#right elbow to the left knee and vice versa- and you can do that pretty quickly and it does a lot for the thighs and core and whatever else

[muckmagister]

I’ve had only a bowl of noodles today and I’m not starving. What’s wrong with me? Maybe I should go for a walk to get hungry but it’s dark outside and there might be Bad Guys

you should consume fluids i think 👍 between all the states of matter fluids are my favourite to put in my body, and sometimes when i'm not feeling hungry it's cause i haven't drank enough fluids first

[drunkenlionwrites]

very tender hurt and comfort with Vash tending to your wounds please? Maybe Reader has a lot of scarring and this is the first time Vash is seeing it? Pre relationship please so theres full of yearning and unspoken intimacy JDBSIDJJAHDIDHDJ I WANT THIS MAN SO MUCH HE HAS TAKEN OVER ALL THOUGHTS

Hi, dear anon! I am so so sorry, this request literally has been sitting in my inbox for 2 months and not because I didn’t like it, but for the opposite reason! I’ve been writing and re-writing it many times, and because I tend to go overboard with angst/hurt-comfort stuff when it comes to Vash, it turned out to be just 1000 words of fluff. Yeah, sorry to all the guys who requested fluf and got angst and vice-versa. Seems like I’m not good with requests, maybe will change the submissions to suggestions later. Anyway, hope you’re still somewhere out here nonnie and you can see this! Warnings: mentions of scars and wounds, reader without specific body parts descriptions, Vash calls you a fem!gendered word in french once though, slight pining, fluff

There’s a sudden loud laugh, shuddering of the glasses and the next moment you’re laying face down on the sandy soil in front of the saloon. Your Thomas got freaked out and yeeted you over his head right into the dirt. For real? You’ve felt a sharp unpleasant pain on the left side of your body – your cheek, belly and a part of hip and knee burnt. The inside of your mouth tasted like sand, dirt, and humiliation. You spat and saw particles of blood in your spit. Wincing, you stood up, Vash’s hands already caringly holding your elbows.

“Hey, you’re okay there?” You turned to the side to see his concerned face that grew even more so when he saw the deep scrapes on your cheek. Wolfwood placed a hand on your shoulder as he passed through you to the saloon entrance with a chuckle: “That’s a pretty nasty fall for someone who claimed to be the best rider out of us, sheriff”. You could just growl at him pettily, hearing Vash’s scolding above your head as you tried to dust off your clothes as best as you could before entering the building.

Just great…One thing you’ve been confident in was your Thomas riding skill and you made sure to tease Wolfwood ‘cause of his clumsiness with saddle. You didn’t know what was wrong with those two men, but they both were so much better than you with everything: their shooting skills and physical prowess were not a joke, and you’ve felt a tinge of bitterness every time one of them roared to you to stay back or run away (which most of the time you didn’t listen to). But nevertheless, you’ve been so used to being one of a kind, the strong one, the clever one. The promising young sheriff of your town. Well…the town that doesn’t exist anymore, but still!

Waving off Vash and his attempts to check up your bruises, you went straight into your room for the night once you’ve booked them. This soured your mood a bit – the jeans were dirty and ripped now, the bruises were pretty big, even if not really deep, Wolfwood for sure will tease you back relentlessly, and Vash saw you falling so ungracefully…ugh. Deciding to be a grown up about it, you went for a shower, which made you feel better and decided to sleep off your bad mood. Surely, with a new day it’ll all feel like a funny incident to remember sometimes and laugh about, right?

You heard soft knocks on your door when you’ve been drying off your hair with a towel. “Hey, that’s just me. Wanted to check up on you if you don’t mind?” a sheepish voice spoke, muffled by the door. Of course, he would do that… Opening the door you saw a tall blond standing there, already in his nightclothes, with a small med kit in his hands, which he shook a bit before your face. “Ummm…I know you don’t wanna, but it’s still better if we treat your wounds, you don’t want to get an infection and then nasty scars on your pretty face, right?” Pretty, is it? “Vash, I have my fare share of scars, I don’t really care about them, but if it makes you happy, sure” you stood aside from the door, letting him inside.

Sitting beside you on a bed, Vash started cleaning the skin around your scratches with antiseptic, leaning awfully close to your face for you liking. He seemed to be preoccupied with a task, making ‘tsk’ sounds like a concerned mother would. You’ve felt a tinge of warmth at this thought, not daring to dart your eyes to the side and concentrating on breathing calmly. “Show me the other bruises” Vash asked, and you obediently lifted your shirt to reveal the biggest one that marred your skin from the upper stomach to the hipbone without giving it much thought. Seeing your friend’s cheeks and tips of the ears turning pink, you decidedly pulled it back. “Um…that’s fine. Thanks for worrying about me, I can just do it myself” you smiled reassuringly at him.

“Oh, sorry, I..didn’t mean anything like that. Just noticed that you already have some scars there. Did you get hurt a lot?” you chuckled as you raised your shirt once again for Vash to continue with his medical care. “Well, even though it’s just a silly nickname now, I used to be sheriff for quite some time. Yeah, I have some. Some are knife wounds, some from gun shots, maybe now some new from falling off Thomas” you tried to end it on a funny note, but Vash only frowned and placed a hand on your shoulder. “You know you can stop anytime? It’s not like you must continue to live such a risky life… You can find a nice occupation suitable for une jeune fille like you. Settle in a relatively calm and nice city? Wouldn’t it be better?” He said as if coaxing you, his voice soft and dreamy.

It was your turn to frown at his words. “You know I would if it was something I wanted, right? I never wanted such a life, especially not now, not when I…well… when I’m doing something important and helping you out. And I’ll ask you out of my room if you raise this topic again, okay?” Vash shook his head and chuckled, pressing his fingers, covered in healing balm to your bruised belly. “I surrender, sheriff. Please, spare this pitiful outlaw!” You laughed at that, his fingers somehow burning your skin way stronger than the deepest abrasions.

[13uswntimagines]

McFiance (Sam x Reader)

Requested by @hales548​  : R is a basketball player (who is taller than Sam by a few inches). They are also teammates with Sue Bird on Team USA. The USWNT have a day off on the day of the gold medal match for the basketball team. Sam suggests that the team goes to support the women's basketball team during their game. Reader surprises Sam after receiving their medal by proposing in front of both their teams and the world. Lots of fluffy happy moments.

Author’s Note: First and Foremost Happy Birthday my dude! I hope you have an awesome Day!! @literaryhedgehog​ and I had a lot of fun writing this (and it gave us an idea for another one...) so i really hope you enjoy it!

“So are we just going to pretend that you didn’t drag us here to watch Mchottie shoot baskets?” 

Sam almost missed Sonnett’s comment, watching as her girlfriend did a layup, her eyes following the ink that accentuated her bicep. and tricep. General arm area. God, her girlfriend’s arms were amazing. Delectable. Heaven‘s gift to her…? She didn’t care if that was overkill, the fact was her girlfriend had some beautiful arm muscles perfectly outlined by the tattoos Sam loved to trace with her fingers whenever she had the opportunity. 

“Sonnett if you keep talking during the game you’ll miss something. I’m not explaining why someone’s doing a free throw if you miss the foul again.” Megan said, elbowing the blond defender and glaring in her direction. You had spent months planning this, and the blinds complaining wasn’t about to mess this up. 

“You’re just pouting cause Mcsexie came off after the half,” Emily huffed, rubbing her arm. 

“This isn’t a fucking Grey’s anatomy episode, every player doesn’t need a nickname with a mick,” Tobin laughed, shaking her head at Sam, who still hadn’t looked away from you. She was glad the tall blond had found love like she had found Christen. Sam lit up when she was around you and vice versa, you completed each other and made a hella cute couple (and took amazing couples photos helped by your 3 inches over Sam). 

“And I would actually appreciate it if you didn’t nickname my fiance ‘Mcsexie.’” Megan said, offhandedly. “For starters it’s demeaning, but also, I mean come on. You know Sue and Y/n, you’ve met their teammates, you can’t just call them the stupid nicknames you give literally every other girl to annoy your girlfriend.” 

“SWOOSH” several people in the crowd said interrupting the conversation. Emily jumped, not expecting 

“Fuck yeah, that’s my Mchottie,” Sam yelled, standing from her seat as you got a 3 pointer in seconds before the buzzer went off. Then the ref blew their whistle and the two coaches ran across the court. 

“Why can Sam call her Mchottie and I can’t?” Emily whined, missing the worried looks Megan was sending Sam’s way when you didn’t pop back up. 

“Not the time babe, Y/n just got fouled,” Lindsey said softly, leaning close to her girlfriend so she could hear, placing a hand on the defender’s thigh to calm down her boisterousness slightly. 

One of your teammates gave you a hand up and you stood in a group of your teammates, waiting to hear the call. You were pretty sure you knew what it was going to be, considering the defender had smacked you in the face as they tried to get the ball. You had still gotten the points, and fallen back just like you trained to do (so you didn’t accidentally foul your defender back) but they could have decided it was accidental. It probably was accidental- you did have several inches on the girl defending you. Still, it was unnecessary contact and you grinned as the ref beckoned you to take your place at the free-throw line.

“That was a world-class flop, I bet she took lessons from you, Pino,” Tobin snorted as you stepped up to the line. 

“Nah, she got it from Sue. I do a bit more rolling to really get my point across,” Megan shrugged, popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth. 

“She’s got the best stats in the league, there’s no way that she’s going to miss these,” Sam mumbled, more to herself than the rest of the group. You worked your ass off to be the best, spent hours taking shots from the line for moments just like that. You were the best for a reason, and now you just had to show it off. 

Emily rolled her eyes. Your team was up by 16, so there was no way you were going to lose no matter what the outcome of these next three shots were (an opinion she thought better to not voice considering the death grip Sam had on her seat). 

She looked around to see rows of people in the audience raising their hands in the air as you lined up to take your first shot. 

“SWOOSH!”

*****

Your grin was blinding as you bent to accept your metal, your eyes glued to your girlfriend rather than the commissioner placing the gold around your neck. It was only now that you felt the butterflies bloom in your belly, fluttering excitedly. You had been dead calm about the game but terrified of what you had planned for after. 

What if she said no? Everyone, you knew assured you she wouldn’t, but what if it was too soon? You had both talked about the future as though there would be one, and while you hadn’t specifically said ‘hey Sam, I want to marry you’ you were pretty sure she knew. Unless she didn’t.

“You better take a deep breath before you pass out kid,” Sue’s voice broke through your internal ramble, her warm hand on your shoulder grounding you back in reality. You blinked at the veteran’s kind eyes, breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. 

“Good, now I think you’ll need this yeah?” She smiled, passing you the tiny ring box. You clutched it tightly, running your thumb over the velvet. Some people said it was corny, but you wanted everything to be perfect. To fulfill the dream your girlfriend had in her head since she was a little girl. 

You took another deep breath, squaring your shoulders and swaggering over to the group of soccer players staring at you from the sidelines. 

“Hey superstar,” You smiled, engulfing your girlfriend in a very sweaty hug, ignoring the gagging noises from the blond defender behind her. 

“Hi goldie,” Sam said, giggling. “Or do you prefer just plain ‘winner’?”

“Hmm, you can call me anything you like baby,” You said, pulling back, suddenly feeling all the bravado and swagger you had on the court fill you. “as long as you let me call you my wife,” You finished, dropping to one knee and pulling out the ring. 

“Oh my god,” Sam breathed, looking down at you. 

You gulped, your mouth suddenly feeling very dry.“I’m not really sure how I’m supposed to do this, but I really fucking love you. You’re my first thought in the morning, and at night and like a billion times in between. Every time anything happens, you’re the one I want to tell.  I want to share everything with you. Every experience, every moment, every win, and every loss with you for the rest of my life. So, will you marry me?” 

You blinked up at the woman in earnest, waiting with bated breath for her answer. Sam opened and closed her mouth a few times, and just as you thought she was going to respond, Emily gasped. “I thought it was supposed to be a ring pop?”

“Sonnet!” Megan and Sam said at the same time, both turning to glare at her 

“What?” Emily said, “you always joked that diamond rings were overrated and that a ring pop...” going quiet at Lindsey’s “just shut up” look. 

“Well,” you said, clearing your throat as you drew the attention back to yourself, “as you can see it’s not a ring pop. Or a diamond. It’s a very pretty green onyx ring that I would like to give my girlfriend/fiance…”

“Just shut up and kiss me,” Sam said, cutting off your rambling, grabbing the front of your jersey, and pulling you into a kiss. 

“Is this a yes?” You mumbled against her lips, your neck bent at an awkward angle and unsure what to do with your hands considering you still had the open ring box in your left and you didn’t want to drop the ring. 

“It’s a definitely,” she said, holding out her hand so you could slip the ring onto her finger. 

“Cool,” you said, grinning as you took just long enough to get the ring on her finger before she pulled you into another kiss, her fingers tango long in the baby hairs at the back of your neck, and your hands firmly grabbing her hips. 

You were so engrossed in your fiancé (and how great it felt to call her that) that you almost missed Emily asking “So like, they’re McFiances now right?” 

[perseephoneee]

I Always Knew Your Name

Billy Hargrove x Reader

A/N: I don’t know, I just have been in such a Billy mood lately and I felt inclined to write this??

Warnings: slight mention of abuse, profanity

———

Summers could be incredibly dull in Hawkins, Indiana, but you liked the routine that went on most days. For you, it meant getting to work as a lifeguard four days a week and volunteer at the library the other three. You couldn’t sit around idly; you liked being able to stay busy.

The downside to your job as a lifeguard was the existence of Billy Hargrove. He took advantage of his position to flirt with girls and yell at children, all the while driving you nuts. It sometimes felt like you were the only lifeguard working. Some days he wouldn’t be too bad, he would ignore you and vice versa, and you could both be in peace. Other days, he was a nuisance.

Today happened to be one of those days as you found yourself picking up the slack more than usual. After blowing your whistle yet again for a kid falling into the water without supervision, you were starting to wonder where the hell Billy was. You finally spotted him, flirting with some girl in a too-small swimsuit. You climbed down your chair and marched to him without hesitation.

“Billy,” you said, arms crossed. He ignored you, continuing to chat. “Billy,” you said again, tapping your foot. The girl was starting to notice you, raising an eyebrow in your general direction. Billy still refused to turn around, though, so you took your whistle and blew right in his ear.

“What the fuck?!” He exclaimed, turning around and facing you with an angry expression.

“What the fuck?” You mocked, “how about what the fuck do you, Hargrove!”

“What’s your problem?”

“My problem is that it seems like I’m the only one working since you’re too busy listening to your dick and not your boss,” you rolled your eyes, earning a few looks from nearby parents.

“He’s just talking,” the girl said, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. You could tell by how the girl looked Billy up and down that she was interested in way more than just talking.

“Oh? Did he tell you about his genital herpes yet, or was that for after?” You smiled sweetly. The girl paled, immediately waving goodbye and running away before anything else could be said.

“That was unnecessary,” Billy growled, pointing a finger in your face.

“Do your job, then get laid. It’s the natural order of things,” you pushed his finger away, marching back to your chair and ignoring the heated glare aimed towards you.

Billy didn’t talk to you until after your shift ended. You were in the main office, packing up your things and your hair still wet from a shower. He came walking in and faced you without saying a word.

“Yes, Hargrove?” You sighed, turning to face him. He had thrown on a button-up with his swim trunks yet still refused to button up the top, making you want to impale yourself.

“What’s your problem with me, Julia?” Billy inquired.

“First, my name isn’t Julia; it’s Y/N,” you rolled your eyes, leaning up against the desk. “Second, my problem with you is that you’re irresponsible. You’re spending so much of your time being a narcissist that you aren’t caring at all about the patrons that come here. I end up having to do all the work, and to tell you the truth, it’s bullshit,” you exclaimed. You threw your bag over your shoulder, looking back up at Billy. “Are we done?”

Billy nodded, moving slightly out of the way so you can exit. You still had to shove past him, which made you want to kill him even more. Sometimes you considered asking if Heather would switch shifts with you, but you knew that too many kids would drown if you did that.

The next time you saw Billy, he had finally gotten his tongue back. You had just gotten in for your break, and you were ready to snack and take a much-needed power nap when Billy burst into the office. You jolted up from the chair in surprise.

“Excuse me?” You scoffed, turning to your culprit.

“You didn’t give me a chance to respond last time,” he said, leering over you. “And what I want to say is that you’re a bitch.”

“Thank you; it’s been my goal in life.”

“No, I’m not done,” he said, slamming his hand on the desk. You shrunk back slightly from fear. “You’re a bitch, and you sit on this high horse and pretend like you’re better when you’re just as fucked up like everyone else. Who are you to get to tell me what to do?”

You didn’t respond, just stayed quiet as Billy breathed in deeply. His eyes were trained on you so intensely you were scared he would snap and rip your head off.

“You’re scaring me,” you said small, watching as his face almost morphed into something apologetic before he sat up and left the office without a word. You wanted to say something, but instead, you could never find your voice.

Later that week, Tommy hosted a party and surprisingly invited you to it. While you weren’t much of a party person, you decided that it wasn’t going to hurt you to go, so you went. When you arrived, though, you started to remember why you disliked parties in the first place. Being surrounded by drunk and horny teenagers wasn’t your idea of a good time, but you found yourself a drink and sat on the stairs observing everything anyway.

You were distracted watching one of your classmates try to breakdance when you felt someone tap your shoulder. You turned around to make eye contact with a guy, your year or older, with brown hair and two matching dimples.

“Sorry to disturb you,” he laughed.

“No, I was just zoning out; I’m fine,” you smiled in return. He sat down next to you and held out his hand.

“Riley.”

“Y/N,” you said, shaking it.

“I couldn’t help but notice you were sitting up here all alone,” he scooted a little closer to you, forcing you to back up. “What’s a pretty girl like you doing by herself?”

“A pretty girl like me is enjoying her alone time,” you scoffed, taking a sip of your drink and trying to ignore Riley next to you.

“Well, you know, if you’re feeling lonely, there’s always a room upstairs we could go to,” he smirked, putting a hand on your knee. You pushed it away, glaring at him.

“Thanks for the offer, but not interested,” you said quickly, turning away from him. He grabbed your shoulder, turning you back towards him. His other hand gripped your knee as you tried to push him away.

“Come on—“

“She said no.”

You turned to make eye contact with Billy. Surprise crossed your face as he walked up the stairs, glaring at Riley next to you. Riley scooted away, fear crossing his face since Billy was known to throw a punch. Billy held out his hand towards you, and you gratefully took it and his behind him. “Do me a favor, asshole, stay the fuck away from her,” Billy hissed, gripping your hand tightly and pulling you away. For once in your life, you wanted to stay close to Billy, and you found yourself gripping his hand tightly as he led you out of the house and into the quiet streets of the neighborhood.

“Thanks for that,” you said awkwardly. You let your hands go at that moment and almost missed the feeling of his palm in yours. Billy looked at you, what seemed like compassion in his eyes.

“I’m sorry for being irresponsible and shit,” he shuffled his feet awkwardly, and you got the sense this was hard for him.

“I forgive you, it’s okay,” you said in return, crossing your arms to stay warm.

“Can I give you a ride back home?” Billy asks hands shoved in his pockets as he peers at you through long lashes.

“Yeah, this party sucks anyway,” you smile, trying to ease the tension. You follow Billy to his car, getting in hesitantly, and finding yourself overwhelmed with the scent of cologne and cigarette smoke. You told Billy the directions to your house and almost swore at him when he swerved a little too fast. By the time you made it home, you had thought you might’ve lost your stomach somewhere on the street. “Thanks for the ride; see you at work, I guess?” You sigh, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear as you get out of the car. Billy reaches out and grabs your wrist.

“Call me if you need anything?” He says quietly, almost as if he’s afraid of your response. You nod, smiling at him again as you walk up the path to your front door, watching him drive away into the night.

Billy seemed to take his apology to heart, as he tried to be more on top of things while working. He still flirted with girls, but you couldn’t stop him all the time. He occasionally gave you rides when it got too dark after work. Sometimes you’d hold a conversation without yelling at each other, but other times you’d argue. Even when you claimed, though, it didn’t come from a place of dislike.

You never expected to see Billy at your other place of work, the library. It was late Saturday night, and you were working a late shift when he came wandering in. You could tell something was wrong immediately.

“Billy?” You asked, looking up from your paperwork as he stumbled in. Your eyes widened when spotted the wounds on his face.

“You work here?” He questioned, shooting you a grin. You didn’t smile back.

“Why are you here? What happened?”

“This is the only place open this late, and I don’t want to talk about it,” Billy sighs, opening his pack of cigarettes and putting his between his lips. You grabbed the smoke away, pointing to the “NO SMOKING” sign on the wall.

“Was it a fight?” You inquire, leaning forward on your elbows. Billy shakes his head, ignoring your gaze and looking everywhere but at you. “Did it happen at home?” You ask more quietly. He doesn’t say anything, but you watch him tense up, and you take that as your answer. You open the cabinet under the desk and grab the first aid kit before walking around and catching Billy. He looks at you in bewilderment.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Patching you up,” you reply, shoving him in the staff bathroom. He leans against the sink as you rifle through your kit for the right supplies. He doesn’t argue, just sits back as you start to disinfect his cuts. He hisses under his breath when you rub a cold ointment on a bruise. “How long?” You ask, voice somber.

“Too long,” he replies, not bothering to elaborate.

“I know we aren’t friends or whatever, but you can always come to me if you need it,” you huff, focusing on your work and not his eyes. “I mean, I know you didn’t know my name until a month ago or didn’t know I existed or whatever, but if you need somewhere, I don’t mind.”

“What do you mean we aren’t friends?” Billy creases his brows.

“You don’t care about me; why would we be friends?”

“Of course I care,” he says quietly, almost too quiet to hear. “And I always knew your name.”

He reaches for your hands, thumb brushing over your knuckles softly. You start to notice how close you two are. He lifts one of your hands and kisses the palm, lips trailing to your wrist and over your knuckles. You’re fixated on the way his lips leave chills across your skin. Finally, he looks up at you, brushing hair behind your ear.

“If I kiss you, will you push me away?”

“No,” you gulp, your word barely a whisper. Billy leans forward, kissing you softly as if you’re fragile. You start to kiss him back, sliding your hands up his shoulders and around his neck. His kisses become more fervent, his tongue gliding across your bottom lip until you open your mouth. You yelp when he spins you around and pushes you against the counter. One of his hands grasps your waist tightly as the other tangles in your hair. You pull away to catch your breath, your forehead against his.

“I’ve wanted to do that,” Billy grins.

“Since when?”

“Since you first yelled at me.”

[twdbegins]

could I possibly get Simon x fem!reader angst where Simon and her are in love but she doesn’t know the extent of what the saviors do to other groups and when she finds out she considers running away from the sanctuary and she feels guilty because she loves him so much but she’s horrified at the thought of what the saviors are capable of? thank u I’m in love with your blog so much

Of course! Thank you so much! :) Thanks for requesting!

__

How Fast It Can Change

Simon x Fem. Reader

Warnings: Language, Sexual implications.

Word Count: 2,582

“It doesn’t matter. You still did it.”

__

The Sanctuary was perfect. Too perfect. They had endless supplies, food, basic survival resources. Everything was well put together for the most part, and things usually ran smoothly. You had grown to love living here. You had made friends and acquaintances, as well as gained a lover along the way. You weren’t shy to admit that Simon sealed the deal for you.

The thought of spending everyday with him was enough for you to accept a full time commitment to this place. You had a nice bedroom, plenty of food, a steady job, and a social life of sorts. Having Simon as a boyfriend was the cherry on top. 

You had become quite the item around the Sanctuary. If someone saw Simon, odds were that you were close by, and vice versa. In a way, you were kind of like that one high school couple always running around. Everyone knew you were together, and no one dared to try and break it up. You fell in love quickly, and you were convinced there was nothing in the world that would’ve changed your mind.

His kisses were warm on your skin as he peppered your neck, stirring you from your deep sleep. You inhaled deeply, pushing him away for waking you so early. He had always been more of a morning person than you, so your response wasn’t surprising. His kisses stopped, and you almost fell back asleep before you felt him pulling you back to him and nibbling on your ear. 

You let out an annoyed groan, burying your head into the crook of his neck. He chuckled in a groggy voice. 

“Good morning to you too, baby.” He said sarcastically.

You huffed, wincing at the feel of his facial hair on your cheek.

“It’s so early.” You complained. 

“It’s 6:30.” He replied. 

“I concur.” You sneered.

He laughed again, turning to face the other way, but stopped when you whined in protest. 

“Oh, now you want me?” He asked as if he hadn’t just tried to shower you with attention. 

He brought you into his arms once more, content that you weren’t squirming away anymore. His nose was buried in your hair, and he was really beginning to dread having to get up soon.

“When will you be back?” You asked.

Simon was leaving with Negan and a few other Saviors for a “run of sorts” as Simon had explained it. Something felt fishy about it, but you tried not to ask too many questions. Negan didn’t really go on runs unless it was something major.

“Probably Thursday.” Simon replied.

Your eyes opened wider at that. It was currently Tuesday, which meant they’d only be gone for two days. Something was definitely up.

“That’s all?” You questioned, leaning up on your elbow to look at him better.

He scoffed.

“Well don’t sound so disappointed about it.” He joked.

“No, I mean that runs usually take a lot longer.” You pointed out.

Simon shrugged. Truth was, Simon wasn’t really 100% sure of what they were going to be doing. Although, he had a pretty good idea, and he thought it would be best to leave you out of it.

“It’s just a short run I guess. I don’t really know what to tell you.” He said, hoping you wouldn’t keep dwelling on this conversation.

There was a lot that went on around the Sanctuary that you didn’t know about. Simon saw all the ins and outs of how Negan ran this place, and had become very desensitized to it all. Simon didn’t really have a great radar between what was right and what was wrong anymore. Ever since getting involved with Negan, things had become pretty blurred. 

“You gonna stay busy while I’m gone?” He queried, changing the subject himself.

“Aren’t I always?” You wondered.

“When you’re not late.” He declared.

You laughed out loud, feeling much more awake now.

“Okay, so I’m late MAYBE once a week. If you didn’t keep me up so late then I wouldn’t sleep in.” You argued.

He smirked at that, sitting up to be level with you.

“This is the first time I’ve heard you complain about that.” He said, leaning to kiss you.

You kissed him back before he pulled away.

“Things change, you know.” You said with a nod.

“That they do, darlin’.” 

His alarm clock went off finally, signaling that it was really time for him to get up. He let out a growl, reaching to silence the screaming clock. He looked at you again, a devious smile playing across his features. 

“How about a quickie before I go to work?” He suggested coyly.

You hummed thoughtfully.

“Now who’s gonna be late for work?”

He laughed at your cheekiness, tackling you back onto the mattress, earning an excited shriek from you. He kissed you wildly, your hands roaming over his toned midriff. He hovered over you, stopping only for a moment to look into your eyes.

“I love you.” He purred.

“I love you, Si.” You replied before kissing him again and starting his morning off right.

Simon went to join Negan and his selected crew not long after, prepared for the next couple days ahead. You couldn’t pinpoint it, but the entire time that Simon was gone, you had a weird feeling in your chest. You felt like something horrible was going on, but you couldn’t identify what it was. Everything was business as usual around the Sanctuary, but something in the air was bugging you. 

It wasn’t until they returned on Thursday night that you discovered what it was. And it almost made you physically sick. A group of Saviors had passed you in the hall when you caught the tail end of their conversation.

“Negan apparently obliterated the guy. His brains were squashed out all over the place,” The first Savior claimed; “Right next to his wife too.”

“No kidding! I heard the first guy didn’t even make a sound when Negan “Lucilled” him.” 

You had heard that term before. Everyone knew about Negan’s famous weapon of choice. A baseball bat adorned with barbed wire. It was a nasty weapon that could do some serious damage. You had only heard people refer to it when talking about walkers, but you had a bad feeling that they weren’t talking about the dead. 

You stopped in your tracks. Surely...Negan hadn’t done that to a person. What did they mean by “the first guy”? How many people were involved with this? You did a full 360 and went back the direction you had come from, suddenly not interested in seeing Simon anymore. Your mind was reeling, and you caught yet another conversation from a different set of Saviors.

“It was brutal. My stomach almost couldn’t take it.” A voice that you knew to be Arat spoke out.

“At least it wasn’t another Oceanside situation. Simon was fucking nuts for pulling that stunt.” The older man she was talking to piped up.

You felt your blood run cold. What the hell was Oceanside? What did Simon have to do with it? You knew there was one person you could get some straight answers from. Richie was a pretty laid back guy. Never really got in the way, but was loyal to Negan. One thing you liked about him was that he always told it to you straight. 

As much as you loved that, it made the news so much harder. 

Turns out the “run” wasn’t really a run at all. Negan was scoping out a group in a little community called Alexandria. Negan had rounded them up execution style and brutally killed two of their members. Apparently, they had even taken one of them prisoner. Negan was going to start taking a portion of their resources for the Sanctuary and was planning on stripping them of all their weapons. Negan had even tried to get one of them to cut off his own son’s arm.

As gruesome as that was to hear, that wasn’t the worst of it. 

You asked Richie about Oceanside, and for the first time, Richie was apprehensive to answer. He almost seemed...sympathetic. Eventually, you squeezed it out of him. Part of you wished you hadn’t said anything. 

Richie said it was more of a rumor than anything, but that a few years ago, Simon had apparently wiped out an entire community in one go. People of all ages and backgrounds. Just completely disposed of them all. Negan had seriously considered throwing Simon out on his ass after that, but ultimately decided he was worth a second chance. 

You weren’t sure what was worse. The fact that he had killed an entire community or the fact that he did it without being told to. 

You left Richie in a fog, taking short and shallow breaths because you felt as if you were about to puke up everything you had eaten in the last three weeks. You needed time to process this, and you wanted to be as far away from Simon as possible. 

You returned to your room. You’d be sleeping on your own for the first time in forever. The moment your door was closed, you slid down the back of it and let out a gut wrenching sob, burying your head in between your knees. 

Could the man you loved so much really not be who you thought he was?

You didn’t sleep for the next three days. Words and disturbing images flashing through your head on an endless loop. You stayed away from Simon, Negan, Arat, or anyone that had been there. This was killing you to think that you were involved with a place that did these kinds of things. 

You didn’t want to be involved with that. That was so far from your moral compass that it gave you a headache. The thought of leaving crossed your mind in passing the first time. You could just get up and leave without a trace. No one would ever know when or why. Negan could find someone to replace your job. Someone who had more of a stomach for this sort of thing. There was only one thing keeping you from walking out right that second.

Simon. 

Despite how horribly you felt about this, you still loved him. Undeniably, you’d love him until you couldn’t anymore. He was the greatest thing that had ever happened to you...but you didn’t know if you could live knowing he had such a hand in the way Negan ran this place. You would never be able to justify the way Simon killed all those people. You wouldn’t be able to feel his touch the same again without thinking about what other horrid things he had done with his hands. You couldn’t look into his eyes anymore without wondering how many people he had seen take their last breath.

You’d never see him the same again.

It was hurting you. The thought of leaving him without saying anything. Knowing him, he’d go out looking for you the moment he knew you were gone. So, you decided to tell him, even if it hurt 100x more. Turns out, you didn’t have to go far to find him.

A knock on your door sounded out about midnight. You knew it was him before you even opened the door. You hadn’t seen him in days, and you hadn’t spent a day apart since you had arrived a year ago. It was only a matter of time before he came to find you. You took a breath before opening the door, to reveal a very worried Simon. 

You felt your heart sink into your shoes. This was going to be the hardest thing you had ever done. He looked at you through bleary, red eyes. He had been crying, and his demeanor told you everything he needed to know. 

He knew that you knew.

“[Y/N]...” He breathed out. 

You didn’t say anything. You fought the tears that were threatening to fill your eyes, you didn’t want to cry anymore. 

“I can’t stay here anymore.” You confessed, just above a whisper.

His fears had turned out to be correct. Every neuron in his body shut off and restarted it felt like. He was going to use everything in him, every nerve, cell, vessel, and fiber to fight for you. He couldn’t let you just leave.

“Let me explain.” He said, entering your room.

You closed the door slowly. You weren’t in the mood for excuses.

“You murdered them, Si,” You sighed; “You wiped them out like they were nothing.” 

He let out a shaky breath. He had no way to defend himself. Even he couldn’t defend what he had done.

“That was a long time ago.” He said truthfully.

You shook your head.

“It doesn’t matter. You still did it.” You said calmly. You couldn’t have screamed even if you wanted to.

He was at a loss. He really knew that this was probably it. He couldn’t even blame you for it. 

“And then you just watched...and let Negan kill two innocent people? And then allowed Negan to further traumatize that boy?” You asked incredulously; “He’s a kid, Simon.” 

Tears were streaming both of your faces now. You weren’t looking at him. Your head was lowered and you stared at the tips of your shoes. Your heart was beginning to crack. The more you spoke, the deeper it went. Your voice cracked in sorrow, and your head ached.

“The worst part is even after all that...I still fucking love you,” You admitted; “Do you know how messed up that is?”

He almost chuckled, but he knew better than to. It wasn’t an amused laugh by any means, but he knew what you meant. He walked carefully towards you, standing just a foot or so in front of you. You refused to look at him still.

“We can move past this.” He said, in a final attempt to get you to stay.

You looked at him finally, because you really wanted to read his expression for this.

Your heart panged in your chest

“Can we?” You asked seriously.

His hesitation and lack of an answer told you that he really didn’t know. The fact that there was any question at all was enough for you. You had to leave. You brushed past him to grab your backpack. 

Your heart cracked a little more.

You slung it on your shoulders. He wasn’t putting up a fight, because he knew it was over. You stopped in front of him once more, looking into his watery eyes. If nothing else, you wanted to give him a proper goodbye. Even if he didn’t deserve it.

You kissed him. 

It was deep and slow and full of hurt. It was the most painful kiss you had ever had. He knew it was the last time. He’d likely never see you again. Never feel your skin or wake you up in the mornings by leaving kisses on your neck. 

This was it.

You pulled away first. Not looking at him again. You had to leave now before you were tempted to stay. You walked past him and out your bedroom door, leaving behind your greatest and only love you’d ever know. The door closed with a loud echo. 

Your heart completely broke. 

You cried and cried as you walked out of the Sanctuary. One single thought running through your mind over and over. 

Things really could change.

[northcarolinanative]

𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐌𝐞

Requested by @maybebanks : K so y/n and jj have a little thing going as pogues and they always flirt, one day when they want to take their relationship to the next level and they are drunk, they are about to hook up and jj takes off her shirt, he sees loads of bruises and asks her how because he’s protective. She gets really defensive and denies anything. The next day at John b’s house y/n brings it up because he is really worried. Y/n lies again but jj has never looked more worried. They side with him and y/n storms away, she gets abused at home. The pogues corner her and force her to tell the truth, she does and they all hug?

A/N: I am sooo sorry that this took so long. I really wanted to do it justice and did not want to romanticize abuse in any way shape or form, because I see that too often. If you are going through anything like this at all or feel like the character, please, please, please, reach out to someone you feel that you can trust. The first step is the hardest, but in the long run will help so much. 

TW: Mentions of Abuse, Angst 

John B, Kie, and Pope all sat in the lounging beach chair that encircled the fire that we all had built behind the Chateau. I walked out carrying the next round of beer, but this time just bringing the whole case, pouring them into the ice cooler. I grabbed myself one, tossing one across the way to Kie. I stood up opening my own. 

“Mind bringing me, one princess” JJ called from the Hammock. I grabbed a second can from the cooler walking over before flicking water from my hands on to JJ. “That so not cool” 

I sat down on the opposite side of the Hammock. “If we’re getting wet now…” JJ said in a soft quiet voice, followed by a chuckle. His comment caused my cheeks to blush as I shot glare his way before looking around to see if any of the other pogues had heard his comment. JJ and I were in a weird place. We flirted like middle schoolers, one of us always going at it with the other and vice versa. I wondered how the other pogues could breathe with the amount of tension between the two of us sometimes. I was not in the place for a relationship of any kind. My parents liked to remind me of that often, that if I did not change how I acted or looked that boys wouldn’t take an interest in me. They were right, I had a lot of personal work to do. JJ flirts with everyone though, so I don’t take it too seriously. 

The night was filled with drinking games, chugging contests, and other events that lead to our very intoxicated state. Everyone was slumped over and slightly slurring their words. “Never have I ever…” John B looked up at the sky, trying to think. “Had sex outside, under the stars” Everyone was still. JJ slowly lifted the beer can and took a sip. 

“You kinky little bitch” Kie laughed along with the rest of us. I looked up at the stars, they felt like everything was rotating around me. I am the center of the universe. I am drunk. 

“Your turn Kie,” Pope told her. 

Reading the group she said “Never have I ever wanted to go to sleep right now” 

The group laughed in unison and we all began to sit up and gather things. JJ leaned over to where I was, now, sitting up in the hammock we were sharing. “I’m gonna stay out here, watch the fire die down, stay with me?” I nodded. 

“Of course. Don’t want our baby to get scared out here in the dark.” I laughed. The other three started their way back to the house, turning around and realizing that we had not followed. 

“Y’all coming inside or?” John B called 

“Gonna head in after the fire dies down dude” JJ called back. They all waved and JJ and I watched them go inside. Moments after the door shut JJ pulled me down into him. I flinched a little as he pulled me toward him, his hand directly on a bruise on my lower back. I quickly tried to play it off as a yawn, I thought he didn’t notice, but he did. 

His breath was warm on my skin before I felt his lips brush against mine. I was shocked at first. I was not sure where this came from. I moved back and kissed him back moving my hands into his hair. What was he doing? Hell, what was I doing? 

He pulled away and moved his lips to my neck briefly. “Why don’t we add having sex outside to your ‘never have I ever’ list?” JJ breathed into my ear making me giggle. We were still spinning and I went back to kissing him. It was spark after spark his hand found their way to my shirt slowly pushing it up and off behind me in the hammock. JJ slowly started kissing down my chest, slowly sucking on the skin. He let his eyes travel down. Then he saw it. His heart stopped and he sobered up quickly, His mind moving fast. 

“JJ?” I looked at him. “Why’d you-” I followed his eyes down to where he was looking. I saw the bruises on both of my sides, being illuminated by the dying fire. 

“Y/N?” JJ backed away a little looking back down. My buzz was still there but I was sobering up quickly. I tried to keep my hands from shaking. As they were still rested on JJ’s shoulders, I did not want to give myself away. The bruises had come from my father, he was not the best, he provided the things I needed, but if I did not do as he expected, that is how he relayed the message. This time it was because you had stayed out with the pogues too long. John B’s van had broken down, meaning you had a long wait to get home, and that was unacceptable.

“Who did this to you?” I felt JJ tense up as he asked the question. I felt bad for the lie that I was about to tell him, but he has his own problems to worry about, with his dad. I did not need the others worrying about me either. 

“JJ no one did this to me.” I laughed slightly, it didn’t sound convincing, but I hoped that it was enough for JJ. “I feel cleaning the boat the other day, it was a nasty fall, between the boat and the dock.” I looked at him trying to read his expression. He didn’t say anything just kept looking between my eyes and the bruises. “The fire is pretty much dead, let’s just go to bed” I stood up and grabbed my shirt turning to face away from him, I began to put my shirt on, and that’s when he saw the healing bruise on your back. He knew I had lied to him. 

“Y/N, where did the bruise on your back come from then?” JJ asked. I had completely forgotten about that one. 

“JJ you know I’m clumsy!” I fired back, my tone becoming defensive. JJ got up from the hammock.

“You know you can talk to me, about anything? 

“Just drop it okay? Nothings wrong, nothings going on, I’m fine!” I said, turning back toward the house. I walked inside to find Kie passed out on the left side of the pullout. I pulled the covers back and slipped into the right side. 

“Everything alright?” Kie mumbled sleepily. “I thought I heard you and JJ bickering?” 

“Haha nothing serious, Dude thinks he’s a better surfer than me.” Another lie. I hated it, but I didn’t want anyone to worry about me, I was fine. Kie nodded and rolled back over. I settled down in bed before I fell asleep. I heard JJ enter the back porch and rustle around some cans, I guessed he was sleeping on the couch out there tonight.  

-- 

JJ was woken up by John B moving about in the back yard cleaning up from the night before. He rubbed his eyes and stretched out a bit, the back couch was probably the least comfortable of the options in the house. He walked back out to John B, sitting in one of the chairs. He ran a hand through his hair, staring out over the water. “Everything okay JJ?”John B said, pulling JJ out of his thoughts. 

“Yea” He breathed. “Well not really, no,” he said standing up to help John B pick up the trash. 

“I heard you and Y/N out here last night, what was that about?” He questioned. 

“Dude I don’t know, but I’m worried.” He said John B looked at him confused. “We were…” JJ coughed and cleared his throat “Anyway, she had bruises, all over her stomach and her back. When I asked about it she said that they came from falling off the boat because she was clumsy” 

“Okay?” John B questioned, he did not want to believe what JJ was getting at. “Maybe she was telling the truth.” He asked

“No,” JJ said quickly. “You weren’t there, They were bad, some were healing already, it was not just like fall, They were bad John B.” He began to pace around the small circle. “Some’s hurting her JB. I have to figure out who it is, get her away from them.” He started to get angry, throwing the empty beer can harshing onto the ground. He thought about how sweet I was to him when he would come to after a bad run-in with his dad, or how I patch up all the boys after they got in it with one of the kooks, or even when I was there, letting Kie cry on your shoulder after her parents getting angry with her for not choosing the kook life. “She doesn’t deserve this” 

John B and JJ headed inside to find Pope scrounging through the food in the pantry, and Kie sitting up on her elbows. She exhaled smoke, but put a finger to her lips, pointing at me, still sleeping. JJ looked at me, his eyes soft, causing Kie and Pope to exchange a confused glance with one another. John B patted JJ’s shoulder “Lets help Pope make some grub, yea?” He said trying to pull JJ out of his thoughts.

I woke up to the sight of everyone in the kitchen laughing. I sat up looking at my friends. “Y’all started the fun without me?” I joked. I leaned against the headboard, pulling my knees up to my chest just to watch the four try and cook. This did not happen often, so I might as well savor it. 

“Look who’s finally up! Sleeping beauty!” Kie laughed. 

“Haha” I said rolling my eyes.”After last weeks party you were dead to the world till the next night” She glared at me playfully before laughing

“That is only half true” 

JJ began making his way beside me. The events of last night, the moments between the two of us. If the fire had only been slightly dimmer ,I would be experiencing something completely different, awkward feeling. He sat on the bed next to me, pulling me in closer by wrapping his arm around your shoulder. Pope and Kie looked at John B who just shrugged his shoulders and continued cracking eggs. The other pogues continued their work with breakfast. 

“I’m worried about you” JJ spoke softly, so only you could hear him. I quickly glanced over at the other busy pogues, before looking at JJ. His eyes were dark, he looked tired, and the worry looked evident on his face. 

“JJ, look” I whispered, running a hand through my hair and letting out a deep breath. “I told you I’m clumsy.” I looked him in the eye, but quickly looked down. “You have nothing to worry about.” 

He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. This caught the attention of the other pogues. “Look me in the eye and tell me. Look me in the eye and tell me not to worry.” JJ said in a normal voice. Everyone was looking at us now. My face turned red and tears started to form in my eyes. Everyone was looking at me. I had lied to all of them. I froze looking between JJ and the group. 

“Tell him not to worry about what Y/N” Pope spoke slowly. 

“Nothing! Do not worry about me!” I said firmly. I got up quickly feeling the hot tears begin to fall down my face as I quickly walked out the back door of the Chateau. I walked into the yard seeing the hammock that JJ and I had laid in the night before and I stopped. 

“Y/N! Wait” I heard JJ yell and he came up behind me. He followed my eyes to the hammock. “I know what I saw Y/N. I just want to help” 

I felt the sobs trying to fight their way out. I did not want to lie to my friends anymore. I did not want them to see me differently, how I see myself, but especially how my parents see me. JJ noticed me crying. “You can trust us Y/N” 

“You wanna know where the bruises came from JJ?” I breathed out, a breath I realized I was holding in.  “My parents JJ, that’s who. I’m not the daughter they expected okay?” I finally felt the sobs leaving my throat as I fell to my knees crying. I held my face in my hands. JJ was quick to run beside me rubbing my back. 

“Oh Princess. You don’t deserve this. Believe me you do not deserve this.” He felt a tear of his own leave his eye before quickly wiping it away. The others were standing on the porch. When I calmed down, my breathing had started to even out, JJ asked if I wanted to go back inside to join the others, who left to give us some privacy. 

When we walked in Kie was the first to practically tackle me in a hug, then JJ, John B, and finally Pope. I felt loved in that moment, like I always did when I was surrounded by the pogues. When they all pulled away Kie put both hands on either of my shoulders. “Never hesitate to reach out to one of us for help, or even to talk, we’re here for you, just as much as you are here for us, ok?” 

“Ok.” I sigh before pulling her back into a hug. She walked back into the kitchen. JJ pulled on my arm, sitting me down next to him. He wrapped his hand in mine, before placing a kick kiss to it. 

“I didn't mean to pry like that. I just want you to be safe Y/N” I leaned my head on his shoulder. 

“I know J. I'm sorry for lying to you. In a weird way, it feels better to have it out there.”

“We’re gonna help you get to a better place” He spoke softly before placing a kiss to my forehead.

[milkacchan]

Request for anon: Omegaverse prompt 10 with omega Midorya and Alpha reader

Prompt 10= You made.....a nest...for us?

Midoriya had been especially grumpy today. You weren't sure why, you couldn't get it out of him. He wouldn't tell you what was bothering you so much.

It didnt do much for your Alpha side, it made you grumpy. Your omega was upset and he wouldn't tell you why which meant you couldn't do anything about it! And fuck, you wanted to do something about it, you hated seeing him like that.

You stared at him from across the room, nibbling at your lunch. You weren't very hungry anymore, your appetite ruined by your mind racing. Maybe he just needed space- maybe he just needed some breathing room.

You were too clingy. Too Alpha. You were smothering him, that's it. Simple solution, you'd get him flowers and chocolate and when he was ready you'd give them to him- but that wouldn't work either. That'd still be too smothering. Still too fucking Alpha.

Was it the way you spoke? Maybe your scent- did he not like it anymore- he thought it was too overwhelming. That had to be it.

Maybe it wasn't about you- maybe it was about something else and you were just making it about you and taking away from your in need omega, but maybe THAT was it. That you always made it about you-

You growled, low and quiet, looking down.

"What's your fuckin damage shit brain?" Bakugou mumbled, looking up at you with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Nothing, nothing."

"That's a fucking lie."

"Its not a fucking lie." You bit back, harsher than you intended.

He rolled his eyes, unaffected by your tone of voice. "I can smell it. It's a lie."

You paused, looking at your shoes again and kicking the ground. Should you tell him? "Later." You mumbled.

Kirishima glanced at you. "Why can't you tell us here?"

"Too many people. It's not a big deal. Don't worry about it."

"Fine. But you're telling me later. You don't have a choice. It's pathetic seeing you pout."

"Aww Katsu you care." You put a hand to your chest, dramatically leaning foward. "I knew it. All these years- secretly-"

"Fuck off that's not what I meant," The blonde huffed, crossing his arms and sending a sharp kick to your shin. You groaned.

"We all speak emotionally constipated, 'mega. You can't fool us." Kirishima flicked his ear. "And say sorry."

Katsukis face flushed red and you grinned along with Kirishima.

"Got em." You teased, sticking out your tongue.

"Shut the fuck up."

You looked at the two as they bickered- well more Katsuki elbowing and threatening Kirishima while Kiri just smiled lovingly.

Your best friends- two of them anyway, the rest were probably still getting lunch, or walking around. Relaxing before sparrs next period. You packed away your lunch, slipping it into your bag and then leaning your head against the wall behind you, trying to think of something else. Trying to calm the frustration that threatened to bubble up.

You were Katsukis favorite sparring partner. Mostly because you never took it easy on him- you'd go all out, regardless of the fact that he was an omega. And that made for good training sessions. It tended to be vice versa as well, Katsuki was your favorite sparr partner. You could say what you wanted- go all out and keep going.

So, when buddies were called out, and you two were not sparring together- you made the silent agreement to stay after class hours and sparr. He nodded in your direction you looked back at Aizawa, waiting patiently for him to dismiss the class to begin training.

You weren't very interested in what he had to say, not really. You were itching to get moving, your temper no better than it had been earlier. But you needed to stay calm. You couldn't get carried away with todays current partners. You wouldn't.

When he dismissed you, you'd wish good luck to your omega and get situated with tokoyami. You nodded to yourself- approving your mental plans as you heard the clap to get started.

"Good luck 'Zuku." You smiled gently at him.

He looked at you, only giving you a nod, to which you inwardly groaned. You were upset now. What the fuck had you done that was so bad? You shook your head- the exchange hadn't gone unnoticed by Katsuki.

"You ready?" Tokoyami looked at you as you stepped into your training space.

"Whenever you are." You nodded to him and he nodded back.

"Good luck."

"You too." You grinned, getting ready.

Training dragged on. And on. And on.

You lost to Tokoyami- you were so close to the win- so close you could taste it, but dark shadow ripped the victory from your hands with little trouble and grinned at your loss.

Next was Kaminari, poor boy thought he had it. Went straight for his big attack but was sorely mistaken. He thought you could no longer redirect your attacks- figuring that this would take you out, only it didn't. It backfired and he was hit instead. He was out of commission in minutes.

Then was Momo, and she was close to victory. She's smarter than you, her strategies work well- but you were competitive and you were pissed, so with that combo, the unfortunate Alpha didn't stand a chance.

Last but not least- Shouto. Shouto Todoroki had a similar power to yours. He could use ice and fire. You, could use all the elements around you. Air, fire, earth, water- you know how it goes. Both you and Todoroki were strong- because of this fact- it felt like the fight lasted ages, but you still lost. He caught you off guard and used that to his advantage, projecting one last attack before it was over. You wiped the blood from your cheek and looked up at him. He held out a hand and you thankfully took it.

You avoided walking towards the front of the group, towards where Izuku was, as Aizawa called you all together, instead falling back to where Kirishima and Bakugou were. His daily class speech before he let everyone go.

"Why aren't you with pip squeak?" Bakugou whispered, keeping his eyes on Aizawa. The last thing he wanted was to be yelled at. He didn't have the patience for that.

"Shut up." You grumbled.

"You two in a fight?"

"No. Now shut up. We're gonna get in trouble." You jabbed him in the side and he glared at you but ultimately shut up.

"Any questions?" Aizawa looked around. "All right then, class dismissed."

You and Katsuki turned, walking back into the ring. You ignored that fact that Izuku had just left- you'd deal with it later. However deal with it went- you weren't sure exactly how you'd deal with it to be honest. But right know you didn't care.

"I'm not going easy on you just because you're having a rough day." Katsuki growled.

"I don't want you too. Use everything in your power to try to pummel me."

"Tap out if you need to."

"I won't." You shed yourself of your shirt, leaving you in just a sports bra. You readied yourself and so did he. The two of you stood still for a few moments, before he charged. You were counting on his, stepping to the left and lifting a column of earth. It hit him in the stomach and sent him flying back.

"Brat!"

"Watch out, dummy!"

Bakugou had never been scared of you. You'd never acted particularly like an Alpha, at least not like an aggressive one. You'd always had the urge to provide. You smelled nice, not like some of the others who's scent was so overwhelming he felt sick- he never had a reason to be scared of you. But the look in your eyes and the way you charged at him, made his stomach sink and his heart fumble. His fight or flight kicked in, he caught your head, stopping your movement and slammed you into the ground.

He hadn't meant to, not hard- but there was something seriously wrong. You used two fingers to tap his wrist twice. Tap out.

"Fuck- I'm- I didn't mean to go that hard-"

"I told you too. No big deal." You sat up, leaning towards against your knees. The left side of your face was bleeding. Your cheek bone was bruised pretty bad. You were both beat up pretty bad, which would probably result in a scolding from respective partners.

"What's your problem. You went pretty hard today. You stink."

"Well we were just working out-"

"No. You stink." He sat next to you, ignoring the Alpha smell that was currently flooding the room. It was sour and heavy, not your usual smell. And he fucking hated it. It was overwhelming.

"Oh." You sighed. "Katsuki do you think I'm a bad Alpha?"

His gaze snapped to you. "Absolutely not. Who the fuck gave you that idea? Deku?"

"No. Just..answer."

"No, I already said no. You're not my Alpha, but even with my bullshit as kids, you were always there. Before we even presented. You're not a bad Alpha."

You nodded slightly.

"And I've seen the way you take care of fucking Deku. If he's got a problem with you, that's all him." He huffed and stood up. "C'mon. I'm tired and I promised shitty hair head after school."

"Katsuki." You took a deep breath. "PLEASE eat shit and die."

"You wish. You're just jealous that he gets head and you don't."

"Please! You like giving head because of me."

"Oh fuck off."

The warm water cascading down your back felt like heaven. You felt your muscles ease and the sour smell of stress dull. After today, this was what you sorely needed. It was calm, refreshing and you were thankful for the time alone. Steam rose and cleared your nose and throat, the headache that had started to build slipped away. You tilted your head back, letting the water drown your hair in warmth. The conditioner washed out in small cream bubbles slipping down your back. You ran your hands through your hair until you were sure at least the majority was gone.

You felt fresh now as you turned off the water. Shaved and clean.

You grabbed a towel and wrapped your hair. It felt tight in the wrap. You grabbed a second one and dried your body off, wrapping the towel around you body. It was small, almost too small, not even fully covering your ass. You stepped out, closing the door behind you. You dried off again before slipping into your clothes. You discarded both towels into the bin by the door and picked up your phone from the shelf. There were multiple texts from Izuku, it made your heart lurch.

'Can you come to my room? Please? I have something to show you'

'Baby? You there?'

'I'm sorry for making you upset today but I really need you to come here'

'Please'

Fuck- these were all from at least an hour ago. And you'd missed them. You knew he'd probably be crying by now, thinking he fucked something up when he really didn't. There was a sharp pain in your chest and made you wince. You needed to get your your omega. You shoved your phone in your back pocket and walked out if the room before breaking into a jog to get to his dorm.

You stopped in front of the door and gently knocked. "Zuku, baby you there?"

Nothing. No answer- almost nothing. You caught the small sniffle from the other side.

"'Mega? Can I come in?" You leaned your forehead against the door, listening carefully. You heard shuffling on the other side, something fell over but the footsteps that led to the door told you it was okay. It clicked open and you were met with his emerald eyes.

"Hey.." he whispered, looking at you.

"I'm sorry love, I was in the shower. And before that I was training with bakugou."

His nose scrunched at the mention of his blonde friend. He was always hit with a twinge if jealousy when the two of you practiced alone. Not that he had a right to- he knew this, especially because he respected Bakugou, genuinely. "That's okay.." he mumbled. "You're all bruised. You're face-"

"Training went pretty hard, but I'm okay."

He slipped out of his room, the door inching shut behind him. He gently touched the bruise, frowning when you flinched. "Babe..." he whined. He leaned up to press a gentle kiss to it. "You have to be careful."

"What's wrong? What's got you all riled up today?" Your voice was soft, filled with concern, practically dripping with it. He stepped back, not missing the fear that flashed in your eyes that he'd leave when he did. He opened the door farther so you could step in. You did so without hesitation, once inside, cupping his cheeks and pressing a gentle kiss to his lips. He practically melted into your touch. God- all he really wanted was you, your touch, your comfort, your voice- you. "You're warm. You starting heat early?"

He nodded. "Yeah- I start in 2 days." He mumbled, holding your hand to his cheek. Your hands were cold in contrast to his warm skin. It felt nice.

So that's what it was- he wasn't mad at you at all. He was just stressing over his heat- especially if it was starting early. Most likely, his suppressants wore off. He and his mother both had a high fertility rate, it made him a perfect bearer. It ran in the Midoryia family. "Stressing out?"

Izuku nodded again. "But I built us a nest."

You froze, eyes widened as your heart rate increased. You looked behind you and there it was, in all its glory. A nest big enough for 2, adorned in pillows, blankets, and clothing he'd stolen from you in the year you'd been dating. He even had the 2 stuffed animals you'd gotten him. You looked back at your boyfriend, eyes glowing. "You made...a nest...for us?"

"I hop-hope it's okay. I couldn't get it right and it was frustrating me and I got stressed out. I had take some stuff from your dorm, I'm sorry about that- but I really want you to spend this head with me because I love you and I just want you there-" he rambled, his eyes starting to water. He always did get emotional in the few days leading up to his heat. It was a dead give away. Honestly you were a bit ticked off at yourself for panicking before analyzing the situation completely.

"You want me with you?"

"Yeah, I do." He took you hand and led you towards the nest. He took a step inside it, looking at you. You'd stopped outside it, hesitant to step in too. This was a big mile stone and- "Alpha, come." He tugged your arm gently and you were putty. You stepped in. The padding on the floor made it soft, it wouldn't hurt either of you long term. He could sleep curled up or ride your thigh without the worries of a sore body- at least from the floor.

"There wasnt enough room on the bed." He muttered, sitting down, pulling you to follow his actions. You sat next to him and took his hips, leading them to straddle over your legs. You ran your hands up his thighs, squeezing them gently.

"That's okay. Your nest is so pretty, you did such a good job baby."

"You think so? You like it?" His Omega was taking over, his need to please, his need for you. You could see that much.

"I love it." You hummed, kissing his cheek, moving down to his jaw then his neck. You kissed the supple flesh before breathing in his scent. You ran your nose against the swollen gland in his neck and he moaned softly. He always liked it when the two of you were scenting. He adored it when you smelled like him, telling everyone around you that you were his. He was yours.

"I already- I already have the collar," he breathed, closing his eyes. "I'll leave the key with Tenya until its over."

"Sounds good. You're sure you want me there?"

"I'm sure." He whispered, leaning down to connect his lips with yours.

[cellophanejpeg]

innamorato

Pairing: Javier Peña x female!reader

Summary: You sense something is off with Javi and try to talk to him about it.

a/n: requested by @abitofmagic​​ with the prompt:  “You’ll feel better if you talk about it. I’m here to listen.” 

Warnings: smoking, hurt/comfort, a bit of angst, fluff

word count: 3.1k

masterlist | part two | part three

...

Something is wrong with Javier Peña. You can’t really tell what, but you know something’s off when he’s not on your bed one morning. It isn’t unusual for you to wake up alone, after all, you both don’t live together, but considering it’s the weekend and you just had a perfect date the night before, it is a bit odd of him to just rush home.

Rubbing the sleep out of eyes, you sit up and stretch, letting out a loud yawn. A chill breeze hits your skin and you shiver, frowning in confusion. When you see the doors to the balcony open and the thin white curtains floating with the wind, you relax, seeing Javi’s silhouette outside. You quickly search for a sweater and a pair of sweatpants to put on, leaving the mess of clothes on the floor to clean later, and head for the balcony.

Javier is shirtless, wearing only the suit pants he wore last night, sitting at the small table you have outside, one leg bent, and leaning his elbow on his knee. A lit cigarette is between his fingers, but he’s not even smoking it; his gaze is set on the view of buildings and houses in front of him. The sky is cloudy and the air is cold and you know he shouldn’t be out in the open.

“You’re gonna catch a cold out here,” You say, hugging yourself as you step outside to join him.

He looks up at you and gives you a grin. Approaching him, you take the cigarette from his hand and take a drag of it yourself before giving it back to him. His skin is cold as you lay a palm flat on his shoulder, pulling him for a side hug. You lean your chin on his shoulder and press a kiss on his cheek.

“You okay?” You ask and he nods.

“Better now.” His voice is different like it’s still laced with sleep. You know something’s not right, but you don’t press it, knowing he’s a man of few words. You let him press his lips to yours in a sweet short kiss.

“Breakfast?” You smile at him and Javi nods, mirroring your smile. “Come inside, then. I’ll even make bacon for you.”

Javi raises his eyebrows in surprise. Ever since you started sleeping together, you’d always told him that you never eat bacon in the mornings because you always get lazy to wash the pan later.

“Will you, now?” He asks, amusement in his tone. You straighten your posture and take his hand, shrugging one shoulder.

“I’m feeling generous today.”

“What did I do to deserve you, huh?” He gives you a full smile and pulls you to another kiss. A longer one this time, his touch lingering on your skin as he cups your cheek gently. “I’ll be in in a minute.”

Nodding, you run your finger through his hair gently. “Don’t take long.”

Javi watches you enter the apartment again. He cares about you a lot and it impresses him that, despite not knowing him for a long period of time, you picked up on his habits and routine quickly. And he’ll be damned, he actually likes that. He actually enjoys the weekend dates, the quiet evenings in your apartment, the unplanned ones in his. He likes you, he really does.

And that’s what scares him.

Javier Peña isn’t a one woman man. He knows that. Ever since Lorraine, he’s convinced himself he’s not worthy of anyone’s love. Until he met you. Until he laid eyes on your figure in a coffee shop, as cliche as it sounds, one morning before he checked in at work. He could tell you were a teacher too, with a pile of papers in front of you as you scribbled fast on each one. You were grading papers in a coffee shop, at 7:30 in the morning. He was amused immediately by you. Couldn’t take his eyes off you.

Javier had to admit he stared at you that day more than he stared at any other woman. He remembers when you checked your wristwatch and quickly downed your cold coffee, gathering the papers from your desk, shoving them in your briefcase to leave the shop hurriedly. On your way out, Javier noticed you left a few papers on the table and left the line to order to scoop them and run after you.

“Oh, thank you!” You had sighed after he called you on the street, holding the papers out to you. “You’re a lifesaver, my kids would be so disappointed!”

If Javier thought you were pretty from afar, he was certain you were beautiful from up close. You had smiled at him when he frowned and explained you were a elementary school teacher and you had asked your students to write an essay on mother nature. You were supposed to give them back that day but hadn't finished grading them until that morning.

And that’s how you two met. Javier told you he was also a professor, but a university one, and he knew the feeling. You both parted with smiles on your faces, each thinking about the other the entire day. In the next few days, you both bumped into each other in the coffee shop a few times, exchanging a few polite words. Javier couldn’t stop thinking about you that entire week, messing up lectures and forgetting to grade assignments. Until he finally got the guts to ask you out. One date led to another and a few months later, here he is, staying over your apartment on weekends and having breakfast together.

Javier smiles at the memories and finally stands from his seat, putting out the unsmoked cigarette on the ashtray and entering the apartment again. The warm air welcomes him and he sighs, closing the glass door. The smell of bacon makes his stomach rumble and he pads, barefoot, through your apartment to get to the kitchen.

You’re humming a song that plays on the radio, slowly moving to the beat. Javier’s chest swells at the sight. He could get used to this. You and him, having breakfast, lunch, and dinner together. You and him together. Staying in, in cloudy days, watching bad movies on television as you ate kettle corn. Making love on the couch when you get bored. Having a life together.

He approaches you, as you take the last piece of bacon from the frying pan and turn the heat off. You’re about to move to the fridge to get the eggs when he gently grabs your hips; you freeze your movements, tensing your muscles for a second, and then relax.

“You scared me.” You smile as he brushes your hair away from your neck and buries his face on your skin.

“Sorry, cariño,” He murmurs, placing a kiss below your ear. “Can’t help it, y’know.”

He nibbles at your earlobe and you gasp with the sensation, feeling his hands run through your body.

“Javi…” You sigh, still smiling. “The food’s getting cold…”

“So?” He slips a hand under your sweater. “It can wait.”

You turn your head to meet your lips with his in a passionate kiss. When he pulls away, he looks into your eyes and smiles. “You’re so beautiful, you know that?”

A soft laugh escapes your lips and you shake your head. “Even in my gross sweater and these saggy pants?”

“Especially in these saggy pants.” He bends you over the counter and you let out a laugh.

…

The week is passing by slowly and you hate it. The weather isn’t helping either, fall is just around the corner and the days getting cloudier and cloudier. It’s not that you don’t like days like this, but you’d preferred to stay home under the covers when the sun hides behind the clouds. Which takes your mind back to last weekend, where you were all day under the covers with Javier. You have to admit that lately, he has been more affectionate than ever. It started with extra touches: a hand on your lower back, a brush of fingertips on your cheeks, his hands tangled on your hair. Then, random kisses anywhere, your hair, your forehead, the back of your hand… And then, the compliments. Even if you’re at your worst, he’ll tell you you look pretty. While you like these kind of gestures, the change of behavior surprises you every now and then.

Sighing, you sit on your desk, placing the awful coffee from the teacher’s room machine on the table, and getting ready to grade these quizzes. You’re not worried about it, you know your students are going to ace it. But as soon as you start reading the first test, a knock on your door interrupts you.

Javier is standing at the door with a cup of coffee in his hand.

“Can I come in, professor?” A light teasing tone echoes in the empty classroom. You laugh softly, taking off your glasses.

He almost never stops by your workplace and you almost never stop by his. It’s kind of an unspoken rule the both of you follow, but it’s not a bad thing. Even though you both long for each other during the week, you prefer not to get in the way of his job. And vice versa. But it’s nice to have a surprise every now and then.

“Just teacher here.” You smile, leaning your elbows on the desk.

“Sorry.” He shrugs, letting himself in. “Force of habit. Teacher.”

“What brings you here, professor Peña?”

Javi offers you the cup of coffee. “Just dropping this. For you.”

“Javi!” You sigh, feeling your heart swell with affection as you take the coffee from his hand. “You didn’t have to!”

“I wanted to.” He leans in to press his lips on your hair and place a hand on your shoulder. “You look beautiful today.”

A light pink shade creeps on your cheeks as you look away, taking a sip of your, now new, coffee.

“So, I was thinking,” He starts, looking over at you. “Do you want to come over tonight?”

Frowning slightly, you remember today is a Thursday. “Tonight?”

“Yeah, I know it’s a school night, but I just–” He hesitates, sighing. The next words are whispered in a rush. “I need you.”

Your heart clenches at the sight of him. He has been acting weird lately and it breaks your heart to see him like this, vulnerable, sad, distant. So you agree.

“Okay.” You nod. “How does 9pm sound?”

“How about eight? If– If you’re not busy–”

“I’m not, don’t worry. Eight is perfect.” You smile widely at him.

“Great, great.” He smiles, nodding, and looking away. “I, uh– I’ll leave you to your papers then.”

A laugh escapes your throat and you shake your head. “They’re math quizzes.”

“Right. Just be glad you don’t have a hundred of these to go through.” He starts to walk away from the room.

Smiling you stand from your seat and call for him, your heels clicking on the floor as you approach him. Pressing your lips gently to his, you rest both of your hands on his cheeks. It’s a sweet quick kiss, one that leaves him yearning for more.

“Thanks for the coffee,” You mumble on his skin.

Javi smiles widely, resting his hands on your waist. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Yeah.” You breathe and, this time, you watch him go.

…

After an entire afternoon thinking about Javier and his smile, you finally stop at Javier’s door. You try not to think about the strange acts of affections he’s been giving you lately, or the weird moods he’s on sometimes, and knock on his door. You hear rustling inside the apartment for a moment and then the door opens.

“Hey,” He breathes, smiling at you and looking at your outfit.

“Hi.” You smile back, suddenly feeling insecure. You chose a simple dress tonight, not too fancy and not too casual.

When he gives you space for you to come inside, you do and put your purse on the small table beside the door as he gives you a kiss on the cheek. Soon, when you walk further into the apartment, you see a table set for you two.

“Oh.” You say, frowning. “I didn’t realize it was a date.”

Javi looks at you, a line between his brows. “What did you think it would be?”

“You know…” You trail off, shrugging one shoulder. He raises his brows and then laughs softly. “I would’ve dressed nicer if I knew.”

“I think you look gorgeous.” He squeezes your hand, brushing his thumb on the back of it. “And I just ordered some pizza.” Javier leads you to the couch in the living room. “I thought we could just… You know, watch some movies.”

Tilting your head at him, you smile, feeling a warm feeling on your chest. He just wants to spend time with you. That’s sweet.

“That’s different.” You sit down on the couch. “And sweet.”

He smiles at you and presses a kiss on your lips. “Just wanted to spend time with you.”

Smiling, you look into his eyes. “How was your day?”

“You know, the usual. Giving lectures to uninterested students, grading awful papers… Yours?”

“It was okay.”

You both talk about your week until the pizza arrives and then you both eat, talking even more. You like this. You could get used to it. Javier is good for you and you like it. It doesn’t scare you or make you want to push him away, in fact, you’ve been waiting to find someone like him.

By the time you finish dinner and sit on the couch to watch a movie, you’re a little buzzed out from the wine.

“You’ve been different lately.” The words come out of your mouth before you can stop them.

“What do you mean?” He takes the remote and starts setting up the movie.

“I don’t know.” You shrug, snuggling closer to him. “Like different in a good way.”

“Well, do you like it?”

Smiling, you nod, giving him a kiss on the cheek. He laughs at your reaction and shakes his head.

“Good.”

…

When Javier wakes up, it’s in a jolt, his heart beats so quick inside his chest he fears he might have a heart attack. Instinctively, his hand flies to the place where you should be on his bed. But it’s empty. Still a bit jumpy from his nightmare, he exhales sharply, jumping out of bed and looking of a pair of boxers to put on.

He finds you in the kitchen, warming some milk on the stove. You’re wearing one of his shirts and a pair of his socks that you stole from the dresser to keep your feet warm. Sighing in relief, he drops his head, closing his eyes and leaning a hand on the doorway to the hallway.

“Javi?” Your soft voice reaches his ears and he looks up to see you with a concerned look in your eyes. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” He breathes. “Are you?”

“Yeah, I just– I couldn’t sleep so I came to warm up some milk.” You watch as he slowly walks to the couch and sits there, reaching for the pack of cigarettes on the coffee table. Turning off the stove, you leave the milk there as you walk to him. “What happened? Did you have a nightmare?”

You know you’re pushing him, but he looks so distressed and tired that you can’t help it. You care about him too much. Leaning on him, your hand finds the nape of his neck and you tangle your fingers on his hair. Javier looks at you in the dim lights coming from the kitchen and almost breaks. Almost.

“You’ll feel better if you talk about it.” You insist. “I’m here to listen.”

“I’m okay, cariño,” He replies, his voice hoarse and dry. “Don’t worry about me.”

Your eyes don’t leave him as he lights a cigarette and takes a drag from it. In a way, his cold attitude stings you and you can’t help but feel like he’s pushing you away. It’s the first time that it happens and you don’t know what to do with this feeling. He seems to sense your hesitation and puts a hand on your thigh, giving you a smirk.

“Javi, don’t push me away,” You whisper in the dark, your eyes already glossy with tears. “Please.”

Javier’s smirk falls and his face changes. His brows furrow slightly and his mouth opens; he puts out the cigarette and turns to you, placing his hands on your upper arms.

“I’m not,” He says, rubbing your arms. “I’m okay, I promise.”

“No, I know something’s not right,” You argue, trying to hold back tears. “In a moment, you’re treating me like I’ve never been treated before and in the other, you’re just– You don’t– You don’t talk to me!”

He sighs, dropping his hands on his lap, feeling defeated. “I’m sorry, baby, I just–” He closes his eyes. Now it’s the time to be honest, or else, he feels like he’s going to lose you.

“Yeah, I had a nightmare,” He confesses. “I’ve had–” He lets out a shaky breath. “I’ve had them since I came back from Colombia.”

Biting your lip, you take his hand and squeeze to encourage him to keep talking.

“Back then, they were just memories, horrible things that happened there, but now…” He finally looks up at you. “Now, they’re about losing you.”

So, that’s why he wanted you to stay the night. That’s why he wanted to spend time with you on a school night, because he wanted to make sure you were here, with him.

“They’re just dreams, Javi, They’re not real,” You tell him softly. “And I’m not going anywhere.”

Then, you pull him for a hug and he gladly hugs you back. You were right, he does feel better, now that he’s talked about it. Javier feels a relief that he’s never felt before, one that he’s been looking for almost all his life. He breathes, trying not to let the tears fall and when he speaks, the words leave his mouth naturally, like they're meant to be said.

“I think I love you, cariño.”

Before he can process what he just said, you laugh softly on his shoulder and press a kiss on the exposed skin. Your lips leave kisses from his shoulder to his neck, to his jawline, and then finally on his lips.

“I know,” You mumble on his lips, smiling. “Javi, I know.”

“How?” He murmurs back, his lips never leaving yours.

“When you know, you know.” You finally pull away to look into his eyes. “And I feel the same Javi. I love you too.”

Javier’s eyes light up and he half smiles, cupping your cheeks and pressing your foreheads together.

“What did I do to deserve you?”

__

tagging: @bestintheparsec​ @adikaofmandalore​

[wwitbeyondmeasure]

Summer at the Burrow / Ron Weasley fan fiction

Previous Chapters

Introduction / Author’s Note / Chapter 1: The Journey to the Burrow / Chapter 2: Hidden Letters / Chapter 3: Ron’s Return / Chapter 4: Nighttime Conversations / Chapter 5: A Morning Surprise / Chapter 6: The Quidditch Match / Chapter 7: Girl Talk / Chapter 8: Aphrodite’s Push / Chapter 9: Mistakes and Love Potions / Chapter 10: You Would Be Fine / Chapter 11: Spell It Out / Chapter 12: Long Overdue 

Chapter 13: Always Want You

Author's note: okay so this chapter is gonna be a little steamy...pretty much the entire chapter is literally just steam so if you're not comfortable with that please don't read this chapter! thanks! :) 

Your knuckles hovered over the wooden door of Ron's bedroom. They were shaky, and your heart was beating faster and faster. You had successfully slipped out of Ginny's room after (of course) gushing to her and Hermione about all the romantic things that Ron had said to you. You were pretty sure they had seen you leave Ginny's room during the sleepover, but they opted to let you have your fun.

And fun you would have. If only you could work up the courage to knock on the door.

You don't know why you were nervous. Ron just bared his heart and soul to you outside a few hours ago but now standing at his bedroom door, you were racked with nerves. What if he changed his mind? What if you messed something up? What if you weren't as good a kisser as he was? Juvenile thoughts, yeah, but everything with Ron was new and exciting, you couldn't help feeling so inexperienced.

Before you could even decide whether or not to turn around and run back up the stairs, you heard a very familiar squawking noise. Dite. Perfect opportunity, you thought, before knocking on the door

The door swung open before you could even lift your hand away. Your knuckle was frozen there in midair as your gaze met Ron's. He had changed out of his button-up from the party and was now wearing loose sweat pants and his signature Chudley Cannons t-shirt. Just the sight of him made your head feel woozy and clouded.

"I....uh...heard Dite, so I decided to come check on her," you said, very awkwardly. Even though you knew how Ron felt about you, and vice versa, you still found yourself at a lost for words standing at his bedroom door. For some reason kissing him now seemed drastically different from kissing him in the garden.

Ron gave you a lazy grin.

"You came just for Dite, huh?" He asked, seeing right through you. Blush spread across your cheeks and you nodded curtly.

Before you could make any more of a fool of yourself, Ron gently clasped his fingers around your wrists and pulled you into the room, promptly shutting the door behind him. He then pushed your back up against the door and kissed you. Surprised, your hands flew to his hair and you deepened the kiss. Even though you had exchanged countless little kisses the entire night (you could barely keep your hands off each other), every single one had felt as passionate and important as the first.

Ron pulled away from you, his grin still playing on his, now chapped, lips.

"Still only here for Dite?" He asked, his eyes joking.

"Definitely," you responded, taking every ounce of your will power to push away from him rather than wrap your legs around his torso. You walked over to the owl cage in the corner of the room. Inside, standing on straw and looking very smug, was your little friend Dite.

You stroked the top of her feathers with the back of your fingers, smoothing out the black heart on top of her head. While you were distracted by your pet, you felt strong warm arms wrap around your waist from behind. Ron leaned down to rest his chin on your shoulder.

"Do you think she knows? About us?" Ron asked, tilting his head towards the small owl you were petting.

"Oh, definitely. She's practically screaming 'I told you so!' right now."

Ron wrapped his arms tighter around you as he chuckled. Your entire body felt warm with him wrapped around you. Wow, you thought. You could get used to this feeling.

He laughed again, kissing your shoulder while doing it so you felt his hot breath on your bare shoulder. You decided to wear a tank top and pajama pants to meet him tonight, and you were glad you did. His breath directly on your exposed skin was driving you insane.

"What're you laughing at?" You asked, your fingers moving away from petting Dite and instead landing on his arm. You traced up and down his freckled limb, soaking in every bit of him.

"People always say I'm the dumb one, but I literally bought you an owl named Aphrodite and you still didn't know how I felt about you," he said. You could feel his shoulders jostling up and down as he spoke so you knew he was still laughing.  

Rolling your eyes, you turned around in his arms and were now facing him. Your fingers trailed from his biceps up to his neck as you wove your fingers through his orange hair.

"I didn't want to assume anything," you defended yourself.

Ron lowered his lips to yours. "I wish you would've, then we could've done this a lot sooner," he responded. You could feel the shape of his words barely touching your lips as he spoke against them.

"Done what, exactly?" You asked teasingly.

His lips connected with yours once more and as he kissed you deeply, he slowly walked you back towards his bed.

"This," he mumbled huskily when your knees hit the edge of the mattress.

Desire pooled into every pore of your body as you laid down on his bed, him hovering above you.

"Some privacy, please?" You said, regarding the birds in the corner of the room. Dite sent a wink in your direction as she flapped out her wings and took flight. As soon as your owls had flown out the open window, you dragged Ron's face down to yours.

"Kiss me, Weasley," you breathed.

And kiss you he did.

You thanked your lucky stars you were laying down because if not, your knees would have given out with the intensity of Ron's kiss. His mouth was hot against yours, his tongue dragging across your bottom lip hungrily. You kissed him back with the same feverish energy, wrapping your leg around his waist in one swift motion. He grunted into the kiss, left hand coming up to tangle in your hair as his right trailed down your body, touching you in places you desperately needed him at. His lips trailed from your mouth to your neck, leaving hot wet kisses along your jaw line.

"Y/n," he rasped against your skin, making you shudder under him.

Slowly, he kissed from your neck to your collarbone, relishing in the little moans you were emitting. His fingers bunched around the hem of your tank top, his eyes searching yours for permission. You nodded, letting him lift the material and smiling to yourself when he sharply inhaled. You hadn't worn a bra.

"Decided to keep with tradition, you know?" You joked as his eyes drank in the view of you.

"I love you so damn much," he said, his hands roaming over your body. His eyes bounced back up to yours and held your gaze. "You look so beautiful like this, all splayed out with your hair messy," he said. He was looking at you as if you were the most magical thing in the world-and to him you were. Which is saying a lot, because he was a wizard.

"I'm sorry I ran out on you the morning after we slept together," he blurted out. Wincing, he amended, "I mean not sleep sleep together, but sleeping next to each other, in the same bed, like we did."

It made your nerves ease when you watched him get flustered around you for once, instead of the other way around.

"Why did you?" You asked.

His hands stalled their trek on your body and moved back to your chin, cupping your face. He did that a lot, holding your face in his hands so gently. It made your heart melt and other parts of you heat up.

"I dunno, I guess I've just pictured this moment, right now, what we are doing, for the longest time...and I wanted to act on how I felt so badly that night...but I was too nervous," he confessed sheepishly.

You propped yourself up on your elbows so you could look him deeper in the eyes.

"Apology accepted. Just don't run out on me tomorrow morning, okay?"

His breath caught in his throat.

"You want to stay the night? With me? In my bed?" He asked nervously, as if he couldn't believe his luck.

After glancing down at your bare chest, you looked back up at him.

"Well, obviously," you joked.

He laughed through a grin and brought his lips to yours, before pushing you back into the pillows. Your head rested on his soft pillows and he kissed you again, making you feel like you were floating. His hands explored your chest while your fingers gripped the ends of his t-shirt, tugging it up slightly.

As if he could read your mind, Ron leaned back, quickly taking off his shirt and casting it away. Instantly, you attacked his shoulders and collarbones with hot, open mouthed kisses. You kissed every freckle, every mole, and every muscle on his chest.

Once you felt satisfied, you made your way back up to his lips, attaching yourself to them like they were water and you were dying of thirst. Ron eased you back to the pillows once more as his lips started kissing and sucking at the crook of your neck. You pressed you face into his red hair, the smell of cinnamon and apple filling your nose. He licked a particularly sensitive spot on your neck and you groaned, back arching.

Ron's fingers reached the drawstring of your pants, and he pulled away to look you in the eyes.

"Are you sure you want to do this? Because we can wait if you want," he rushed, his words tripping over one another.

You pulled him back into a kiss, breathing through it, "Ron, I want this, I want you, as long as you do too."

"I'll always want you," he replied.

His fingers dipped below your waistband. They immediately found their way to your core and you moaned louder than you expected, heat rushing to your face.

"Alright there, love?" Ron asked with a smug grin.

"Perfect," you replied, moaning again, not really caring about how desperate you must have seemed in the moment.

The rest of the night was filled with the same rhythm, kissing and asking permission and unabashedly showing each other how badly you wanted one another.

This lasted for quite some time, but by the time Dite and Pig had flown back into the room, you and Ron were cuddling together, out of breath, legs tangled up in the sheets.

"Hello," you greeted your owl. She gave you an approving nod before nestling into the straw of her cage, soundly falling asleep.

You turned your attention to the red haired boy laying next to you, his arms wrapped tightly around you. His eyelids were heavy, and you could tell he was just as tired as you were. Taking out years worth of pent up desire and lust really tires a person out.

Ron pressed his lips against your mouth, your temple, your cheek, all the while mumbling "I love you," against your lips, again and again and again.

You fell asleep to that mantra, heart full, hair a mess, and absolutely, blissfully in love.

[cloveroctobers]

CRANES IN THE SKY | C. Jackson

Requested: Nope! I saw a fluff prompt that sounded great for Chris so this is what I came up with! Prompt — “Stop moving and let me braid your hair.”

WARNINGS: mentions of mental illness, sadness, depression, and “curse words”

YOU were going through it. Life was just becoming a lot for your teenage self and it seemed like this week would never end. It partly felt like everyone was out to get you but you were really just having a bad week and in the back of your mind, you hoped that the next would be better...yet you didn’t even want to think that far ahead. As of a few hours ago you were allowing your self to sit in your funk of your Crenshaw home until Chris barged in making himself at home.

Working in retail felt emotionally and mentally abusive but hey, you needed money to get by right? You were tempted to quit after a month of being there but your mother persuaded you to toughen it out and not let them get to you. ‘Or maybe it was easier for her to say so, so that you wouldn’t be coming to her as much for some cash.’ You bitterly thought.

On top of that, you were getting hours in over time since there were three situations going on with your co-workers. One: was fired due to stealing money from the safe in the stock room, since one of the assistant managers didn’t fully close it, two: got arrested for god knows what— you didn’t care for the drama but it was common knowledge Julio’s ass was gone, and third: got injured on the job and would be out for 6 months. So the work load fell on the remaining three. Only 6 employees in retail...make it make sense. Not only that the customers were more whiny and quick to point the finger than usual and it takes a lot for you to step out of character! but you did.

You had it. So you went into a screaming match, which wasn’t expected of you but it happened. The store manager did not have your back and blamed you in front of the customer since, “the customer is always right,” motto was heavily encouraged and a part of you HOPED he was just doing that for show and would apologize later but nope! He stood by wtf he said and put you on punishment when it was clear that the customer was not right.

So instead of sending you home and keeping you away from the place? He decided to give you more hours as if you’re the only one working there + kept you off the register so you could only interact with those on the floor. If he expected you to come in for five days straight while being a high school student? He was out of his damn mind. So you called out the three of the five days you were supposed to be there and didn’t care for his guilt trips. You deserved better and didn’t need to deal with this bs for only $11.11 an hour. You hoped he fired you.

Since you were working so much prior to the screaming match with that aggy customer, you were falling behind on your studies. Those pop quizzes came back as c+ to c- and your exams? Even lower. You were turning in homework half assed or not turning it in at all and normally you were a decent student with a B average. You weren’t overly thrilled about school but you did your best and did just fine at that.

You never saw yourself as someone who would go to college. Your mom or your step-dad didnt go and it was expected that you wouldn’t because of your background. Wasn’t that a shame? Crenshaw high could do a lot better at getting kids prepared for bettering their futures but they just wouldn’t put the time in to kids that wanted it or could accomplish it if they just had the right guidance.

It was really depressing and it was all starting to sink in at the end of your junior year of high school. You couldn’t just give up but you were having one of those days and wanted to be left alone. Which was partly what you had in your condominium complex with your step-sibs staying behind to attend after school activities with you having to pick them up from the bus stop by 5:15, your mother was working the night shift as a waitress, and your step-dad was away on “business.”

The quiet was interrupted by Chris making his way into your living room with you all curled up. He took one look at you and shook his head, “Nuh-uh, get up ya ass up, girl. You’ve been like this for what? Days now?”

Giving him the side eye, you rolled your body on the couch to put your back to him as you went to bury your head into the open s peace between the couch and cushion. “If you came here to start with me, you can leave the same way you came in.”

You were used to Chris getting into your house. You did lock your doors around here but Chris was surprisingly good at getting through things which related a lot to his life I guess you could say. The guy overcame a lot especially learning how to walk again after almost being paralyzed. You and Chris grew up together, and were actually friends first before Spencer, Coop, and Shawn came into the picture. Your mother’s were the best of friends and got pregnant around the same time, with Chris being only a few months older than you, which he likes to rub in to get on your nerves.

“And you can keep that stank ass attitude to yourself, get up mama this ain’t no way to be.” You could feel the weight of Chris sitting on the couch behind you.

He was now poking you, probably trying to find your ticklish spot but if you start swinging then you’re the bad guy right?

Chris knew you like the back of his hand and vice versa. He knew all about how your week was going and how you’ve been skipping class to do whatever it is that you do, since you did have one class together.

“Alright look, when I was away—

He always considered his recovery as, “away,” almost as if it pained him to say that, which you understood by all means, but Chris could just call it what it was. He was strong, he made it through but you noticed in the way he played now was more cautious. He was in his head which was common with sports injuries apparently. You noticed with Spencer he would normally react after the stress of the game or something that brought on the stress. He also probably thought you had no clue what was going on with him, but he was also one of your besties so of course you knew. You just never said anything.

Now it was you who was going through a little something and needed someone to bring you out of it, whether you said it or not. And here Chris was. As always.

“You know I was a completely different person—

“Yeah, you were a fresh asshole.” You commented, remembering those moments quite clearly since it was you and Olivia who tried to be there. He only seemed to let you be there, especially after he broke up with Olivia over text. Which you laid into his ass about.

Which made Chris breathe out a laugh pressing his elbows into his knees, “you’re not wrong. And I’m forever sorry about that but you knew I was going through some dark shit. And I can see you’re partly there but you don’t need to sit in it.”

“Okay, Iyanla. What would you like for me to do?” You asked twisting your body to the side to finally look at the mocha skinned boy.

Chris smiled with his pretty teeth, “maybe take a shower? ‘Cause this bum energy I’m getting from you right now is not cute and I know underneath all that, you’re not half bad.”

A foot went out to kick him pretty hard but he tried and failed to doge it with a laugh. “Nah. But for real though, you got to find something that’s gonna keep you sane. Find something even if it’s not permanent that’ll keep your mind active and out of the dark, cause once you completely slip into it, it’s hard to get out of. Trust me.”

You knew Chris was on anti-depressants for a little while and how he called you flipping out that his mother even agreed that it would be a good idea. In the black community it was not a common thing to speak about your mental health, it was non-existent and you were expected to “get over it,” to not think like that because we are made to be tougher than what we are and it shouldn’t be like that. We should be able to feel our emotions and admit when something is troubling us.

And Chris’ mother thought that was what was best for her son. And you saw how vile of a person Chris became when he thought everything was over for him. That was not the Chris Jackson you knew, he was headstrong, compassionate when he wanted to be, and ambitious. So to see him like that was hard.

So here he was for you even though your emotions right now probably wasn’t that deep but again, you were trying to be more in touch with your emotions. Both of the adults in your life were slightly cold so it rubbed off on you a little bit of course, until it was brought out of you. Your father was the most loving and as a kid you used to be that way, with a warm prescence and a belly full of laughter. Now you were full of small smiles and cold stares.

However your main friends: Chris, Spencer, Coop, and even Shawn know/knew who you are even if you’re different now.

You don’t know how long you sat in silence but once Chris started to annoyingly snap his fingers in front of your face, You snapped out of it and smacked his hand down; slowly you sat up on your uncomfortable couch and took a deep inhale.

Then you moved through the cramped apartment to your bedroom and bathroom grabbing a few things. When you came back Chris was also entering from the kitchen with two plastic cups, eyeing the items in your hand. “What’s going on with that?”

You plopped the large pillow in front of the couch, held your hand out for the cup which Chris handed over, and you took a large gulp to taste cran-peach. Chris moved to place his own cup on the coaster and went over to the window to crank up the A/C before he glanced back over at you still awaiting a answer.

“You’re telling me to find my peace? I’ve always wanted to be a stylist, so I’m going to perfect my craft.” You answered sitting on the couch with a crack of your neck.

Chris thought this over and blew out a raspberry. Then he moved to sit in between your legs on the floor, “Alright, y/n. I’ll be your first client. But I’m tellin’ you right now if you braid too tight where my edges look eaten, I’m out the door.”

A smile graced your lips as Chris grabbed his cup and remote to turn the tv on, “so what we watching to keep me entertained?”

Shrugging your shoulders you held the rat tail comb in your hand while using the other to run your fingers through Chris’ coarse hair that he was deciding to grow out. Chris got himself comfortable resting against your legs as you decided which side of the head you wanted to start on first before you began parting and sectioning off his hair.

You were going to give him some cornrows so you had to make sure everything was even and not look crazy. You were decent at braiding, you often did your step-sis’ hair since your mother no longer had time to do it and she sure did have a lot of hair. It gave you some sense of satisfaction, you taking on the older sibling role and gave you the time to bond.

Chris finally found something after twenty minutes and was yelling at the tv which made you mess up the grip on the fourth row. “If you don’t stop moving and let me braid your hair...hold your head right or I’m gonna pop you!” You threatened.

“This is triggering me back to my aunties, specifically aunt Henrietta’s ol’ mean ass.” Chris mumbled the last bit as he flinched making you laugh a little bit, remembering the name and the picture of the woman with the large mole on her pointy chin.

She lived in Maryland and had a beauty salon that Chris’ mom would always take a trip down there to get their hair done, if they had a special event to go to. It didn’t make sense to you or your mother since there were a few good shops here in Crenshaw or rather—girls and boys that did hair out of their homes around but Mrs. Jackson wanted to support her great aunt so by all means...

You gripped his hair again tight but not too tight to begin the braid, “I’m gonna add beads so everyone around school can call you hurricane chris.”

“...that’s real foul. You’re about to make me not support your dreams anymore, I’m dead serious.” Chris replied making you laugh, which made him smile at the sound.

You briefly glanced up to watch a scene on whatever show or film Chris was watching and raised your eyebrow not knowing what was going on or who these characters were but it was definitely engaging.

Chris nudged your knee with his shoulder after you fell silent again, “feel better?” He asked, moving AGAIN to meet your eyes.

“yeah, a little. Thanks.” You scrunched up your nose and stuck your tongue at him.

After awhile your alarm went off letting you know it was time for you to leave and get ready to get the kiddos. As you both got up, Chris went to the mirror to check out your handiwork while you snapped a few pictures before making your way to the door, taking the keys from the side table as you went.

“Y/N...you said would make me look good.”

“Uh huh?”

“Then tell me why...the hell you got me looking like ODB?” Chris’ deep set brows held a deep frown on them as he glanced at his childhood friend who innocently peered back at him.

You shrugged as you threw the door open, “i never said I’d be the best hair stylist out there, plus you wouldnt stop moving your big ass head. I told you to sit still! And did you listen? Noooooo.”

Chris licked his lips looking down as he folded his hands together before his eyes flicked up, “ok. I’m on your ass!”

You yelped as dashed out the door, laughter in your lungs as Chris chased you down the narrow hallway, hot on your trail.

[whumpiary]

Can we hear about the first time Christopher kissed Cassius? Merry Christmas 🎅 🎄 ❤!!!

A little late for Christmas, Anon, but here’s a Happy New Year present! I’ve been vibing on some early Cass and Christopher so thank you for such a wonderful request.

content warnings: dubcon kiss, grooming, predatory thinking, supremely fucky power dynamics, abuse of power, emotional manipulation, referenced beating/whipping.

Cassius has been doing well since he’s been here. Very well. He’s opened up so much since his arrival ten-odd months ago. The moody, sullen, watchful boy that had arrived is being replaced day by day by the wide-eyed, curious, observant one.

Some boys were like that. Used to a world unpredictable, unrelenting, unforgiving. It was peaceful to them to be in a place that was relatively calm by comparison. Where the rules were plain and simple. The discipline severe and the rewards plentiful and easy to win. They just needed the right kind of guidance.

Cassius had arrived guarded and cynical, and then piece by piece, the shell had started to crack away. Revealing a soft middle. A trusting, confident middle. A sweet and hopeful middle. It was a thing to behold.

The past couple of months he’d taken to hovering in the doorway to Christopher’s office after curfew, asking some sort of question that might stir a conversation or a debate. Sometimes the questions were soft and gently probing. Other times they were outright rude and accusatory.

Boundary testing, Christopher had recognised early on. Seeing if he’d get in trouble for asking questions, for staying up after curfews, for sitting down. He didn’t mind a little of that. Especially when it was so clearly, underneath it all, a bargaining for attention, for affection, for care. Cassius wasn’t the only one of his boys starved for it, but the only one the right mix of bold and hungry to go searching.

Tonight they’re reading. Well, Cassius is reading. He’s doing well tonight too. The dyslexia now just a hurdle instead of the mountain he used to see it as. And Christopher listens. He always listens. Guides. Helps take the words from the page and shape them when the letters stick and shift too much.

Cassius’ eyes run across the pages of Gone With the Wind. Christopher’s run across the curve of Cassius’ cheek.

“He was shaking, as in- as though he stood in a strong wind, and his lips, trawl-, trailing-”

“Travelling.”

“-Travelling from her mouth down where to where… Wait,” he falls quiet for a moment, lips moving around the words as he shapes them out, stills them, unwinds them. “Downw- Down where. No, downward.”

“Very good.”

Christopher shifts his arm along the couch, stretching it out along the back, hand laying loose along the leather back. He flexes his hand, thumb trailing just barely along the seam of the boy’s shirt, imagining the pretty bruises that sit just below it.

“Downward to where the wrapper had fallen from her body, fell on her soft flesh.”

Cassius shifts in where he sits, perhaps the stiffness in his back bothering him. He’d taken a lashing a few days for speaking out of turn. Well, speaking out of turn and starting a fight with one of the other boys after breakfast.

Cassius seems to crave it if left for too long. Go searching for it. The punishments seemed to soothe him, calm and collar the restless thing inside of him. Like a balm. Like a back-burning.

He’d stayed silent and good for the first dozen or so. And then pretty cries of pain. Pretty arch of the spine. A gently whispered please when Christopher had asked if he’d learned his lesson somewhere along the thirty fifth.

Cassius keeps reading, “He was muttering things she did not hear, his lips were ev-oh-king feelings never felt before.”

Christopher doesn’t mind a few mistakes here and there. He’s still learning after all. And it’s sweet, really. The little frown that creases his brow. The pink tongue flicking out to wet his lips as he speaks. The set rhythm of his breathing that shows his focus.

“She was darkness and he was darkness- wait,” and that little pause again as he mouths the words, voice whispering out just barely. Christopher’s eyes drop to the boy’s mouth. He really does have gorgeous lips. Full and pink.

The shirt Cassius wearing is cut a little lower, shows the curve of his   collarbone, the flutter of his heart beat against it. The perfect place to run a tongue...

“She was darkness and he was darkness… I’m skipping again.”

Christopher blinks and brings his attention back to the book.

“Hm? No, that’s right,” he says softly. He leans across to trail his finger underneath the words. He can feel the heat from the boy’s body against his arm. “She was darkness and he was darkness and there had never been anything before this time, only darkness and his lips upon her. My favourite line”

“What’s it meant to mean?”

Christopher looks up from the book and smiles warmly, eyes tracing over the boy’s face. He tilts his head, holding the boy’s gaze, “What do you think it means?”

A single lifted shoulder in shrug, eyes back on the page. “I don’t know.”

Christopher breathes a laugh, “Well, I don’t believe that.”

Cassius glances at him side-long and gives a little smile, coloured with the tension of boyish embarrassment. Another shrug.

“Never had a stolen moment in a dark corner somewhere with a pretty girl?”

Cassius raises an eyebrow. Christopher raises his own.

“A pretty boy?”

Cassius snorts a laugh and looks away again, and Christopher watches him go. He’d bet his hat that this boy has had both. Would have both. He’s sure he’ll have snuck away in a hall somewhere in East Wing with one of the other charges. Pressed them against the wall or vice versa.

“No I get that. I get the...” he shrugs again instead of specifying. Sweet. “I just don’t get the like… darkness, darkness thing.”

Christopher tilts his head, hums in thought. How to describe. Explain. Guide. Shape. “Well... it’s about intimacy, isn’t it? And passion.”

Cassius gives him a wry smile, “So Rhett Butler’s just a really good fuck?””

Christopher laughs and rolls his eyes with a sigh like the suggestion is childish. He runs his thumb along that seam again.

“It’s about more than sex,” he says, smiling fondly. “It’s about... Feeling so close to someone that you can’t quite tell where you end and they begin.  Like it’s always been this way and always will and this moment between you will last forever.”

Cassius is looking at him like he’s just hand-painted stars into the sky. Like he’s hung the moon. It’s such a gorgeous look. Makes a man feel special.

But he doesn’t speak to that, of course. Instead what comes out of the boys mouth is,

“Think I’d rather stick a needle in my eye.”

“Mm? Why’s that?”

“Sounds gross as shit. Just… losing yourself to someone like that.”

“Oh, you don’t lose yourself,” Christopher assures, smiling warmly as he turns his body. Cassius shifts, too opens himself up without seeming to think about it. Christopher rests his head on his hand, elbow on the back of the chair. “It’s lovely. You feel like you’ve finally found the way it’s meant to be.”

His boy’s breath seems to catch. “And you’ve had that? Known people like that?”

Christopher smiles, murmurs conspiratorially, “I’m old. I’ve known all sorts of people.”

Cassius breathes a laugh but his eyes stay fixed. Like he’s locked in. Trapped. Lured. “And which one were you? Rhett Butler or Scarlett O’Hara?”

Christopher laughs lightly, tracing his eyes over Cassius’ face. He resists the urge, just barely, to tuck a curl behind his ear. “I’d say I’ve played both in my time.”

Cassius is watching him. Assessing. He does that from time to time. Like he’s weighing his options, figuring out what the next best move is. What’s expected. What’s wanted. What’s owed. Christopher just smiles and points back at Gone With the Wind.

“Listen to this next part, maybe it’ll make more sense to you” he says, he reaches across to the open page, finger trailing the words again, arm brushing against Cassius’ hand where he holds the book. “Suddenly she had a wild thrill such as she had never known; joy, fear, madness, excitement, surrender to arms that were too strong, lips too bruising, fate that moved too-”

Cassius launches forward.

Fast.

Christopher’s not expecting the kiss. But it isn’t surprising.

It’s boyish. Enthusiastic. Searching, questioning, sweet. Very sweet. Christopher nearly laughs into it, delighted and intrigued. The joy and the fear and the madness. The surrender. It’s lovely.

He wonders, briefly, if Cassius can feel the darkness between them. Or if he’s chasing the light.

Cassius pulls back just as fast as he’d fallen in. His hand flies up to cover those lovely lips, eyes that were sparkling a second before now filled with dread and shame. Something like fear.

It’s very, very sweet.

“Oh my god,” he says, barely a whisper against a palm. His cheeks are flushed. Eyes wide. “Oh my… oh fuck, I just-”

Christopher ducks his head a little, raises a reassuring hand, “It’s alright.”

Cassius is shooting to his feet, he’s standing up, he’s pacing the rug, he’s borderline panicking, “Oh my god, I’m- I don’t know why I did that. I don’t know why I-... I’m so sorry.”

“It’s nothing to apologise for.”

“No but I- I, I, I was reading the book- you were reading the book and I thought, I, I, I felt-”

“Cassius…”

“I didn’t mean, Oh my god I’m so, so sorry, I-”

Chrsitopher sighs and drops his voice, sets his gaze, “Cassius.”

His boy looks over to him finally, looking stricken and frightened. Like he’s about to be sick. Like he’s about to be punished. Like he’s ready to fall to his knees and ask for absolution. Christopher’s eyes drop to those lips again.

“Come sit.”

He does. Of course he does. Like a puppet on strings.

“I don’t know why I-”

“Shh,” he says, taking a fidgeting hand

“I’m so sorry-”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,”

“I didn’t mean to-”

“Cassius. Darling boy,” he brings his hand up to cup his boy’s cheek and every cell in Cassius’ body seems to freeze in stasis. Cassius’ eyes flick between each of his own, searching for direction. For guidance.

Christopher runs his thumb along the pretty cheek just to feel the shudder of the exhale. His boy isn’t sure if he should be expecting punishment or forgiveness.

Christopher leans in, hand shifting to tilt his boy’s chin up. He kisses him softly. Tenderly. And then he pulls back, admires the stars in those dark eyes; the sweetness, the confusion, the hope.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Christopher repeats, voice dancing between them, words catching on Cassius’ breath, running a visible shiver down his spine.

He melts against Christopher’s hand, eyes closing tight in desperate relief, pressing into his palm like a lost puppy. Christopher gives him a quiet moment, moves his thumb in a soothing stroke over his cheek. He looks beautiful like this. So uncharacteristically and honestly soft.

It’s only when Cassius opens eyes that Christopher smiles and speaks again, keeping his voice low, “Shall we keep reading?”

Cassius nods against his palm, lifts his head up, looks away. Wiping an escaped tear from his cheek with a rough fist. Christopher gives him the decency of looking away.

He shifts again so his arm is along the back of the couch once more. He makes no comment at the way Cassius has inched his body closer, all but cuddled against his side.

He’s really come so far since he’s been here. He’d go further too. With the right kind of guidance.

[jaceyneedsabetterusername]

Like I’m Gonna Lose You

Pairings: Arthur Shelby x Gender Neutral!Reader 

Request:  Hi!! Sorry to bother, but I had a silly idea and i would like to read it but i suck at writing 💀💀💀💀 i don't know if you can/want to do it, but maybe for the future... Arthur is married (new character) and a bad guy tries to take and hut her. Tommy (Arthur too of course, but my idea was more of a in-law relationship) does anything to get her back because he likes her for his brother and when he does gets her back she understands that Tommy will always be there for her and vice versa. 

Warning: Violence and cussing but what’s new?

Word Count: 3900

____________________________________________

Tommy had actually always liked you, which was odd for the Shelby, who never really seemed to like anyone that wasn’t blood (and even they were questionable sometimes). When you’d come to Tommy, desperate for a job, he was hesitant to accept. If it weren’t for the fact that he was desperate for someone that wasn’t a known Blinder to help him trick someone for a job, he wouldn’t have hired you. As luck would have it, though, he did need that special someone and you were hired. 

Nobody had ever expected you to work out as well as you did. You were helpful, kind, and uncharacteristically positive for a Peaky Blinder but you were also tough and scrappy, a fighter, who was just bad enough to fit in. You (usually) stayed out of the cocaine and you didn’t cause unnecessary trouble around town. 

You had caught Arthur’s eye immediately. Unrecognized beauty glowed when you walked into the room. When you weren’t out on jobs with Tommy, you were at the shop running the books. Arthur had made it a point to stop by and talk to you several times a day, adorably nervous instead of his stern facade. 

When you started dating, there was an immediate noticeable change in Arthur. He was happier, drinking a lot less, and much less violent. All of these were issues you were well aware of prior to accepting his offer for a night out, but that was just it. You knew. It was no surprise if he showed up at your home slobbering drunk or with a busted eyebrow from a brawl (that he most likely started). It wasn’t that you condoned the behavior but you knew what you were getting into and how to handle him, whereas other potential partners weren’t. What surprised everyone though, was when his drinking became more moderate and social instead of throwing pint after pint back for the sake of numbness. He snuck cocaine much less often (though there were a few nights where you did it together…). Arthur’s violent tendencies became subdued and his rage seemed to dissipate drastically. 

Arthur Shelby was a happy man for the first time in his life.

Tommy was hesitant about your relationship at first, only seeing it as causing issues for the company. You’d proved yourself to be quite the valuable asset to Shelby Company Ltd. and he was convinced that a fall-out between you and Arthur would mean the loss of your aid. But he quickly realized that you were just what his brother needed- just crazy enough to have a good time and not be too naggy or uptight but still pushing him to improve himself for his own well-being. He actually couldn’t have pictured a better person for his older brother to wed. 

So when Tommy picked up the phone to hear Arthur seething with rage, he was already ready to end someone’s life. 

“They got ‘em, Tommy. They fucking got them!” Arthur was furious and Tommy could almost see his face, red with anger. 

“Wait, wait, wait. Who got who, Arthur?” The Blinders weren’t at war with anyone at the moment so he felt oblivious as to what was going on but tense for a possible new enemy. 

Arthur gripped the letter that he found nailed into the front door of your home and ripped it from the thick nail, “Some bastards callin’ themselves the Green Snakes took Y/N. I came home and found the ‘ouse trashed and a letter nailed to the door. I’m gonna fucking kill them, Tommy.” 

“Wait at the house. I’ll be there in ten minutes.” Tommy slammed the phone down before rushing to his car, pocketing two guns on the way. 

Sure enough, ten minutes later, he was letting himself into yours and Arthur’s home. Arthur spun around and pointed a gun at the door as it opened, paranoid that the Green Snakes had returned but lowered the firearm when he saw it was Tommy. 

Like Arthur had described, the house was pretty trashed. The thin, long table off to the left right by the front door in the foyer was toppled over and the glass bowl that was on it was shattered in pieces across the ground. In the living room, a few wooden chairs were strewn around the room and the curtains had been torn down, now draped over the couch. But most notably, there was a blood stained knife on the ground as well as a trail of drops of blood leading out the door, and several smeared crimson handprints staining the cream-colored walls. It looked as if someone had been trying to hold onto the corners of the walls as someone dragged them away. 

Tommy turned to look at Arthur who was standing by the door. There was a moderate crack in dark green painted wood, split in the middle by an iron nail, at least three inches long. “Where’s the note?” Tommy asked, getting straight to the point. 

Arthur handed over the parchment to his brother. The paper was crinkled and torn at the top, most likely from Arthur crumbling it as it ripped it off the door. In somewhat sloppy black ink, the message was scrawled: We are rising to Snake your empire out from under you, Shelbys. It’s time someone brought you to your knees. You want them, come get them. 209 Milligan Ave.

“What the fuck is this, Tommy?” Arthur’s first thought had been that his brother had been conducting business with whoever these Green Snakes were behind everyone’s back. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d gotten the whole family in trouble for the sake of his ego remaining intact. 

Tommy lowered the paper and did another scan of the room, “I don’t know. Arthur. I’ve never heard of the Green Snakes before but whoever they are, they’re messing with the wrong family.” 

Arthur watched his brother inspect the blood stains and ran his fingers through his messy hair, “Do you think it’s Y/N’s blood?” 

Tommy got close to the wall and squinted at one of the handprints, “I can’t say for sure but I have a feeling it’s not.” 

“Well I’m not gonna stand around speculating. I’m going to 209 Milligan Ave and I’m gonna fuckin’ slaughter every one of them.” Arthur threw his hat back on, palm just barely missing the concealed blade. He slid his gun into the holster beneath his coat and reached for the doorknob before Tommy stopped him. 

“Wait, brother.” 

Arthur paused and looked back, “‘m not wasting any time. Who knows what these Green Snakes are doing to ‘em?” 

“The last thing we need is a war, Arthur. We need to get in and get out as quietly as possible.” Tommy reached out for his brother’s arm but he pulled away. 

“A war?!” Arthur asked incredulously, “A fucking war? The love of my life is gone and you’re worried about some fucking turf war with a bunch of amateurs! I’m gonna go get them myself.” 

Arthur turned to go out the door, expecting Tommy to hold him back or tell him it was a trap, anything to keep him from leaving, but no protest ever came. Tommy only pulled out his car keys,  “I’ll drive.” 

** 

The day had been relatively quiet. You had business to do at home this particular morning so you’d arranged with Tommy that you’d just come in a few hours later than normal, which he was completely fine with. Arthur was… well he was supposed to be at the shop but knowing him, he was probably getting into trouble. 

It was nice to have the house to yourself. You loved Arthur but one of the things that had initially made you nervous about marrying him was that you’d never really have any private space again. Right now, though, you had a few hours to yourself so your favorite record was playing on the phonograph while you swept the floor, something that hadn’t been done in much longer than you’d like to admit. 

At first, you weren’t sure if you heard the knock on the front door over the music playing but when there was a second, louder knock, you knew for sure. You turned down the music and sighed, having a feeling it was probably John looking for his brother or something. Without any hesitation, you opened the door only to be shocked when three men you didn’t recognize stood there, “Oh, hello. Can I help you?” 

“You’re married to Arthur Shelby?” The one in the front, the leader of this pack, asked, twirling a toothpick between his teeth. 

Immediately, your guard went up and you moved the hand that was still concealed from view by the door over to grab the first hard thing you could find - a glass bowl on the small table by the door - and gripped it tightly. These men wouldn’t be here unless they were up to something suspicious or Arthur was dead, and you had a feeling from the way they sounded that it wasn’t the ladder. “Yeah.” You answered simply but firmly, showing you weren’t afraid of them. 

With a side glance to both of his men, the main guy nodded his head and, before you knew it, you were being rushed. You swung the glass bowl into the nearest one’s head, flinching away as the glass shattered in every direction. He fell with a grunt but the other one was already lunging towards you. You ducked and ran towards the main living area when you were grabbed around the waist. You thrashed and yelled, driving your elbow as hard as you could into his face. He dropped you, blood flowing down his face. 

Your feet hit the ground sloppily, your knees buckling a little from the sudden impact, but you made it to the kitchen nonetheless, frantically reaching for the first weapon-like object you could get your hands on, which just so happened to be a knife. When you turned around, the two men that had attacked you were already on their feet and coming towards you, blood running down both of their faces. The third one was nailing something to your door that you couldn’t make out. 

One of the men came at you from the front, tackling you to the ground when you overestimated just how much their weight you could support. Both of you landed with a thud but he was on his feet before you, dragging you towards him by the ankle. You kicked him harshly in the face with your free foot until he let go and you tried to crawl away, the knife still tight in your fist.

The other man tried to grab you by the hair but you sliced backwards blindly, slicing across his cheek in a fairly deep gash. He howled out in pain and let you go but not before his hands were back on you. You reached up and dug your nails into his freshly wounded flesh. He screamed out, kicking you to the side. Blood covered your hands and body and you were sure it looked like you must have just murdered someone. 

“Alright boys, quit playing games and just take ‘em already.” The leader demanded gruffly from the door, checking his watch. 

A bag was wrestled over your head from behind and when you reached up to try and tear it off, your hands were gripped and roughly tied up with rope in front of you. “Let me go!” You screamed as you were hoisted over one of the men’s shoulders, “I’ll fucking kill you!”

There was a wordless chuckle from the direction of the door as you thrashed about, trying to free yourself from the grip to no avail. You reached your bound hands out, blindly and desperately trying to cling to whatever leverage you could find. Your hands gripped one of the walls but no matter how hard you held onto it, the blood that covered your hands made your grip slip free. 

In a voice that imitated Arthur’s but was far from the original, the leader said, “By order of the Green fookin’ Snakes, the Peaky Blinders are no longer the kings of Birmingham.” 

** 

209 Milligan Ave was on the other end of Small Heath. The building didn’t look like much, just a single stand-alone brick building at the end of a foggy street. There weren’t any signs out front that established it as a place of business but it was definitely not a house either. There were a few other businesses around but this part of town was very clearly less populated than most other parts of the city. 

“This is probably a trap so stay ready. Stay alert.” Tommy warned his brother, though he knew he really didn’t have to. Arthur had been through worse than this. 

Arthur’s eyes were steadfast and unwavering, “I don’t fuckin’ care if it’s a trap. I just need Y/N back.” 

Tommy gave his older brother an insistent nod, “‘Ey, we’re going to get them back.” Arthur didn’t respond but he didn’t need to. 

Tommy walked up to the door and pushed it open without hesitation. Arthur followed close behind but it took everything in his power to not just pull the trigger on the first thing that moved but Tommy had insisted on a diplomatic approach first, mostly for the sake of them not killing you if they hadn’t already. 

The first room they walked into was large and open. Two doorways led to the back of the house but they couldn’t see anything back there. Tommy and Arthur didn’t need to look any further though. You were sitting in the middle of the room, arms tied behind the backrest of a wooden chair. Your legs too were bound to the wood legs of the seat and a cloth that looked none too clean was tied around your mouth as a gag. Hair stuck up messily around your head and blood coated your arms and face. 

Four men covered each corner of the room, leaning back casually but trying to be intimidating, like a cowboy leaning against the wall of a saloon. One more man, the one who had led your kidnapping, stood next to your chair. He looked to be about a rough thirty-five with sandy blonde hair and a work-worn face. 

Tommy could sense Arthur about to pop off and shoot everyone before saying a word so he spoke up before his brother could behave rashly. “You wanted us. You have us. What do you want?” Tommy demanded. 

“Eh, not ‘us.’ Just you, Thomas Shelby.” The blonde man said with a gruff cockney accent. 

Tommy shrugged his hands up in a vaguely exasperated motion, “Well here I am. Now let them go.” He nodded his head over to you, locking eyes with you. Everything will be okay, they seemed to tell you. He was relieved to see that your eyes weren’t broken but still fired up with rage and fear, just enough to fight your way out.

“C’mon, Tommy,” The man’s chest shook as he snorted, “Surely, as such a man of enterprise, you know that’s not how negotiations work.” 

“I don’t know who you think you are but this is no negotiation. I’ll ask one more time. Let. Y/N/. Go.” Tommy’s eyes were narrowed at the man. 

The signature toothpick that was between the blonde man’s teeth was plucked by his fingers tips and used to gesture, “The name’s Finnegan Bay and these are the Green Snakes.” He motioned to the four men around the room, “And we’re comin’ for the throat of the Peaky fookin’ Blinders.” He made his voice deeper as he jested about your gang and the way Arthur said it. 

Tommy’s cold, stern gaze was relentless and unyielding, the way it always was. It was predatory and threatening in a scarily unpredictable way. The man had no tells. He wore the same face when he was listening to a pleasant anecdote as he did when he was on the brink of killing someone.

“You really think you could take us down, eh? What? Some men from the factories wantin’ to feel like they’re somethin’ bigger than they are? Well, y’know what? You’re just that. Just some small men from the factories. Nothing more. You think cause you got some guns and a name that it means you’re something but you’re not.” He paused for just a moment for effect, “See, you’ve messed with my family. I’m gonna give you one chance to let them go before I kill each and every one of you. You can’t even imagine the things I’m capable of doing to you. I’ll make sure they never find your bodies. Now, this is last time I’m gonna tell you: let them go.” 

Finnegan reached down into his coat and pulled out a long knife. Your eyes widened as you watched him inspect the wide blade for just a moment before pointing it lazily at Tommy, “Y’see, it’s that right there. That attitude. The entitlement. The superiority complex. I think it’s time someone reminded Thomas Shelby of his place.” In a flash, he gripped your head from behind, palm smushing your face as he roughly pulled it back to expose your neck, holding the blade to your skin. 

You let out a muffled yell of shock and fear. Your heart raced in your chest and your stomach felt like it had butterflies, but more aggressive. Dragons? The sharp edge of the blade dug into the top few layers of skin, almost drawing blood but not quite. This wasn’t the first time you’d had a knife (or gun, for that matter) to your head but it never stopped being terrifying. 

Tommy sent a quick look over to his brother who had been standing there silently, seething with anger but obeying Thomas nonetheless. Arthur could almost predict not only the look but the succeeding actions as well after so many years of being in situations like this. 

Without even a pause after the blade made contact with your skin, Finnegan hit the ground dead. The loud bang from Tommy’s gun startled you and you flinched, the knife slicing just barely into your skin, finally drawing those drops of blood, but not nearly deep enough to cause actual life-risking damage. Blood splattered all over you as it flew from your captor’s chest, right where the first bullet landed. The knife slipped from the man’s limp hands and bounced off your leg before crashing on the floor. 

Just as soon as the first shot was fired, Tommy aimed his gun and shot the man in the far corner with the precision of a sniper before the other man could even process that Finnegan had been shot. Arthur turned and fired at the man behind him, hitting him in the side of the head. A few shots were fired from the men in the far left side and the back right side, both at Arthur and Tommy. 

You flinched, trying to make your body as small a target as you could to avoid the flying bullets but couldn’t get far with the rope holding you in place. Then you remembered the knife on the ground. The only way you could reach that would be to topple the chair and hope to goodness that your tied up hands could manage to grip the blade. The way your arms were tied around the back, though, would result in an arm breaking crash no matter which way you fell. 

Just as you were about to sike yourself up to deal with the pain and topple the chair, the gunfire ceased. At first, you were scared to look around and see who had fallen. A ceasefire either meant one team had one or everyone was dead and you weren’t sure you wanted to know either way. 

“Are you alright?” Tommy’s voice suddenly asked and you opened your eyes to see your husband and brother-in-law coming towards you quickly. 

You nodded, wishing you could speak if it weren’t for the damn gag. Arthur rushed to you and reached behind your head, untying the dirty cloth. The fabric fell from your mouth and you licked your lips a few times, your mouth agonizingly dry from being forced open for so long. 

Arthur inspected the areas on you that had blood, “Did you get shot? Did they hurt you?” 

You shook your head, arms coming to touch his face when Tommy cut your hands free, “No, no, no. I’m fine. I’m okay.” You almost were saying it to convince yourself more than anything. With the exception of the thin slice across your throat, you really were fine. Shaken up but alive. 

He helped you up and you shook out your arms, seeing the red burn around your wrists from the rope. Your biceps ached from where they’d been pressed against the wood so tightly and you were sure there were bruises on them beneath your shirt. 

Arthur’s arms wrapped around you like he’d never let you go. It was one of those “love you like I’m gonna lose you” moments where you both dropped any reserve or tough image that you usually held up and were just grateful for being blessed with each other. 

Tommy watched the two of you and almost smiled at the sight of seeing his brother so happy. Arthur really did deserve happiness; Tommy had always thought all of his brothers did.

You pulled away from Arthur and hugged Tommy. He was taken off guard for a moment, not usually one for physical affection, but wrapped his arms around your body in an awkward but sincere attempt at comforting you and acknowledging your appreciation. “Thank you.” He nodded, retracting his arms to regain his composure. Arthur came up to stand just beside you, his arm around your back, like he was scared to let you go again, though, of course, his face didn’t show it. 

“Yeah,” He acknowledged in his own laconic way, “Maybe we should get going before the cops show up. I’m sure the gunshots had a few people reaching for the phones.” Tommy adjusted his coat before heading out the door. 

You and Arthur followed closely behind and Tommy opened the door for you to get in, something he didn’t do for anyone except maybe a girl he was trying to coax under the sheets. Arthur helped you in and sat in the backseat with you, still not wanting to be away after the day’s events. 

There was a strange air in the car as Tommy drove you back to your home so you could clean up. Arthur kept his hand placed on your leg protectively, like you were his lifeline. Tommy’s silence wasn’t uncharacteristic but when you glanced up towards him, the two of you made eye contact in the rear view mirror. 

It lasted no more than a few seconds but the unspoken sentiment was clear and mutual. You were a true Shelby now and that meant that Tommy would do whatever it took to keep you alive. It was clear that you’d do the same for him as well, outside of what was expected as a member of the gang. 

Finding people to truly trust and love unconditionally in this life was difficult, whether it was family, friends, or spouses -  but you were finally that person. Arthur had found that love and security in you as a spouse and Tommy had found the same in you as your brother-in-law. For once, he felt that a small part of him could be happy because when he looked back and saw the way the deep, worrisome crinkles around Arthur’s eyes softened when he held you close, he knew that his brother had found something to live for. 

[waywardnerd67]

TFWB - Chap 5 Our Bar

Summary: Jared and the boys head out to their favorite bar to meet up with Jared’s childhood best friend. Characters: Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Misha Collins, Rachel Sanderson (OFC), Reader Pairing: No Pairing Warnings: Fluff Word Count: 1500 Squared Filled: Best Friends Since Childhood A/N #1: This is for @spnfluffbingo​ card

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Jared was in the backyard laying out on a blanket with a book he had picked up from a resale shop. Having Misha in the house brought a whole new dynamic especially since he and Jensen were becoming close friends. At times, it had Jared missing his best friend from home. They talked all the time on the phone and wrote to each other every week. It just was not the same as seeing her in person.

“Jare, Rachel is on the phone.” Jensen called out from the back door.

He quickly got up taking the receiver from him, “Hey Rach, how was KU?”

She groaned loudly as he chuckled, “It was as I expected, bor-ring. However it appeased the ‘rents so now I can finally visit the college I want to see.”

His heart thumped rapidly against his chest, “You mean…”

“That’s right, you better make room for me because I will be down a week from tomorrow!” the excitement in her voice was contagious.

“Rach, that’s wonderful news! I can’t wait to show you around Austin and campus.” Jared was genuinely giddy with joy for his best friend to visit.

They met in grade school when a bully was pushing her around and he swooped in to save her. They were inseparable after that and as they got older the rumors of them dating ran wild. They were each other’s dates to every school dance and the few relationships they each had never lasted long. Every girl Jared every girl dated always ended up jealous of Rachel and with good reason.

In his eyes, Rachel was perfect in every way. No one ever lived up to her, but Jared was never brave enough to admit his feelings for her. His fear being that he would ruin their friendship if she did not feel the same way. He buried his feelings down deep and was grateful to have her in his life.

“Jared!” she called out grabbing his attention again.

“Sorry, Jensen was distracting me. What did you say?”

She chuckled, “I said I’m going to be meeting up with another friend of mine at The Tiniest Bar in Austin. Is that an actual bar?”

Jared started laughing, “Yes it is. Actually, it’s the bar that us guys always go to on Friday nights. They have great drink specials. We could just meet you there and who is the friend?”

“Oh, her name is (Y/N). We had some of the same classes at community college and we really hit it off. She is living in the dorms at UT-Austin and is letting me crash there.”

Jared’s heart dropped slightly that she was not going to be staying with him. The wave of sadness passed quickly as her excitement seeped through. She told him all the details of her planned trip and set on a time to meet up at the bar. It was only when Jensen was tackling him to get off the phone that he ended the call.

“So, I finally get to meet the amazing Rachel.” He chuckled as Jared nodded quickly coming to a terrifying realization.

What happened if she met Jensen and they fell for each other. Red flashed before his eyes as a low growl bubbled in his chest. Countless times, Jared watched as women fell head over heels for Jensen and he was sure Rachel would do the same. That thought alone made Jared want to punch something.

“Who’s Rachel?” Misha’s calm voice pierced through the maddening thoughts going through Jared’s mind.

“Rachel is Jared’s best friend from San Antonio who he happens to be in love with.”

Jared’s eyes snapped over to Jensen’s who gave him an all knowing look, “How…?”

He rolled his olive eyes, “Please, you would have to be blind not to see that you have feelings for her. I just don’t understand why you won’t tell her and ask her out.”

“I… well… I have my reasons. I’m gonna go work on some homework.” Jared stammered walking away from both his roommates, his cheeks burning as he walked up the stairs.

The week flew by and Jared found himself nervously pacing in his room an hour before having to meet Rachel. He had not noticed Misha leaning against his door frame with a look of concern on his face.

“You’re going to wear out the floor if you keep pacing.”

Jared stopped rubbing the back of his neck and chuckling, “Yeah I guess you’re right.” He sat down on his bed bouncing his leg.

Misha came in shutting the door and sat beside him, “What’s going on? You’re obnoxiously nervous.” He gently placed his hand on Jared’s knee to keep his leg from bouncing.

“It’s nothing.” He mumbled looking down to the floor.

“Uh-huh. Jared, no judgements from me. I just think you should get whatever it is off your chest before going out. Less chance of you making a fool of yourself.”

He eyed Misha suspiciously before giving in, “Jensen was right. I do have feelings for Rachel and I’m… I’m terrified that if she meets you guys then…”

His roommate’s blue eyes softened , “You think she will fall for one of us and vice versa.”

He nodded the weight of his confession making his shoulders slump over. Misha patted his back, “Here’s how I see it. One, you can keep your feelings bottled up like you are and push her towards another man. Or two, you can grow a pair and tell her how you feel. Now, I have a sneaky feeling that number two will reap you more than number one. Don’t worry about Jensen or me because we won’t break the code.”

Jared smiled, “Bros before hoes.”

Misha stood up laughing, “Exactly. Now get ready because we’re leaving in ten.”

“Misha?” Jared called out as he turned in the doorway, “Thanks.”

He gave him a short nod before exiting the room. Jared quickly put on his favorite button down shirt, faded jeans and boots. He ran his hands through his long hair and made his way downstairs to find his roommates waiting for him. They piled into Jensen’s Pathfinder and headed off to their favorite bar.

Upon entering The Tiniest Bar in Austin, Jared did a quick scan of the small establishment not seeing Rachel anywhere. It had been almost a year since he last saw her and was worried he might not recognize her. They grabbed a table near the back ordering a bucket of beer. Jared’s eyes snapped over to the door every time he heard it chime. Finally, Jensen challenged him to a dart game to distract him.

He was getting ready to throw when suddenly a pair of small arms wrapped around his waist, “Gotch ya, Jare!”

Rachel’s sweet voice was music to his ears as he turned not hesitating to pick her up into a big hug. Her joyful laugh filled his ears as she held onto him tightly. He did not want to let go of her, but did as she quickly pulled someone up to him.

“(Y/N) this is Jared. Jared this is (Y/N).”

They shook hands saying hello to one another. She was pretty with soft (Y/C/H) hair pulled back and lovely (Y/C/E) eyes looking away bashfully. (Y/N) was in a UT-Austin t-shirt, jeans and black Converse. He looked up to see Misha elbowing Jensen who was staring right at her. Jared immediately exhaled the breath he had been unknowingly holding.

“Rachel and (Y/N) these two knuckleheads are my roommates, Misha and Jensen.” He went in between the two pulling them into the little huddle.

Misha elbowed Jensen in the side when he didn’t reach out to shake the girls’ hands. He stuttered through his name as his eyes never left (Y/N). Jared chuckled as he motioned for two more beers. The five of them fell into easy conversation and the night ended up being one of the best Jared had in a long time.

The guys walked the girls to their car and Jared was able to get Rachel to himself for a moment, “So what do you think so far?”

Her arms were around his waist as they walked down the street. She looked up smiling, pulling something from her purse to show him. She broke away from him as he read the first few lines of the letter.

“You already applied!” He stopped for a moment as she nodded excitedly.

“Of course I did. Honestly, I already had my mind made up since you were here and (Y/N). Of course, my parents think I’m just following you down here, but honestly I just like their education courses better than any other school.”

Jared hugged and picked her up twirling her around. Everyone else had stopped when they heard her giggling. They caught up to the rest of the group and suddenly everything seemed to be perfectly in place making Jared beyond happy.

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[howtfdidthishappen]

Howdy hey, I’m Threa, and this is drawing clothes advice.

First thing to point out, clothes aren’t skin tight all the time. They should be slightly off the body, specifically for torso and lower leg. Sleeves are also a biggy with this.

Second, add folds. Your character is wearing clothes, not a carb board box. Also I get it, trying to draw actual folds in clothes can look rather intimidating, but it’s really simple. Just try it, and there’s only a few things to keep in mind; how the fold affects the rest of the fabric, and how large are the folds. That’s it, keep that in mind and you can do folds pretty damn easily. Also no, they don’t have to be perfectly realistic. As long as it all generally flows all the same way it’ll look just fine.

SPEAKING OF FLOW, this is back to the cardboard thing. It is CLOTH and it MOVES and it is normally NOT STIFF. Everything flows in a similar direction or result of body position. Standing still? The cloth folds down. Turning right? Folds right, tighter on the right side than the left. <- and vice versa. Also when I say folds left it doesn’t have to be a horizontal fold, it can be vertical as well, and should be especially on the torso, but still flow in the right direction.

Here’s some things I wish I knew when I started drawing clothes.

First, when drawing the sleeves it’s not two or three large folds, it’s mostly smaller folds unless it’s a flowy shirt. If it is a flowy shirt folds will go up and down, not side to side.

Second, folds near the base of the neck or on the shoulders are few, small, and they go in towards the chest. Clothing structure is a thing, you won’t have to worry about it often but if something looks wrong take it into account.

Third, opposite to the sleeves the torso has larger folds, and the folds GO AROUND THE WHOLE BODY, NOT JUST THE FRONT. And again if it’s a flowy shirt the folds will go down rather than across.

Fourth, the elbows and knees are where the most and smallest folds are. If you don’t include those smaller folds it better be tight fucking clothes or else you’ll be asking yourself for days what you’re doing wrong.

Fifth, in the groin area for pants folds go horizontally, and sometimes diagonally depending on leg positions. If they go up in some weird curve then they look super tight and uncomfortable, and that’s just not a good look. They are normally straight lines, but they’re not supposed to highlight your crotch.

Sixth, the cuffs of clothes, the ends. This depends on material and construction. For pants they normally either go straight down or slightly out. For baggier pants they will be affected by wind and shit, don’t forget that. For shirts, t shirts will go out, if it’s a tighter shirt then it will look like it’s going in. The cuffs normally are stiffer due to the hem line, BUT THAT DOESNT MEAN THEY DONT FLOW.

There we go, have fun with that. Do a clothes study sometimes as well. That means just drawing clothes, be it on a mannequin or just by themselves. When doing a clothes study never do too complicated of poses until you’re very comfortable of naturally drawing how the clothes flow, otherwise you’re getting to ahead of yourself and it’s going to slow your progress.

[c0ffeebee]

Headcanon time: Considering how mean he is to everyone else, especially the other siblings, why do you think Diego's so nice to Klaus? I won't accept "Because he loves Klaus" as an answer because that's too easy lol. I have my own hcs on this but I want to hear yours.

honestly? my headcanon is he's in love with klaus since they were teens lol

but in all seriousness i just believe they were pretty close as children (see, secret handshake, sitting across from each other at the table, diego looking straight at klaus as soon as shit starts to go down in the house), then ben died and they all left the academy, and then... well i truly 100% believe klaus and diego were the only ones who staid in some way connected to each other in those 13 years they spent away from home, i mean i've talked about it before, but five was missing, ben was dead, luther never left the house, allison's in la, vanya wrote that book, but klaus and diego? they both were in the same town and klaus was part of the streets diego was patrolling, they should have crossed ways pretty often, i even think diego took care of klaus when klaus found himself in trouble, like you know bailing him out of jail, taking him somewhere to eat, etc. so i think klaus is the closest friend diego's got after eudora, but with eudora they have romantic history which makes it complicated and all that, and klaus is just... klaus, someone familiar, someone who understands him even without words, because he lived through some of the shit diego lived through, they both just remained parts of each other's lives through the years, i wholeheartedly believe that, so i don't think they want to screw that up, they don't have many people like that in their lives

so that's why diego is pretty chill with klaus right from the start, and vice versa, i mean remember that scene with five in the kitchen, diego who's hostile towards basically everybody and everything was sitting on the table right next to klaus, really close, with his elbow touching klaus' naked knee, he's always ok with klaus touching him and he's always initiating physical contact with klaus himself

then also klaus being the only one to laugh at diego's "he was a monster" speech, klaus cheering for diego as he and luther were fighting, it was obvious to me they were closer with each other than with anyone else right from the start of the show

but of course after they come through some similar traumas yet again as the season progresses (they parallel each other in many senses) their relationship become even closer, they now can understand each other in a way no one else really can, and it adds to what they had with each other prior, and also their love for dave and eudora and the loss they both experienced the same night taught them to open up even more to each other, which of course brings them even closer together, forces them to dependent on each other in some sense

so yeah, that's my thoughts on it, i just believe they were always close, and what we can sum this answer up with is: yep, it might be too easy, but diego does love him, no matter in what sense

[tofeartheunknown]

Late Night Distress Signals

Requested: Can I request a TonyxReader fiction where she’s out for a late night walk while Tony’s in his lab and she gets attacked. While she fights back her phone breaks, immediately sending a distress signal to Tony who panics and goes to rescue her and when he gets her back home safe and sound he makes sure she’s not too badly injured and they cuddle for the rest of the night?

Tony Stark x Reader

Warnings: assault. attempted rape. violence. mention of blood? minimal editing.

After having a few drinks with some old college friends Y/N, being a responsible adult, decides against driving home. In hindsight, she should have hailed a cab or called Tony, who would have either picked her up himself or sent Happy. However, after stepping out of that hot and stuffy bar, the fresh air felt far too nice to not enjoy. Besides, the bar is only a few blocks away from the Avengers Facility, and Tony is most likely still up and working in the lab.

The calm atmosphere is distributed by three rowdy men stepping around the corner of an older brick building and into view. Their voices slowly come to a stop when they notice Y/N, causing her to momentarily halt. Her hand slides into her back pocket, gripping onto her phone and pulling it out before going to contacts. Once she finds Tony's contact, she starts walking again.

As she attempts to pass the men, she avoids eye contact. Opting to look straight ahead, keeping the three in her peripheral vision. she know self-defense, but she can still feel a bit of a buzz from the alcohol so her reflexes are slow. That being said, she was not fast enough to dodge the hand that grasped her left arm, turning her around. Her right hand, the one that is currently holding her phone, came up to punch him. She landed a pretty good hit on the right side of his jaw, but he was quick to recover. He saw Y/N’s phone and just before either of his friends could help him, he grabbed it, letting go of her left arm. He threw the device onto the concrete, where it bounces up and lands a few feet away. One of his buddies grabbed Y/N’s shoulder while he walks over to the phone and stomped on it, glass and plastic littering the ground around it. Y/N brought her arm up and threw it back, elbowing whoever grabbed her in the nose.

At this point, She is hoping Tony is awake and that the safety feature he developed and installed into her phone works.

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Guns N' Roses Sweet Child O' Mine range through the speakers of the lab as Tony Stark waved through digital pages of data and designs. Currently, he's working out a few bugs in one of his newest suits. He was also trying to pass the time until Y/N gets back. They have been together for such a long time, it feels unnatural for Tony to lay in bed without her, and vice versa.

Suddenly the music is interrupted by the Tower's AI. "Sir, it appears that Miss Y/L/N's cell phone is no longer functional."

Tony furrowed his brows, unease settling into his bones. "Are you sure she didn't just turn it off?" Tony asked, he was never able to properly test the new safety feature on Y/N phone so he knows that it could be deciphering the phone being shut down as the phone breaking.

"I do not believe so. The last display on her screen was your contact information and the cell phones sensors picked up an elevated heart rate." This caused Tony to quickly get up and make his way to the hanger.

Once he was in his suit he told Friday to take him to the location of the signal.

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Y/N is not sure how much longer she can fight. her lip is bleeding, the one who hit her wore a class ring. At least, it was the size of a class ring, but she could not see it well enough in the dark.

She reeled her arm back, ready to swing at one of them when it was suddenly grabbed and pulled behind her back. The third guy grabbed her other arm and took a fistful of her hair, pulling her head back.

"You got some fight in you, huh, Sweetcheeks?" The one who crushed her phone spoke inches from her face. He pushed her back against the alley wall, his friends on each side of her. "We'll fix that."

She felt tears form in her eyes and closed them, praying that Tony would show up. Then, she heard the familiar sound of one of Tony's suits' blasters and the weight of being held down was suddenly gone. She opened her eyes when she heard groans fill the alley. A few tears fell while She looked at the three men, sprawled out in pain. A hand gently touched her shoulder and she jumped, turning to hit whoever was there.

"It's just me, Y/N/N. It's ok." Tony assured, and was quick to step back while holding his hands up in defense.

With shaky breaths, she lowered her fist. "I-I want to g-go home." she stuttered.

"I know. Come on, let's go home." Tony's voice soothed her; she stepped into his open arms, clinging to his suit.

Tony picked her up with an arm behind her back and the other under her knees. His mask came down and they were flying home.

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"Sorry," Tony mumbled for the 3rd time since he started to properly clean her busted lip, "all done." He stood from the bed, grabbing bloody q-tips and tissues. He walked into the bathroom, throwing the trash away and putting the ointment back in the medicine cabinet.

They’ve hardly spoken to each other since arriving home; Y/N took a shower, putting on a t-shirt and shorts afterward. She didn't say anything when Tony insisted on cleaning her lip, and she figured he understood her silence since he has not said much either. She’s still a bit shaken up as she lay under the covers of the king-size bed. Tony slides in next to her, on his back. Y/N moves over toward him, wrapping an arm around his stomach and laying her head on his torso. His arm wraps around her shoulders in response.

"I'm so sorry I-" Tony started, but she was quick to shut him down.

"Don't. You weren't there, this is in no way your fault." she lifts her head and shifts so she is hovering over him. "If you didn't show up, something much worse would've happened." her hand caressed his cheek to reassure him.

"I just want to make sure you're safe when I'm not around. I don't know what I'd do if something happens to you. It scares me." Tony confessed. It does not come as a surprise to Y/N, as he has made this confession time and time again. Though the circumstances were less serious, it still caused her heart to swell.

"You may not be able to protect me all the time, but I am not going anywhere. Not for a very long time. I love you, Tony." Exhaustion is laced in her tone. she lay her head back on his chest, her arm still wrapped around his stomach, and pulls herself closer.

Tony holds her tight and kisses her head. "I love you too." He whispered to her before turning off the lamp on the bedside table.