourself squinting to read the section labels and book titles, you called out to sungho.

"sungho, it's dark, turn on the lights."

"yeah, yeah, whatever" sungho rolled his eyes even though you couldn't see him, leaving the front desk to find the light switch. you scoffed at his sarcasm, using the flashlight of your phone to illuminate your workspace.

"uhhh, y/n?" you looked toward the direction of your coworker's voice in confusion, wondering why the lights hadn't turned on yet. groaning, you hoisted yourself up to go find him, figuring that he simply couldn't operate a light switch.

"i swear to god if you're seriously getting bamboozled by a light switch--" your voice faded off as you found sungho and the switches, realizing all of them were flipped on.

"what the fuck is going on?" you asked, pushing the boy out of the way to properly look at the switchboard.

"i wish i fucking knew, y/n" he retorted sourly, clicking his phone open to check his texts. as you turned around to glare at him, you noticed his eyes widening at one of his notifications.

"what happened?" you inquired nervously, not particularly comforted by sungho's dreary expression.

"there's a fucking power outage." you groaned loudly in response, before your face blanched white.

"the back door." you stated monotonously, causing sungho to tilt his head in confusion.

"what about it?" he mumbled.

"whenever the power goes out, the emergency alarm system engages and it automatically locks all of the doors."

"does that mean-" sungho's question was interrupted as you bolted over to the back hallway. the boy stood in confusion, listening to the sound of your yanking the doorknob and kicking the back door.

"it's locked!" you yelled down the hall. sighing as you retired yourself to the break room. sungho joined you soon enough, not quite sure what else to do with himself.

"the generator will probably start up in a bit, we can just wait until then." you sighed out and sat down in defeat, laying your head down on the break room table.

maybe if i close my eyes and fall asleep this will go by quicker.

sleep was immediately out of the question, though, as the lack of heating sent a chill up your arms and legs. you really should've brought an extra sweater.

sungho watched your figure from the break room couch, looking back down at his phone to check the time. he sighed, shrugging off his jacket and moving over to you.

"here." you looked up to see the broad shouldered boy's jacket in front of you, hanging off of his outstretched hand.

"sungho, i'm fine."

"no, y/n you're shivering. plus it's my fault you're cold anyways. and come sit on the couch, it's warmer than sitting by the window." you met his eyes hesitantly as you grabbed the hoodie from his hands. slipping your arms into it, you sighed in relief as the boy's warmth encased you.

"thanks." you smiled and stood up to move and sit on the couch. sungho followed you quietly.

sitting on separate ends of the couch, an uncomfortable silence fell between the two of you. you didn't particularly want to kill the time scrolling through your phone, afraid it was going to die. looking over at sungho's side profile, you thought about how you've never really talked to him other than your stupid banter.

as if he'd read your mind, the boy turned to you.

"wanna play 20 questions?" you giggled at his silly inquiry.

"what?"

"don't you want to get to know your fabulous coworker better?" he smiled and held his chin in his hands dramatically, making you laugh again.

"sure."

over the past 15 minutes, you learned that you and park sungho liked the same music, had the same favorite show, and had fairly similar majors.

"how have i never had a class with you?" you breathed out in between giggles.

"actually, we have bio together." sungho spoke nervously, wondering what you were going to say next.

"no fucking way. you're lying." you stared at him blankly, reeling from shock. how had you never noticed him? why didn't he say anything? for a reason you couldn't decipher, it made you sad to think he might've avoided you in class.

"i'm serious! i'll show you my schedule." sungho exclaimed as he fished his phone out of his pocket. you moved over on the couch to sit next to him and peer over at his phone screen.

"why didn't you say anything?" sungho's cheeks flushed red, not that you could see it in the dark anyways, the whole room lit up dimly by the evening light.

"i don't know. i was nervous i guess." he spoke quickly, stuffing his phone back in his pocket and fiddling with his thumbs.

the idea of you making sungho nervous made your head spin. was it because you guys always bickered at work? you fought to not delude yourself into assuming it was for any other reason.

you slowly looked down at sungho's thigh that was mere inches away pressing against yours.

hm.

seeing how close he was to you, almost hearing his breathing, you don't know what came over you.

you scooted closer to him, fully letting your thigh rest against his and your shoulder kiss his bicep. sungho sucked in a breath.

this was normal, definitely. you two were just conserving body heat.

"y/n ..." sungho spoke quietly, his voice breaking the thick silence. you turned to meet his eyes just to see him avoiding your gaze.

"what?" you pouted teasingly, fighting not giggle at the way sungho was acting. you brought a hand to his lower thigh, fingers splaying across the thin fabric of his pants. sungho bit his lips and screwed his eyes shut, trying to think about anything other than you touching him.

your lungs and stomach burned as you decided to test the waters further, moving to slide your hand higher up. before you could move your fingers any further, a hand wrapped around your wrist.

"don't..." sungho's eyes bored into you in a way that made your cheeks flush. "don't play with me right now."

the boy's lips were parted slightly, expression almost pained as he breathed shallowly. your lips curled upwards. there was no going back anymore.

"i'm not playing." you whispered. that was all the boy needed to hear; before you could even blink his lips were on yours, hand moving from your wrist to slide behind your neck.

you gasped at the feeling of his plump lips against yours, hands grasping for his chest and clutching his shirt. you shifted to sit on his lap, sighing into sungho's mouth as you felt his other arm wrap around your waist. you swiped your tongue across the boy's lips. they parted immediately, beckoning for you to explore him further.

you moaned softly after feeling his fingers slide into your hair and push your face even closer to him. he tilted his face so he could meet your tongue with his, groaning into your mouth.

shaking your arm slightly, you silently asked him to help you out of your jacket. the boy took the hint immediately, pushing his hoodie down your arms and letting it fall onto the floor behind you.

running his hands up your arms, he broke away from your lips to catch his breath. you watched as the boy under you tilted his head back and sank further back into the couch. he pulled you onto him, letting his wet lips land on the soft skin of your neck.

you melted in his grasp, moaning and bringing a hand up to pull your hair out of the way. reaching his tongue out to taste your skin, sungho's hands pressed into your shoulder blades, holding you close to him. your eyes fluttered shut as you tilted your head back, sighing softly.

sungho ran his hands up and down your sides, groaning into your neck in a way that made you shake. you brought your hands to push at his shoulders lightly. breaking away from your neck with a lewd pop, the boy looked up to meet your half-lidded gaze.

you cupped his jaw with your hands and pulled him to smash his lips against yours. you moved your arms to wrap around his neck as he slid his hands up your shirt, dragging them down your back and sides. you whimpered as his hands ghosted over your boobs.

"can i?" sungho whispered against your lips, hot breath fanning onto your chin. you nodded hurriedly, aching to feel his hands on your skin.

in all honesty, sungho was ready to take you right then and there if you'd let him. luck was not in your favor, though, as the two of you were unceremoniously interrupted a loud whir and blinding light.

pulling away from the dark haired boy, you giggled.

"power's back on." you smiled as you watched the boy underneath you groan out curses. you didn't miss the feeling of something poke your thigh as you got off of his lap, laughing even louder.

...

sungho walked you to your apartment, mumbling that it was too dark for you to go alone.

before you had the chance to walk towards the entrance of your complex, you felt a hand grab your wrist, just like in the break room.

turning and smiling, you took in your coworker's nervous demeanor.

"y/n, i know we kinda got off on the wrong foot, but do you wanna ..." his voice trailed off.

"wanna what?" you played dumb, finding enjoyment in his nervous laughter and pink cheeks.

"hang out? just the two of us?" you smiled and stepped towards the boy, softly placing a hand on his shoulder and leaving a chaste kiss on his cheek. you smiled giddily at sungho as you nodded.

sungho's smile was even bigger as he pulled you in for a hug.

"are you gonna spill coffee on me this time?"

"shut up."

[sugusoneandonly]

Quixotic - STSG - ch 2

prev // next

a/n 1: ik i said fem reader but like there’s gender neutral pronouns, however the reader does have feminine presentations maybe? Like dresses, makeup, etc. 😭 idk how ts rlly works guys dont cancel me im a rainbow person too😞

cw cont: jealous sugu ,, questioning sugu ,, oblivious reader ,, thats all i got lmk if i missed smth

!! do not repost/copy on any other platform !! if u do at least lmk where and give creds 😒 /j !! pls don’t tho <3

After your brief introduction with Geto, you were now sitting on a leather couch that overlooked the bright city of Tokyo. Gojo had stepped out to go handle whatever modeling business he had to attend to, leaving you with Geto. It’s been silent since then, even more than before the chatterbox out of all 3 of you had left.

You couldn’t help but admire the man before you, no doubt in the fact that he could’ve become a model himself if he wanted to. As if he could feel your gaze, he turned around to lock his deep lilac eyes with your own. You blinked. He smiled, softly but surely. Anything he would say, you would do. Whether out of fear, admiration, or something else, you didn’t know.

His studio was clean (cleaner than yours at least) yet had the essence of life and his own soul strewn over it. Silken fabrics adorned the windows and deep fabrics were strewn across the island in his office, his desk with a stack of papers and an open portfolio. With curiosity your gaze shifted to it, focusing in on it to try and see what was on them, his latest line maybe?

Yet before you could catch the slightest hint, his pale hands had flipped the open file closed. “I apologize for my lack of introduction, i’m Suguru Geto, you probably already know though.” You had to get a grip on yourself, he’s your…mentor and you can’t swoon around for your own mentor. “I’m Y/N L/N, I really love your work.” you quickly managed to get out.

A moment of pause, and he let out chuckle that was deep yet as light as a summer’s night breeze. “I’m quite familiar, I see your name in my notifications quite frequently.” And with that, summer’s scorching sun had graced itself into your cheeks, and if you couldn’t blush before you might as well have now. Your appreciation for his work posted online hadn’t gone unnoticed apparently. What’s worse, he knew your social media already and you can’t remember whether you left it private or public.

“..I’m sorry again for my harsh behavior it’s not everyday you meet your lovers ex and take them in-” He began but you quickly cut him short, hands frantically waving in front of you frown etched with wide eyes and scrunched eyebrows. “I have no feelings for him anymore and even if I did there’s no way I’d express them, especially considering everyones… positions. I didn’t even know I-” realizing your rambling, you finally looked him in the eye, a tight lipped smile pulled on his face. “Then there’s no point wasting time on informalities, is there then?” , not trusting your mouth you simply nodded.

“We have a tight schedule today, we begin with picking the next project.” we. i get to help my idol make his next project. a project that people are gonna wear. and people that actually know who made it instead of my occasional etsy shoppers.

When you returned to reality, you saw a collection of various designs laid before you on the coffee table. The seasons were shifting from summer to fall. Although it was early September, the industry never waited, not even on the leaves to fall. Your mouth fell to a small o , Suguru swore if you had gazed at him with the stars in your eyes, they might’ve been warm enough to make him melt.

wait, what, that’s not how it goes - sugu

You skim through each and every sketch, feeling as if you’ve discovered a new chest of gems, one that nobody knew of. You stopped when you fell across a particular sketch, not really a sketch but a photocopy. The style felt familiar, and upon closer examination, it’s my drawing

You look up at Geto, “I was thinking, there’d be no point in interning if you couldn’t exercise your own work. So, if it’s alright with you I was thinking to incorporate some of your ideas into the next line.”

A grin spread across your face, “Yes, Of Course! I’d love that so mu-” you were cut off with the door opening, and Geto quickly shut the folder with the sketches out of sight. You turned around to see the door, none other than Gojo standing there, playful pout gracing his face. “He’s not allowed to see the works in progress,” Geto explained. You tilted your head, no words, and like second nature Gojo responded “He wants to be mysterious and keep it a surprise like the bum he is.” Gojo had scrunched his nose at Geto, plopping himself down next to him, arm resting on the couch behind Geto’s back.

A twinge of jealousy pinched at Geto, seeing what’s probably surface level remnants of your past relationship come back to life like clockwork. He brushed it off, you had no feelings, Gojo has none, what could go wrong.

he forgot about himself

Yet, you had no feelings. None. You looked at the couple in front of you and exhaled with relief. you did it, you were over him, and you can carry on

It was dead silence now, how unfortunate. Why won’t your mouth work, say something. Thankfully, Geto and Gojo had been fussing over whatever rich people business Gojo had brought with him. Albeit, quite hushed. Praying your stomach wouldn’t go back to its old ways, you had jinxed yourself. A quite prominent growl had presented itself to the room. Geto glanced up at the clock, Gojo smiled. It was pushing 1 in the afternoon, unfortunately you couldn’t brush it off as only one person was sitting in the direction of the sound, and that person was you. Gojo had slightly toed Geto under the table.

“Next item on the schedule would probably better off as lunch, hm?” Geto offered, a teasing, forced?, smile on his face.

“Really?” You glanced down at the paper, lunch wasn’t for another hour? Quickly the paper was lightly tugged from your hold, two different hands yet adorned by similar rings. The two glanced at each other. “A designers life never sits set in stone, little one.” Gojo said in a sing-song.

“Ohh” you had bought it. They take this very seriously, perhaps it’s best not to mess around too much like this - Suguru

Quickly, the two men had already began to make their way out the door and to the elevator down to the city. You made your way to keep up with them, to wherever they were taking you.

©sugusoneandonly 2024

a/n 2 :: BONJOUR 🥖

This is very slow burn i think. Guys im being so fr idk what im doing im just throwing up my thoughts. Idk how to write enemies to lovers so i give u crisis sugu <33

[adamsrcnan]

i just wanna take a minute to appreciate my girl Allison Reynolds and the way she cares for Neil in TKM (despite what happened with Seth) in her own special way just gets me

She hears about Neil getting tortured and beaten to a pulp, she can only guess how bad he looks, but she stops by the store and buys out every shade of foundation and concealer ready to help Neil before he or anyone asks

Then proceeds to dedicate her mornings to fixing him up until the bruises fade

She asks if Neil can even chew before the team orders food which seems like a callous thing to ask but is in Neil's favour anyway bc Yes he should be eating soft food

She's doesn't hesitate to speak up when Andrew outs that the FBI are trying to take Neil away telling them to go to hell

She offers to pay for Neil to get his number 2 tattoo removed bc fuck Riko, Neil is a Fox

She, without question, drags him into her car so he doesn't have to suffer and climb into Matt's truck and drives him to the court

She instantly sorts out a cabin for them to all spend their holiday together so they can watch over and be with Neil after finally getting him back

She was in support of Neil defending the Foxes against the Ravens and the press despite the consequences (i.e their ruined cars)

There are so many instances where she wants to pry and get information from Neil but she holds off and waits for him to be ready to speak up instead

She 100% see's Neil as a troubled younger brother with the exact amount of fire in his vein's that she's come to love and respect. So, here are a couple of silly hc's about them post canon

Allison continues to keep up to date with Neil's career after he goes pro and is always posting support in his favour to her socials

An article comes out about Neil's sloppy style outside of the court and Allison insists on becoming his personal shopper for a month and if Neil won't pay attention to what clothes get him a more lingering look from Andrew, Allison sure does

She'll send Neil and Andrew co-ord suits whenever they have to attend any events so they always go in style and are the best dressed

She definitely personally designed their wedding suits for their big day

Once her fashion brand gets really really big she makes Neil and Andrew global ambassadors of the menswear which meeeanss photoshoots ~

She insists on being present for every one so as to make sure the photographers and crew don't make Neil and Andrew do anything they wouldn't be comfortable with

She makes sure to send the final cuts to Neil for approval before publishing/posting anything

(She then sends all the b-cut's of Neil's photos to Andrew in the mail and calls him saying "did you like your early bday present monster?" cackling loudly to herself when Andrew cuts the phone bc of course he did ((bc how could she miss he subtle heat in Andrew's eyes as he watched Neil pose behind the camera in jeans that were perfectly tailored to show his toned ass and slim waist)). Meanwhile Neil is shuffling through the pictures across the room, a faint blush on his cheeks bc no way does he look like this?!?!?? Andrew watches him for a good minute in silence before throwing them out of his hand and pushing Neil down to slowly take him apart with his hands and mouth)

[mcflymemes]

IN-DEPTH HEADCANON QUESTIONS * collection #2

how does your muse get local news and updates on current events? are they up to date with all the latest goings-on or do they prefer to avoid it altogether?

did your muse grow up with any particular television shows? do they have a favorite, or a memory tied to these shows?

how much effort does your muse put into their costume for halloween parties and other dress-up events? do they have any go-to costumes?

does your muse stay up to date with the latest fashion trends? describe their style. where do they typically buy their clothes?

who was their first celebrity crush?

what would your muse's bio say if they were on a dating app?

what kind of phone does your muse have, and how customized is it? does it have a basic case or something more unique? is the screen cracked? do they have a popsocket or other accessories on it?

who was the one family member your muse always looked up to, if any?

if your muse drives a car, have they personalized it in any way (bumper stickers, things hanging from the rearview mirror, etc.)?

if given a choice between having a night in or spending the night out on the town, which would they most likely choose and why?

what are your muse's favorite scents, and what do they associate them with?

what kind of shopper is your muse? are they a slow, methodical shopper, a list-maker, or a grab the items and go kind of person? how long do they usually spend getting their groceries? how long do they spend clothes shopping? do they use changing rooms?

if something bad happens, who will your muse call first?

what social cause is your muse most passionate about and why?

if your muse was made into an action figure, what would their five catchphrases be?

what are your muse's biggest fears, and what caused them?

what's the one thing your muse constantly does and wishes they could stop doing?

does your muse know how to fight? describe their fighting style. if someone was threatening them and about to attack, how would they respond?

will your muse eat at fast food restaurants? if they're on a time crunch, what type of food will they grab?

did your muse's parents pass down any quirks or habits that your muse now does? what are they?

does you muse like road trips, or would they prefer to fly in a plane?

what are their thoughts on roadside attractions and tourist traps? when visiting new cities, do they prefer to see the most popular sites, or pretend to be a local and blend in?

what does your muse's bedroom look like? is it cluttered or clean? do they use the overhead lighting, or use lamps and other things to provide a better ambience? do they make their bed every morning or leave it unmade?

is your muse a 'this is a really nice box, i should save it' kind of person, or do they tend to throw things out no matter what?

[egophiliac]

If you don’t mind my asking, how did you get the Malleus nenderoid? I’ve been considering getting myself one as a Christmas present that definitely won’t arrive until after Christmas, but I don’t typically order things that aren’t sold in my country, and I don’t know where to look. I’m pretty sure? You’ve mentioned also not being in Japan? So I figured I’d try asking

I did get your other message about seeing that he's no longer available -- I think all the Twst nendoroids were preorder only :( -- but figured I'd answer anyway just for reference!

I ordered directly off the Aniplex+ website since they allow international credit cards; for the address I went through Blackship, which is a package-forwarding service (you have things shipped to them and they'll reship it to you). the shipping costs can get a bit expensive depending on item size/weight, but honestly that would be true no matter what, and it ends up being a lot cheaper than going through a proxy-shopper or reseller. (WhiteRabbit/JapanRabbit is the same company's proxy-shop service -- I haven't used that side of them personally, but I see good reviews for them.)

the nendoroids in particular have about a 1-2 month preorder period, and then I think they basically make them depending on how many orders they get, and finally release them about 6 months later. so getting in on the preorder window is, annoyingly, kind of the only way to guarantee getting a semi-reasonable price. (they would announce the preorders on the twst_jp twitter, which is where I saw them; not sure about anywhere else.) it is possible they might re-release them at some point, given they were sort of unexpectedly popular -- I think they weren't originally going to do them for all the characters, just the dorm leaders -- and if we are very very lucky they might even be globally available instead of Japan-only? but that might take more luck than is humanly possible. 💀 I am once again begging Twst to release international merch so I can spend too much money on tiny figures and not just shipping

[dushysworld]

Journey of a Human soul through different Signs/Nakshatras :

> We will consider each sign as a stage of a soul when it is sent here on this planet to experience different aspects of life from birth to death.

1. Aries ♈, at this stage the soul is very very immature, even at times too demanding *just like a little child who gets angry or cries when things don't go their way*. But the most important thing about this sign is its honesty and assertiveness. It never shy away from speaking the truth even if its harsh. Still a stage when the soul has just begun its journey of understanding basics of life but has to work more on their subconscious as their subconscious is what keeps them in the backfoot.

The first part of Aries *Ashwini* makes a person very headstrong and very very quick with each and every task that they set to accomplish. They don't like to listen to what others have to say about their work or way of working since Ashwini is a Ketu ruled Nakshatra which makes it detached at times from their dear ones especially because it is only then they learn the basic meaning of independence. Ketu makes them disciplined at a very young age. *More about nakshatras in depth in other post for sure*.

The second part *Bharani* makes a person with enormous amount of

tolerance or patience for literally anything in life. Bharani influenced are often seen in caretaking facilities and hospitals which is no wonder they like to help and nurture people as much as possible. Some of these natives are also rigid and stubborn when it comes to their expenses as they spend recklessly and don't think twice.

The last part *1st pada of Kritika* makes someone who's a great leader but lacks proper finance management knowledge. They are also counted among impulsive shoppers because of their nature to get the most luxurious or solid item that's out there.

.

Basically at the Aries ♈ stage a soul is still quite impulsive and lacks proper analysis that is required to work/function at the best level. Still Aries makes a soul honest, diligent and confident in their decisions.

2. Taurus ♉, at this stage the soul has started to understand about materialistic and other values from the family and elders especially. *Just like the little kid who likes to play with toys and gets possessive over things which it owns*. The best about this sign is that the soul here is very very loyal but at times can act stubborn instead of thinking practically.

The first part of Taurus *Last three padas of Kritika* makes a person very materialistic, lack emotional stability at times but brings greater understanding of humans due to early success. Are often seen leading many companies where the ego 🌞 is important.

The second part of Taurus *Rohini* is yet another best placements especially for moon to be at since Moon & Rohini are closely linked in Vedic.

Storytime: *as according to the Vedic history, Moon/Chandra had 27 wives (all these constellations), but he truly loved Rohini and spent most of his time with her due to which the other sisters complained to their father Prajapati Daksha(the first son that Lord Brahma/creator of the universe had in first manvantra), which later resulted in Daksha giving Chandra the curse that his light would get completely turned into darkness (which is the new moon today). But later after requests of Chandra and other deities, Lord Shiva 🕉️(The Destroyer of Universe) decreased the effect of the curse by granting Moon the wish to keep changing its lunar cycle. *Instead of always being a full moon, now the moon was supposed to undergo various cycles for almost a month.

Rohini part of Taurus makes a person involved in beauty, luxury and other comforts of live with keen interest in family & personal endeavours. This makes the person's mind very balanced for the most part.

The last part of this sign *1st & 2nd pada of Mrigashirsa* brings out the more conversational side of the person. The person influenced more by this part of Taurus sign often like to involve in artistic or other unique pursuits which make them successful.

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Hence at Taurus ♉, a soul truly understands what are the things that make it feel secure and safe. Whether it is emotional, physical, material or even spiritual. The soul has learnt how to make a living for itself by being grounded and self efficient.

3. Gemini ♊, at this stage the soul has started to get involved in more stimulating conversations and gets to understand more about courage, communication, intellectual side and other things meant to survive in the society. *Just like a kid who's learning to make new friends by making good use of their speech and thoughts*. This is naturally an outgoing sign which is meant to be quite extrovert and makes people like to delve more into stimulating conversations.

The first part of Gemini *Mrigashirsa pada 3rd & 4th* makes a person focused towards mental side of every relationship and also makes him restless at times due to constant fear that comes with putting their guard down at times. Mrigashirsa is linked with deer. Deers are highly susceptible of even the little dangers so Mrigashirsa people usually got those sixth sense in them.

The second part *Ardra* (which is considered to be Lord Shiva's birth constellation) is another one of the best sides of Gemini. This nakshatra influence makes a person intellectual and sharp minded to a level which is sometimes above those who doubt them. Ardra also makes a person quite intimidating as they never sit quiet unless & until they fulfill that very purpose. Ardra knows how to use their communication and other skills to defend/help someone who's unprivileged & are at the losing end of the war of LIFE.

The last part of Gemini *first three Punarvasu* deals with the more communicative and humble side of the sign. It makes a person very group work oriented and using their intellect towards every day matters *even family related*.

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Hence at Gemini ♊ a soul truly understand that one needs to understand the proper manner to communicate with others especially the family, friends and people we're working with. Get a proper understanding of how one thinks and operates on a mental level & what do they actual mean by saying.

*Couldn't add gemini and cancer sign photos due to 10 images limit max in a post 🚶💀*.

4. Cancer, at this stage the soul has started to understand the emotions a lot more than the previous signs, the focus here is on the moon/mind in our lives.

*there's 3 parts/Nakshatras which come in the cancer sign*

The first being punarvasu (4th pada) which is more about playing the role of guru in people's life and having an optimistic approach as well. In other words living a life full of good karmas, honest, obedient and detached approach as well.

The second part *Pushya* is a very very emotional Cancer Nakshatra. It makes a person very intuitive and nurturing to the capacity of them going out of their way to help somebody just because they can feel their pain.

The last part comes *ashlesha* is a bit different from the first two. This is mercury ruled Nakshatra and makes one very intellectual & analytical towards their approach. They are also nurturing and caring like the other two signs but in a more practical sense.

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Hence, Cancer is the stage where a soul is starting to under understanding life in the form of emotions. Delving deep into their emotions and figuring out what is it that they like or don't like.

5. Leo, at this stage the soul has started to function at its ego *Sun*. The soul still operates on emotions but the emotions here are detached for the most part *Leo/Sun influenced like to show their care for someone by their actions not by words*.

*I'll talk more about nakshatras after this but let's make this just a highlight on Signs in general*

The first half *magha* of Leo helps in understanding detachment at its best, gives seat of authority at a young but brings on lessons revolving around detachment with possessions as well as loved ones.

The second half *purva Phalguni* teaches a person how to become more creative & still lead others. It also makes someone who's not able to take anyone's order & is likely to give their work to others instead. They know how to manage someone under them/their subordinates.

The third part *Uttaraphalguni* teaches one how to to act in a more introspecting and know more about how to enhance their innate qualities to even more refined level.

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At Leo the soul understands his/her place in the society and his thoughts about what they want to truly do. *follow someone and always rely on guidance living a life full of honesty, or become someone who has the purpose to lead others in their respective field of expertise*.

Leo teaches many things about one's personality, ego, decision making ability and on top of that Detachment as well *magha mostly*.

6. Virgo, at this stage the soul is starting to get started working on daily affairs and other things that need to be perfected in life. At Virgo and virgo one can truly become their best self to the highest level *skill wise*.

Virgo also shows the point where a soul is starting to learn to become more disciplined, understanding their purpose as well & working towards that onna regular basis.

*Virgo produces excellent craftsman, software engineers, architects & other different professionals which are expert in works which require attention to detail, practical approach.

The first part *other padas of Uttaraphalguni which come under Virgo sign* makes a person serious and even quite intimidating at times. They are very honest and like to ask the same from everyone else around them.

The second part *hasta* produces excellent craftsman who are very good with work related to their hands. They are skillful & have high emotion quotient as well due to Moon lordship over this constellation.

The last part *Chitra* makes one of the best architects, visual artists, and creative to a very high level sometimes *depending on the rest of the chart*. They have one of the best ability which is "attention to detail".

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Virgo ♍ is hence the point where the soul is understanding life in a critical, disciplined & creative manner. Afterall it is very important to become critical after understanding the meaning of leadership *Leo ♌*.

7. Libra, at this stage the soul is at a quite successful level *financially* due to all the hardwork & methodical approach it followed, but now the main focus in Libra ♎ is to learn how to balance all the relationships, partnerships one has in life. The soul has to understand how to balance its ego even when it has achieved much success. The soul understands that it needs to calm down its ego *that which it understood in Leo*.

The first part *Chitra last padas falls in Libra* makes one creative in business and likes to live out there in the society rather than staying at home, and also makes one quite secretive with dealings *chitra 4th pada*

The second part *Swati* makes a person very very self going and independent. Swati influence also makes one initiate good within their relationships & they are very humble as well.

The last part *Vishakha till 3rd pada* makes a person very curious about life *Relationships/partnerships wise as well* and due to that curiousity they tend to get good guidance in life thus learning to stay firm within their bonds with others and growing together but towards different directions. The last part of Libra makes a person at times very very indecisive.

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Hence at Libra ♎ the soul learns the importance of relationships & true bonding & also learns to maintain partnerships in life.

8. Scorpio ♏, at this the soul has now understood each and every relationship in his/her life. Now the time is to delve deep into your own mind and the most deepest & vulnerable part or sides of you. Now comes the stage where one has to strengthen the relationship even more and learn to avoid attachment to things & possessiveness to anything.

The first part *vishakha 4th pada* makes one quite wise but still secretive with their dealings of any sort whether emotional or physical.

The second part *Anuradha* makes a person firstly very very hardworking, they don't shy away from their shadow side and work towards improving themselves to even better level. Secondly, Anuradha also makes one understand hardships at a very young age due to Saturn lordship over this constellation, but the life after their self growth is always the best and the most luxurious.

The last part *jyestha* makes a person quite more secretive than the first two parts/nakshatras. Jyestha makes an authoritative & secretive at the same time. They are also very intellectual & communicative individuals & also understand the basic/complex psychology of themselves.

*Apart from this all the parts/Nakshatras under scorpio ♏ have to understand difference between protective nature & possessive nature. They need to learn to give the other person their space even if they mean a lot to them*

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Hence at Scorpio one truly understands life (relationships, self psychology, finance management even many other esoteric aspects of life) at a very deep level. Since scorpio 🦂 likes to go deep into the ocean of wisdom and hidden knowledge which would benefit the humanity in general.

9. Sagittarius ♐, at this stage the soul is learning to understand the adventurous, philosophical, religious and freedom side of Life. The soul needs to understand what true freedom means whether its freedom of speech or action *only if the action and speech aren't ill intended*.

The first part *Mula* of Sagittarius is more about wisdom, diving deep into the roots/knowledge from our ancestors, practicing detachment & other forms of methods to control the mind *like meditation*.

The second part *Purva Ashadha* makes a person very creative and achieve early victory in life, also makes people enjoy the luxury of travelling and other adventures that life has to offer.

The last part *Uttarashadha upto 3rd pada* makes a person a Leader as well as very adventurous. A very wise soul but young by actions and outwardly nature at times with close ones.

At all these parts Sagittarius teaches the person different aspects of life in philosophical sense and much spiritual manner as well.

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Thus at Sagittarius ♐ the soul learns philosophy, religion and other higher learning by living a life full of adventure now away from all the work and stress *even work is imp but it's imp to take time out for yourselves and be out there in the nature*.

10. Capricorn, at this stage the soul starts working towards its career and obligation towards the society even more after learning the philosophy and truths that life taught him/her after passing through Scorpio & Sagittarius.

Capricorn is about work, ambition, sense of duty & purpose.

The first part *last pada of Uttarashadha comes under Capricorn* makes a person very ambitious but still lacks the clarity between spiritual and material values at times.

Natives of this part/nakshatra pada are seen to be quite successful in career.

The second part *Shravana* makes a person very intuitive and empathetic. Makes a person a very good listener and is quite popular in their respective fields.

The last part *first two padas of Dhanishta* makes a first very athletic and outgoing individuals who are quite independent & successful in life. At times these natives are seen to stay single for the most part if their life *until they're finally ready to commit to someone after achieving a lot in life*.

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Hence at Capricorn ♑ a soul truly understands ambitions, goals and gather material security for later life.

11. Aquarius at this stage the soul is now beginning to become more friendly, social *mostly at career or world out there*. The soul is meant to understand what's humanity truly about.

The first part *Dhanistha last two padas* makes a person very artistic and successful in everything they pursue. These are better for marital harmony than the first two padas under Capricorn ♑.

The second part *Shatabhisha* makes a person very very friendly, intellectual, sharp and even secretive at times *when it comes to things that are personal*. These people are also very successful and accomplished in their given work sectors. Most are also seen in divination related works as they tend to be spiritual too a certain extent.

The last part *Purva Bhadrapada till 3rd pada comes under Aquarius* makes a person intense, wealthy through own efforts, at times one of the worst tempers. This is also very friendly and humanitarian side of Aquarius but a lot more anger issues are seen here. The people influenced by this constellation have to only focus on two things : Their temper & their dual nature *deciding one thing & doing the complete opposite then*.

Hence at Aquarius ♒ a soul truly understands what humanity and spirituality is about. And how the material and spiritual can truly be balanced after all the hardships.

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Now now now comes the final and most interesting sign of them all *my own moon sign which is my I can explain this one in much depth as I live that way in my mind*

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12) Pisces, at this stage the soul has now reached a point where it has understood everything about materialism and what's spirituality about in his/her life. Pisces teaches the soul how to delve deep into the cosmic ocean of subconscious to a much much farther level than the rest of the signs because this is the higher plane the point where one is truly able to connect to the Divine Consciousness.

The first part *4th pada of Purvabhadrapada comes under Pisces* makes a person quite spiritual and honest but with the anger issues revolving around their life. They get frustrated even the little things which is the short side of this pada but apart from that this part of Pisces is about work towards the society and being at service to others.

The second part*Uttarabhadrapada* makes one very noble & beautiful inside out. Whatever they think is what they speak and that's the honesty about this Pisces constellation. UBP makes one very humane and generous with their wealth and quite introspective towards research about Humanity and origin in much more depth than other constellations. This constellation also signfies the spiritual awakening one experiences early in life which guides them to follow a spiritual path early.

The last part *Revati* makes a person very intuitive upto the highest level, sharp witted and curious individual. They are quite successful at a young age due to their sharp mercury qualities *Mercury rules over Revati Nakshatra* & also learn about spirituality early due to Jupiter influence, so they end up sharing their wealth of knowledge & material wealth with those who aren't able to experience those luxuries in life. *Another very humane constellation with a highly charitable nature*. They are also quite detached which helps them in the path of enlightenment.

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Hence at Pisces ♓ a soul truly understands what their soul purpose is truly in life *at times quite early in life due to good fortune of Jupiter over the Pisces sign*.

The soul now has now surrendered to God & is now at his service *service towards the other children of God*.

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Hope you guys liked this my in-depth perspective on the signs and how the soul behaves according to different sign placements.

Disclaimer: this is an original work by me so kindly ask my permission before putting any of this info out there anywhere.

Also people who are very much interested in getting to know about their soul purpose according to Vedic astrology, they may kindly consult me. DMs are always open and I'm also open for an honest yet productive conversation.

[vidavalor]

Maggie's individual scenes with Crowley & Aziraphale & what they might be suggesting

In 2.05, Aziraphale sends Crowley out to make sure that Nina and Maggie are both on their way to the bookshop for the meeting ball. While Crowley officially met Nina in 2.01 and has had several scenes with her since, this is then Crowley's first scene directly interacting with Maggie alone that we've been shown and the only one still to date by the end of S2. There's a few interesting things happening in it, imo..

The only time we actually see Crowley and Aziraphale in the same place with Maggie is during the ball and briefly in the big group scene in the morning before Crowley gets Maggie and Nina out of the bookshop. Aziraphale is only just coming back as Maggie and Nina are leaving after talking to Crowley in the bookshop in 2.06, so the only scene of Crowley, Aziraphale & Maggie all together of any real note is the ball, where other characters are occupying their time and then the bookshop is attacked. My point is that both Crowley and Aziraphale get moments of interaction with Maggie-- alone, in her shop-- but we don't see them together around her. She is the only Whickber Street shopkeeper who doesn't have an individual scene with both of them-- even Mr. Arnold, who is only in about 2 scenes, does. Why might this matter? Look at this Crowley and Maggie scene here...

When Crowley & Aziraphale went around the neighborhood to get the Whickber Street shopkeepers to come to the meeting, we saw them at Goldstone's, at Marguerite's, at Arnold's Music Shop, talking with Mrs. Cheng *and* talking with Nina about the meeting. Mr. Brown of Brown's World of Carpets did not require persuading to come to his favorite thing in the world and also he had come to the shop earlier to drop off the chairs so he had already been confirmed in attendance off-camera, as we learned at the ball. Mrs. Sandwich arrives at the meeting ball and speaks with Aziraphale, indicating that she's not sure why he wanted her to come to the meeting. This is something that she probably would have already said if Aziraphale had come over to invite her directly. He did want her there but since she's the only Whickber Street character who has met both Crowley and Aziraphale per the ball scene but knows Crowley more and doesn't know most of the other shopkeepers, it's likely that Crowley was dispatched alone to invite her. This leaves only one shopkeeper-- a crucial one to the ball-- that we never see actually invited to the meeting but who knows it's taking place and that's Maggie. That means we actually were intentionally *not* shown the scene of Crowley and Aziraphale stopping at The Small Back Room-- which was on Aziraphale's clipboard list when they went around the neighborhood-- but we *were* shown even the brief moment with Mrs. Cheng instead. All for reasons that aren't immediately clear to us by the end of S2 but are extra interesting because of Maggie's kind of mysterious backstory.

In the scene with Crowley, Maggie has just closed up shop when Crowley knocks on her window and she comes to the door of her shop. Crowley says: "He says to tell you that the meeting of the Whickber Street thing-y is starting now." There is no introduction here and Maggie answered the door after closing her shop, which means they know who one another is. They've met before. They're also aware of one another in a capacity that centers Aziraphale as the common person they know. Crowley didn't even say "Mr. Fell says to tell you", just "he says." He didn't introduce himself and he expected-- correctly-- that Maggie knew that he knows Aziraphale, which means that Crowley has met Maggie in a capacity connected to Aziraphale in some way and isn't just a frequent shopper at The Small Back Room.

Maggie just says that she never misses a meeting and she'll be right there and Crowley says "no problem." He seems mildly nervous-- not yet in the way he was when he began to sense danger when rounding up Nina-- but different than he was with the other shopkeepers. Is he just awkward because he's been playing Cupid all week for her and now he's got to talk to her lol (but he's not really like that with Nina?) Why do they feel like it's important for us to see the short interaction in this scene?

This scene is presented to us as something of a surprise because putting it here in this way without having given us Crowley & Maggie before then gives it more weight, especially since the show gave us literally every other shopkeeper meeting Crowley prior to this and Maggie and Nina are the most important to the story. When we think back to earlier in S2, though, we might realize that there was a scene earlier in the season that also suggested that Crowley already knew Maggie.

When Aziraphale and Crowley are in The Dirty Donkey and Aziraphale is explaining how he lied to Heaven about the Gabriel miracle by saying it was to make his shop lesbians fall in love, he refers to Maggie in such a way as to make it seem like Crowley already knows who she is and Crowley doesn't ask for clarification, indicating that he does. This would then now mean that not only had Crowley met Maggie prior to S2 but that Aziraphale was aware that he had. This then makes Maggie the only shopkeeper Crowley knew personally before S2 aside from Mrs. Sandwich. Why? How?

At this point, it probably wouldn't be enough to say that Crowley might only know Maggie because he's into music and she runs a record shop. That could be one reason but Aziraphale knowing that Crowley knows who Maggie is in 2.01 before her story really gets started indicates that they've at least discussed Maggie together before in some capacity in the past... and then there's the Aziraphale and Maggie individual scene from 2.01 that starts the whole Operation Lovebirds thing in the first place...

We're busy at this point in the story trying to figure out what the deal is with Gabriel and "Everyday" and then distracted by Aziraphale using Maggie and Nina's situation as a lie to Heaven about the miracle he and Crowley did to hide Gabriel but... what about the fact that Maggie is in love with Nina and doesn't know what to do and she's asking *Aziraphale* for advice?

Yes, Aziraphale is kind and older and queer and she feels safe in asking him for help but as a general rule, you don't usually tend to ask for advice for pursuing a romance with the person of your dreams from someone whom you believe to be your neighborhood's most eligible bachelor.

You ask the long-married or long-partnered people you know. The ones who found their person long ago and are years into the kind of romance you want to have with this person on whom you have this epic pash.

Why does Maggie think Aziraphale can tell her how to court Nina?

What about Aziraphale would scream to anyone who vaguely knew him-- let alone Maggie, who seems pretty close to him, more than other humans-- that he knows a lot about Maggie's brand of gentle, loving romance here?

The entire street, including Maggie, saw Gabriel arrive at Aziraphale's door earlier lol. Maggie would be well within her rights to think the same thing as the rest of the street-- that the rich, old bookseller gets him some and good for him-- and leave it at that.

Aziraphale is not married. He's single enough seeming to others that at least some of us (ahem, including me lol) believe that Mr. Brown of Brown's World of Carpets has been trying to bag him for awhile now. Why does Maggie seem to know him differently enough to ask him what she should do about Nina and when and how did she meet Crowley and, even if Maggie has it all wrong about them (and I don't think she does), is it even possible for these things to not be related at this point?

[merakisphere]

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