#self-adjusting umbrella | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thefallennightmare · 3 months

Text

Just Pretend-Twenty Four

*gif created by me. feel free to use, simply give credit*

Parings: Noah Sebastian x Musician! Reader

Warnings/Tropes: language, angst, fluff, smut, star-crossed lovers, right person/wrong time, cheating, talks of mental abuse.

Summary: “I can wait for years, heaven knows I’m not getting over you.” A story about two star-crossed lovers, that always find their way back because their souls are entwined. The universe desperately attempts to bring them together, no matter what the cost.

Authors Note: Did y'all bring your umbrellas and washcloths? Cause it gets a bit messy in this.

FUCK YOU. EAT SHIT. KILL GOD. DETHRONE.

We are Fallenvvitch. Goodnight.

🪽🔮

Collaborating With: @thescarlettvvitch(better give her all the love as well)

Tags: @thescarlettvvitch @ozwriterchick @waake-meee-up @notingridslurkaccount @niicoleleigh @sammyjoeee @xxrainstorm @dominuslunae @notmaddihealy @malice-ov-mercy @crimson-calligraphyx @iknownothingpeople @writethrough @thebadchic @blackveilomens Claudia on Tumblr @tobe-written @blacksoul-27 @loeytuan98 @loverofagoodbeard @comfortcharactercraze @lma1986 @plutonikchaos1 @spicywhenspeaking @lyschko666 @somewhere-diamond @hi-fancy-seeing-you-here @koskeepsake @bngurngheart @shilohrosechicken @emzandthevoid @casangel1986 @qualityvoidcollectorsblog @myownthoughts12 @jilliemiw86 @bellaboo967 @halloweenaesthetic @collapsedglasshouses @iamamatus

NOAH

“So are you saying there’s a new Bad Omens music video on the horizon?”

With a trick smile, I adjusted my position in the chair and shrugged to the camera on my computer. “Uh, yeah. I can’t tell you which one but it’ll be out there soon.”

The group of people who were interviewing me via Zoom cheered until one of them asked the next question. It went like this for a few more minutes and I did my best to pay attention and not reach for my phone. Tonight was important and even with how poised and professional I looked during the interview, my knee was bouncing under my desk with nerves. Everything had been planned down to the last detail, Michael giving me shit for stressing out about nothing.

“It’s Y/N, you know she’d be fine with just an easel and new paints,” he chuckled while watching me set up Y/N’s studio.

I paused setting up the plants on a shelf to turn towards him. “I know. But she deserves this; all of this. She needs a place to escape by herself for a little while.”

“You have to relax,” Michael rested his hands on my shoulders, looking directly into my eyes. “You need to enjoy the new beginnings of your relationship. You and Y/N love each other, that’s what matters. Not how many plants she has.”

Shaking my head from the earlier memory, I hummed towards the interviewer. “I’m sorry, what was the question?”

She chuckled. “We’ve seen some growth vocally on this new record from the last. Can you give us a little insight on that?”

With a nod, I divulged how I recently started working with a vocal coach who helped bring out this side of me that I had always hidden under a veil of self-doubt and insecurities.

Suddenly my phone buzzed on the desk and I quickly peered down at it, my heart jumping into my throat.

Angel 🪽: I’m walking out of therapy right now, I’ll be home and ready to go in an hour!

While the interviewers chatted amongst themselves briefly, I typed out a fast response before taking a long drink of my coffee.

Me: No rush, angel. We have all night. I should be finishing up this interview soon.

Another question and another answer. It went on like this for a few minutes until I noticed another text from Y/N.

Angel 🪽: You already got coffee?🥺

My heart dropped when I saw that emoji because I could vividly picture her soft lips in a pout just like it. Her bright eyes wide.

Me: Don’t do that, you know I can’t resist that face you pull. Jolly brought it from Fika. Astrid made an extra by mistake. We can swing by and get you one.

Thankfully, my hands were just off camera so no one who was watching would be able to see my texting.

Wait.

Me: Wait, are you watching? You little sneak.

Deciding to give my attention back to the interview, I finished it within the next thirty minutes and thanked them with a wide smile before clicking out of Zoom. Standing up from the desk in the studio, I read Y/N’s message as I trotted down the stairs toward my bedroom.

Angel 🪽: Of course, I’m watching. I watch all of your interviews. I also love teasing you. I already stopped by Fika after therapy. I will say that I’m excited about what you have planned for later.

Veering left instead of right, I stepped inside Y/N’s art studio and stood in the middle of the room, assessing every inch of it to make sure it was absolutely perfect. The memory of earlier today stumbling inside with both arms full of bags that contained a variety of different paint and drawing supplies. The guys merely smirked as they saw me struggling even having a bag hanging from my teeth before I motioned to the outside with my head and mumbled two words.

Help. Car.

The studio was perfect and spotless when I made sure that everything was where it needed to be. As I headed across the hall into my bedroom to finish getting ready, I sent a text to Y/N; one she responded to almost immediately.

Me: I can’t wait. I love you.

Angel 🪽: I love you too, mochi.

READER

“Oh my god, I’m stuffed. I can’t eat another bite,” I groaned while stepping out of Noah’s car as he held the door open for me.

“Greek was a good choice, huh?” He chuckled as he walked around the car towards me; a little bell jingling behind him.

I looped my arm through his and rested my head against his shoulder. “You know I’d never turn down a chance for Greek food.”

“I never thought I’d be such a fan of it. I’ve always thought it was just gyros. The spinakorprita was good.”

I stifled my laugh into his bicep. “It’s spanakopita.”

“Spa-na-ko-pi-ta.”

Noah sounded out slowly and I kissed his shoulder. “Good job! Pretty soon I’ll have you fluent in Greek and we can visit Greece.”

He brushed a kiss along my forehead and I peered down at the feline that rubbed his face along Noah’s leg.

“Are you sure he’s okay on the harness?” I bit my lip. “He can’t slip out of it?”

“Salem is fine, angel. He loves this thing. You should have seen him running through the grass when I had him a couple of months ago.”

To reassure me worries, however, Noah picked up Salem to hold him against his chest, our cat purring loudly as I pressed a kiss on his head.

“Thank you for letting me bring him. I figured it would be good to get him acclimated here in case you have to watch him for me,” I said as we began walking up towards the house.

“I’ve been wanting to show him the new cat tree I bought him,” Noah smiled.

When we came to a stop at his front door I untangled myself from him and then reached inside my purse for my camera.

“Angel,” he started.

Waving him off, I backed away a few feet and motioned to him to stay there. “Just one picture in front of the house. You look so cute tonight. Plus, I need a picture of my boys.”

Even with the dim street light but the bright glow of the moon, I saw the red hue cover Noah’s cheeks with my compliment, and eventually, threw up his trademark peace sign with one hand and continued to hold Salem in the other.

Snapping a few different poses, I pocketed the Polaroids after they printed and skipped back toward Noah, who had opened the front door and allowed me to step inside the quiet house.

“Where is everyone?” I wondered.

Noah hung up his keys on the hook next to the front door. “Movies. The local theater is playing the old Japanese version of Godzilla.”

“You turned that down?” I asked with wide eyes. “You love old Japanese movies.”

“No place I’d rather be than right here, with you,” he mused while wrapping his arms around me to place a chaste kiss on my lips.

“How sweet,” I cooed while patting his chest.

Noah let Salem off the harness so he could explore the house, he immediately found the cat tree and curled up in the top bed part.

Something was bothering Noah, however, no matter how bright he smiled. I could sense it in the way he kept fidgeting with his hands during dinner to how often he drummed his fingers against the steering wheel on the way back to his house.

“What’s on your mind?” I questioned while palming his cheek.

He left a kiss on the inside of my palm. “I want to show you something.”

“You do?” My heart fluttered.

Linking our fingers together, Noah led me down the hallway towards his room, but we veered left instead to stop in front of a closed door. With our hands on his chest, I felt the rapid beat of his heart and let out a low laugh.

“Mochi, your heart is racing,” I said.

He nodded. “I’ve been working on something the last few months since I’ve moved in trying to make it perfect. I think I’ve annoyed both my roommates and yours.”

“Chase and Malcolm know about this?” I questioned.

“Yeah. They sent me some of the products you use, your favorite brands; things like that. I wanted to make sure that you don’t have to worry about lugging things back and forth,” Noah shifted on his feet.

“Okay, what is it?” I bounced on my heels with excitement. “You’ve already surprised me with the vanity. What do you have hiding behind that door?

I gasped. “Is it a puppy?! No, wait. That wouldn’t make sense.”

Noah chuckled while cupping my face to leave a kiss on my forehead. “No puppy. Maybe down the road.”

“Well, will you show me already? I’m getting antsy!” I patted his chest before messing with his chain between my fingers.

I still wore my matching set, never taking them off.

“Close your eyes,” he ordered.

With a pout, I tried to get out of doing it but instead, Noah covered my vision with his large hand. Feeling his presence behind me, I heard the door click open and he led me inside the room. The hand over my eyes shook so I grazed my fingers over the back of it, letting him know that he didn’t have to be nervous.

“I want to make sure you love it, angel,” Noah pressed a kiss behind my ear. “OK. Are you ready?”

“Yes!” I exclaimed.

Blinking a few times to adjust to the light, a hand went to my mouth as a gasp fell from my lips. It was overwhelming and almost too many different things to take in, I didn’t know where to look first.

There were four different-sized easels in each corner of the room.

An angled desk in front of the large window, one that people would use to draw on.

Three shelves above that desk held various paints, brushes, and charcoals.

Plants littered almost every inch of space that wasn't overtaken with painting supplies.

The closet in the room was wide open, showcasing even more stock of supplies and different size canvases.

The best part? Hardwood floors.

With tears in my eyes, I slowly turned back to Noah, standing in the doorway with his hands behind his back.

“So?”

“I-,” I cleared my throat when the words came out jumbled. “You did this?”

“Yeah. I wanted to give you your own space here. To come too whenever you wanted, even if I wasn’t home,” he wrung his hands together.

“Really?” I choked out. “Don’t you think you should maybe check with the guys about having me come over here all the time unannounced?”

“Angel,” he took a step towards me and grabbed my hands, his thumb brushing mine. “Jesse was the one that suggested I give you a key.”

My eyes doubled. “A key?”

Noah now dug into his pocket to pull out a black key, gently setting it in my open palm. “I want you to have a place to come and stay. I’m not asking you to move completely in, but if it's getting a little stuffy in that small apartment with Chase and Malcolm, you and Salem can come to spend the night here.”

I let out a small chuckle, a few tears falling from my eyes, and then held the key close to my chest. “You gave me all of this but I have nothing in return, Noah.”

He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and mused. “Your love is enough, Y/N.”

“I love you. Thank you for all of this.” I pressed my head against his chest while wrapping my arms around him.

“I love you too.” He kissed the top of my head. “Now, welcome to the other part of our first date.”

I gazed up at him through lashes. “We’re going to paint?”

“Now, I’m not a professional like you,” he snorted before pulling me over to two easels that were next to each other. “But I thought it would be a cute idea.”

“I would not call myself a professional.”

“Still better than me,” Noah said.

I raised a playful brow while crossing my arms over my chest. “Want to make this interesting?”

He smirked while resting his hands on my hips. “I’m all ears, angel.”

“Whoever has the worst painting has to get the winner's birthday tattooed on them.”

“Oh, it’s a bet,” he sealed it with a kiss.

Noah pulled out the little stool for me to which I sat with a smile, pulling up the ends of my yellow maxi skirt to sit comfortably. While Noah busied himself with setting up music to play from the Bluetooth speaker, I removed my jacket to set it neatly on the ground at my feet.

“Do you want an old shirt of mine to change into?” He asked while pointing to my white top.

I noticed that Noah had shed his gray button-up and was wearing a blank tank top. I licked my lips at the site of his muscles, the tattoos suddenly seeming more fitting now that he had been working out a lot more.

Remind me to thank Ash.

Snapping my eyes away from the broadness of his chest, I shook my head. “I’ll be fine, mochi. Thank you though. I don't typically make a mess.”

“Hm, the paint stains on the dining room carpet say otherwise,” he teased.

Playfully smacking Noah’s arm, we both got settled as the music filtered into the air and I got lost in my mind, painting whatever my soul called for. We found ourselves in a peaceful quiet, simply enjoying each other's presence. Every so often I would glance over to Noah, making sure that he was enjoying himself only because I knew painting wasn't for everyone.

He had narrowed eyes of precision as he stroked the brush wave after wave against the canvas. From this angle, I couldn’t see what he was painting. Instead, I leaned over to rummage in my purse, pulled out my Polaroid camera, and snapped a few shots of Noah before one of me, with him in the background. I set the pictures on the desk next to me before getting back to my painting.

“How’s it going over there?”

Noah’s soothing voice brought me out of my trance and I glanced over at him with a smile. “Good, I’m almost finished. What about you?”

“Promise you won't laugh?”

“Of course, mochi.”

I made a show of crossing my heart but let out a squeal of laughter when Noah hooked his foot around the foot of the stool and dragged me over towards him. He gave me a quick kiss but still wouldn’t let me see what he painted.

“I’ve been told I’m a great artist, granted that was in the second grade,” Noah chuckled before finally showing me his canvas and what he spent the last thirty minutes painting.

I covered my mouth with a hand not to stifle a gasp but instead a laugh. He painted stick figure versions of him, me, and Salem in front of a house; even with the bright yellow sun in the corner of the canvas.

“Wow,” I nodded. “All I’ll have to say is don’t quit your day job, mochi.”

Noah scoffed. “Fuck, that was cold. But it's true. There’s a reason why I’m a musician, not a painter. I’ll leave that to you, angel.”

“I love it!” I beamed while ruffling his hair and laying a gentle kiss on his cheek. “I’ll hang it up above my bed.”

“What did you paint?” He wondered.

“Oh nothing too important, just some abstract colors. I didn’t really have an actual vision. I kind of let the paint speak to me as I go,” I said.

When I showed him my painting, Noah’s eyes glinted and he smiled. “I like it. I’ll have to hang this above my bed.”

“So I think it’s safe to say that I won the bet? And now you have to get my birthday tattooed on you,” I grinned while going about to clean up the paint and brushes.

When Noah didn’t respond, I glanced over my shoulder to see that he had a very sly smirk playing on his lips and I popped my hip out, resting a hand on it.

“Noah Sebastian. Did you purposely lose this bet so you could get my birthday tattooed?”

He hummed along to the song playing on the speaker, still not answering my question but never getting rid of that smirk on his face. His silence, however, was exactly the answer I needed.

What a cheeky little...

With the dirty paintbrush in my hand, I flicked it over at Noah, the leftover paint spraying over his chest when he turned towards me. His eyes bounced down to the paint splatter over his black tank top to me, a shocked expression on his face.

“Did you just throw paint on me?”

I shrugged. “Oops?”

“Really? Oops?” Noah dipped a larger paintbrush into a handful of different colors before throwing it all over my face and neck.

“NOAH!” I screeched with a boisterous laugh.

Suddenly, he picked me up to twirl me in the air before tackling me onto the ground then started painting my arms and neck as I found underneath him.

“I’m sorry!” I giggled while trying to reach for the paintbrush I dropped; fingertips grasping at it.

“I’m sorry, I can’t hear you. I’m busy painting a masterpiece,” Noah responded, painting shapes on my cheek now.

With my fingers finally grasping the brush, I flicked some paint into his hair, covering it in bright pinks, blues, and yellows. Our peals of laughter overpowered the music still playing in the room and eventually, after we both were covered in pain, I threw up my hands in surrender.

“OK!” I chuckled breathlessly. “You win. You win.”

Noah kissed me, smearing the paint over my lips. “Damn straight I do.”

Somehow in the shuffle of our paint fight, I managed to straddle Noah, who lost his tank top; it was destroyed due to all the paint. So he lay shirtless underneath me and I couldn’t help but bite my lip at the sight of him with his arm propping his head up and his tattoos on full display for only me to devour.

Reaching up towards my easel, I grabbed a few different paints and clean brushes before settling back on Noah’s hips, getting to work on painting the flowers of his chest piece.

He hummed at the feeling of the cool brush and let his eyes flutter shut for a long moment, reveling in the feeling of me on top of him. And not in a sexual way but in a way of knowing that I was here and not going anywhere.

“Am I an adult coloring book for you?” Noah questioned after he took a few Polaroid pictures of me painting him.

“Maybe,” I teased with a glance down at his face.

His chest was a vibrant picture of greens, reds, and oranges. I was working on painting the headband in the girl's hair when he spoke again.

“Well don’t stop, I like this form of meditation.”

Once the round frame was painted gold, I adjusted my position so I could sign my name just above the words across his sternum.

Noah opened one eye and smiled. “I see you signed your work.”

“I did because you’re not it anymore.” I pressed a soft kiss along each letter.

“I’m not what?” He breathed in pleasure, slightly arching off the ground.

“You’re no longer desolate,” I promised into his skin then took a couple of Polaroid pictures of my masterpiece.

Noah let out a soft noise from the back of his throat when his strong hand wrapped around the back of my neck to pull me down to his lips, we met in a fiery, air-bending kiss. Every single fiber of my soul blazed with such passion I melted into his embrace, folding into him as we became one. His tongue brushed along my bottom lip, lapping up the strawberry chapstick I applied in the car earlier, him humming in delight.

I adjusted myself as I lay flat on Noah, his hands running up and down the skin of my back underneath my shirt. The heat radiated off of him making my insides flare with so much desire that I was practically burning up at his touch.

“Noah,” I whined when his lips began attacking my neck.

When he pulled away, his almond eyes gazed up at me with pupils blown wide with lust; pure black over taking his eyes.

“How about I run you a bath?” His thumb brushed along my bottom lip, voice hoarse from our kiss.

“I’d like that a lot,” I beamed.

NOAH

I sat on the edge of the tub to check the temperature of the water making sure it was perfect before adding the bubbles and bath salts. As it began to fill up, I peered through the open bathroom door to gaze over at Y/N who was sitting at her vanity taking off her makeup. My heart swelled in my chest when I noticed how relaxed she was, as if she was meant to be there; here with me.

Sitting here in observation, it struck me like a bolt of lightning. I’d been so lost in constructing scenarios for tonight that I was surprised to see how far I’d come. Y/N’s movements were so fluid, so serene as she gently wiped everything off her face and neck. I’d never been so jealous of a makeup towelette before.

Observing her using the vanity table I fussed over for weeks made my stomach flutter, the ongoing moment of quiet bliss was by far my favorite way to let time tick by.

Waiting here offers me time to let my mind escape the boundaries of the ordinary. From where I sat here in the bathroom, watching her carefully with the faintest of smiles, I knew I wanted this view for the rest of my life. After all the bullshit endured on and off over the years, for both of us, this was what I got to see.

Watching Y/N was such a gift, a blessing of time. Something I vowed right now that I wouldn’t take for granted.

Shaking off the excess water after checking the temp, I turned off the tub and walked into the bedroom with a light spring in my step. I snuck up behind Y/N and rested my chin on top of her head, watching her smile in the reflection of the mirror.

“Your bath is ready, angel,” I informed.

She reached for my left hand to lay a gentle kiss on the floral design. “You mean, our bath is ready.”

I raised a brow at her when she stood and led me into the bathroom with her.

“Wait, what?”

Y/N chuckled at the slight confusion in my voice. “You heard me. You’re covered in paint too, Noah. You need to clean up.”

I rubbed the back of my neck as we stood together in the bathroom. “I was-uh- going to take a shower once you were finished. I don’t want to pressure you into-.”

“Stop overthinking this,” she cupped both sides of my face and pressed a kiss to my nose. “I want you to join me if you’re comfortable with it.”

I may have nodded a little too eagerly but it didn't bother her.

“I’d love that, angel.”

While she shed her clothes, I stepped out of my pants and briefs, both of us watching each other with such inferno in our eyes and when we were naked, Y/N reached for my hand. She stepped into the tub first then me, positioning myself behind her. Even though it was a larger tub, it was still a snug fit for the both of us so to make sure she had enough room, I kept my long legs bent; my knees breaking the surface of the water.

“Oh this is perfect,” Y/N groaned while leaning herself into my chest.

Reaching for her shampoo, I went to work scrubbing the paint out of her hair, my nails scraping along her scalp. Her fingers traced over the rose tattoo on my knee, delicately following the design.

“What’s on your mind, angel?” I questioned after rinsing out her hair and then applying the conditioner.

“You’ve really thought about everything, huh? You have all of my products here so I don’t ever have to bring a bag over?”

The giggle that erupted from her throat made something twinge inside of me.

I kissed her shoulder. “I’ve already told you. This is your home just as much as your apartment is. We can bounce back and forth as long as you want.”

Once she was completely clean of the dried paint, Y/N turned to position herself on my lap to face me. The head of my cock brushed along her folds and I grasped at her hips, trying not to let my hormones push her too far.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

She smiled and reached for my shampoo. “You washed me. Let me wash you now.”

Sighing in content, I sat back against the tub to let Y/N wash my hair. Her fingers worked meticulously in scrubbing out the paint.

“You know,” she shifted herself on me and I choked on a groan.

Surely she had to know what she was doing.

“While I love how you look with this new haircut. I really do miss your long hair.”

I gazed up at her, tracing the drop of water that trailed down her neck, over the silver chain, and between the valley of her breasts that were just peeking above the bubbles.

I licked my lips, tongue begging to trace the water in its wake, but refrained.

“Imagine if you gave yourself bangs. You’d be in your Shelby era,” Y/N chucked while moving my hair in a certain way so I could have bangs.

I glanced over to the mirror above the sink and smirked at the sight of us in the tub, especially me with bangs.

“You think so?” I asked.

“You can pull off any look, mochi.”

She gently went about washing the paint off my chest with the loofah while I continued to watch her.

“You’re staring,” her eyes flicked up at me.

“I love you,” I brushed away the wet strands of hair from her face.

“I love you too,” Y/N kissed the freckles on my shoulder.

Once again we found ourselves in our previous position, her back to my chest, and we sat there for some time as the water began to chill. Although neither of us was ready to get out yet.

“Noah?”

Snapping my eyes open, I wrapped my arms around her. “Yeah?”

Y/N shifted a bit in my embrace and with how she was wading her fingers through the water, I knew something heavy was on her mind.

“Do you think we could listen to Bad Decisions?”

My body stilled behind her. I knew at some point we would have to talk about the songs I wrote when I was in the dark parts of my life but it still didn't prepare me for the moment it happened.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

She turned slightly in my arms to leave an array of kisses on my chest.

“I know you were in a dark place when you wrote it. It holds bad memories so I’d like to create new memories for this song with you if you want to.”

“I’d want nothing more, Y/N,” I whispered into her hairline.

After asking the Alexa device on the bathroom counter to play the song, I let my voice echo in the confines of the room. Y/N eased into my embrace as I linked our fingers together while I sang along with the words in a hushed tone. She hummed along with me as our bodies swayed together in the water.

“No God. No religion. Just you,” I vowed when the song faded out, cupping her cheek so I could kiss her lips.

Without missing a beat, Y/N returned the kiss just as slowly as I, our tongues lazily fighting for dominance as her hand snaked behind my neck to play with the wet strands of hair.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled against my lips.

Pulling away, I remained holding her face but furrowed my brows. “What are you apologizing for?”

Her gaze left mine. “I just hate that it took us so long to get here. I know we talked about everything at the party but I still feel the need to apologize for everything.”

“It’s not all on you, angel. I did some things I wasn’t proud of during our time apart and I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself for it.”

“Stop, Noah,” Y/N straddled me again to hold my chin with a stern grasp, the water sloshing around us. “You need to stop blaming yourself for what happened. I’ve already told you all is forgiven. Please stop letting that moment of weakness eat away at you.”

I blinked away the burning tears in my eyes and cleared my throat. “I only want to make better memories with you. I know in the beginning I couldn’t communicate, even now it’s a bit hard for me, especially with everything that happened. It was a mess and I apologize too.”

Y/N bent low to kiss me; it was slow at first but soon became heavy with passion when her tongue slipped between my lips. Her hips began grinding against my cock revving me up with such force, I wrapped my hand around her neck with my thumb against the pulse point in her neck.

Breaking free from the kiss, I dragged my teeth along her jawline and then down her neck.

“Noah,” Y/N breathed. “I love you.”

Her pussy was now brushing over the head of my cock and every inhibition with me wanted to plunge myself deep inside of her, feel her grip me with that vice grip I’ve missed and longed for.

Something inside of my chest rumbled before I realized it was my voice.

“How many have you loved before me?” I rasped as my tongue brushed over her nipple.

Y/N arched herself back so she could fully expose herself to me. “None.”

With one hand holding her throat, my other slipped between our bodies underneath the now-freezing water to glide over the slit between her legs. I attacked her lips again with a ravenous desire, nibbling on her bottom lip.

“And after me?” I demanded to know, slipping a finger inside of her finally.

“None,” she moaned while digging her nails into the skin of my shoulders.

Trembling fingers trace Y/N’s skin. To be in her company is a little slice of heaven as if her aura were an elixir. Emotions swam in our eyes, in our body language, and the inflections of her voice.

She was the one who I thought of when I needed to restart my heart and rekindle my soul; for so long I kept that to myself. Feeling the intensity of her intelligence, Y/N’s words were my medicine.

Deep inside I couldn’t help but feel like I’ve over-explained my feelings to compensate for what hadn’t been said. I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t shake the fear of losing her. She needed to know where I stood, where we belonged.

Soulmates.

To be a possessor? I don’t know if you’d call it that. I yearned to be her protector, the one who held her heart in my hands, just as she held mine. These large hands are secured. I would grant her any wish in my power, to be the one who will always love her.

My fingers worked in sync as I pumped them in and out of her. She squirmed in my grasp, and the head of my cock nearly slipped inside of her. Every single part of me was sensitive to her touch and it felt like any moment I would combust underneath her.

Peering up at her face, I noticed that there was worry pulling tight in her forehead.

“What’s wrong? Am I hurting you?” I asked briefly, stopping.

“No, you’re fine,” Y/N reassured me with a kiss on my forehead. “It’s just-.”

When her words trailed off, I lifted her chin with a knuckle. “Talk to me, angel.”

Her bottom lip caught between her teeth. “The water is really cold and I was hoping we could move this to the bed.”

A playful smirk pulled on my lips and just before agreeing, I was struck with a thought.

“How far do we want to take this?”

“Noah, I can’t wait anymore. I need this. I need to feel connected to you again,” she rubbed herself against me.

Shit.

Even though I was ready for this, something was keeping me from lifting her out of this tub and tossing her on the bed to feel all of her again. The last time we slept together, it ended in disaster and heartbreak. I was stronger than I was back then but I don’t know if I could recover if it were to happen again.

It won’t.

It was as if Y/N’s soul could feel the pain in mine because she cupped both sides of my face so I had no choice but to meet her gaze.

“I’m not going anywhere, Noah. I’m right here. Always.” She reassured me with a firm nod, not an ounce of lies behind her bright eyes.

I kissed her palm. “I know. Are you sure this is what you want? I don’t want you to feel like you have to rush.”

“You’re not, Noah. I want this. I need this. I need to be connected to you so deeply, that it feels like we’ll never be apart again.”

Her hand wrapped around my cock, pumping it up and down under the chilled water. By now the bubbles have dissipated and I peered through the clear water to choke on my moan.

“We won’t,” I promised.

Y/N’s warm breath fanned over the shell of my ear. “Please, Noah. I need you to fuck me.”

READER

I erupted with laughter as Noah dropped my wet body on top of the bed. Resting up on my elbows, I gazed over his naked form as he stood at the foot of the bed. Water traced every bend and groove of his muscles and the tattoos that littered his skin were something that seemed to surprise me each time.

When my gaze lowered to his cock, a starved moan fell from my lips and I licked them hungrily.

“Y/N?”

I hummed while tearing my gaze away from him to look into his eyes.

“If you feel any pain, please let me know,” he said.

“I’m okay,” I nodded. “I promise.”

Noah towered over me as he crawled up the bed, droplets of water falling from his hair onto my chest. His chain hung just above my lips as I looked up at him, spreading my legs when his fingers tickled the inside of my thigh.

“I want to make love to you tonight, angel. Will you let me?” He asked into the crook of my neck.

“Please,” I nodded vigorously.

Once more, Noah’s fingers slipped between my folds to gently tease me, slowly dragging them up and down. I whined in protest and dug my nails into his back, feeling his muscles tense from my touch. When the pad of his calloused finger pressed against my clit, I arched my chest into his, the itch I felt from the moment we were in the tub together finally being scratched.

My knees buckled when his finger twirled in fast circles and when Noah flicked his tongue over my nipple, before slowly trailing down my stomach. The warm wetness of his tongue flicked over my nub when he replaced his fingers. His lips wrapped around my clit to suck up my arousal.

“Noah,” I hissed. “So good.”

I ran my fingers through his hair to bring his mouth closer to me as the coil in my stomach pulled tight. I’d been on edge all night, I knew I wouldn’t last long. And it was like Noah knew or understood because his tongue speared inside of me, in and out, before rubbing against my clit again.

Stars danced at the edge of my vision, nearly overtaking my gaze when I looked down at Noah between my legs. His face was buried there as if he was meant to be there. I brushed away the hair from his face just for his eyes to meet mine, his tongue darting in and out of me. There was pure darkness in his eyes when his hand ran up my stomach and torso to grasp at the silver chain around my neck. He wrapped it around his fingers, pulling taunt, and I felt the breath leave my lungs briefly. Before I could say anything, Noah loosened the grip but still held onto the chain.

I raised my hips off the bed to try and get closer to his mouth when his tongue began to slow, fearing that maybe he was getting tired. But I was so close that my body ached with the release it so desperately needed.

With a tight hold against the back of his head, I tensed my legs and core when he flattened his tongue. Now I rubbed myself against his tongue and my moans echoed throughout the room. I couldn’t even warn him that I was about to cum because my orgasm washed over me without warning. Noah hummed in delight when my arousal coated his lips and chin; it dripped from him and he gathered it up with a finger before sucking it clean himself.

“Fuck,” I panted while running a hand through my hair. “That was-fuck.”

“Watching you cum is addicting, angel,” Noah buzzed with a tender kiss inside of my thigh.

As my heart rate slowed, I ran my tongue over my bottom lip and let out a deep breath in a way to center myself again.

“Missionary hurts right?” Noah asked while leaning over me.

“It depends,” I shrugged. “But if I’m being honest, it’s not my favorite.”

The smirk that pulled on his lips made me tilt my head at him. However, before I could ask what he had in mind, he swiftly turned me to lay on my stomach and raised my ass in the air.

“Noah,” I breathed while peering over my shoulder at him.

Not saying anything, he leaned over towards the nightstand to rummage through it and retrieved a condom. Lust-filled eyes watched as he ripped it open with his teeth and swiftly rolled it over the length of his cock, which was thick and dripping with his arousal.

“Stay on your knees but if you need to lay your lower half on the bed, do it. I want to make sure you're comfortable,” a gentle kiss in the middle of my back; against the snake tattooed there.

I positioned a pillow underneath me to give myself some more leverage and comfort while Noah lined his cock up with my entrance. Slowly, much to my dismay, Noah sank himself inside of me inch by inch until he was fully seated inside of me.

“Shit,” his forehead rested against my shoulder blade. “So tight. I’ve been dreaming of this feeling again, angel.”

“Me too. Oh fuck.”

I moaned when Noah pulled himself almost out, pumping just the head of his cock in between my folds. Then with a snap of his hips, his cock stretched me open again and the weight of his body pressed me farther into the pillow. His chest collided with my back every time he thrust into me and his nails dug into my hips to keep himself grounded. For extra measure, I managed to hook my feet around his ankles.

“I love you,” Noah panted in my ear.

My smile was buried in the pillow. “I love you too.”

“Any pain?”

I did my best to shake my head. “Keep going. Please.”

One hand caressed the grooves of my spine, up and down, while his other wandered around to thrum against my clit again. Noah’s pace was slow but steady, his words from earlier ringing true.

I want to make love to you.

I brushed away the hair from my face so I was able to see, noticing our reflection in the large mirror Noah had leaning against the wall next to the closet. A strangled moan crawled out of my throat when I saw the muscles in Noah’s ass clench with every drive into me. I could vividly see his cock every time he pulled out of me, my arousal glistening on the condom, before disappearing inside of me again.

“I.”

Thrust.

“Love.”

Thrust.

“You.”

I mewled at Noah’s proclamation in between each of his thrusts. “I love you too, Noah.”

The slow pace of his cock but the fast pace of his fingers worked in perfect harmony and I felt my second orgasm slowly creeping its way into my veins. The heat spread like wildfire inside of me with such intensity I began to shake underneath Noah.

“I love you, angel,” he proclaimed again then bit down on the sensitive part of the skin at the back of my neck.

I was gone, blissed out in sheer ecstasy that my words were muffled against the pillow. That wasn’t good enough for Noah so he turned my cheek so I could face him.

“I love you too,” I huffed when my orgasm was seconds away from bursting.

He linked our hands together as he continued to meld with me from behind and I noticed that the hands that were linked were the ones that both had our bracelets. It was almost a good omen, no pun intended, that our souls were always destined to be one. For added measure, I felt the coolness of his necklace brush along the heated skin of my back.

Noah lightly laughed, almost as if he thought the same, and when his cock twitched inside of me, I realized he was close. I wanted to watch him when he fell apart because of me so I glanced back over to our reflection in the mirror. Then with two fingers pressed against my clit, Noah began rubbing up and down which was exactly what I needed for the coil to snap. To finally teeter over the edge where ecstasy was waiting for me.

His name fell from my lips in prayer.

“Fuck, Noah. Oh God, it’s so good,” I cried out through the rest of my orgasm.

“No God. Just us,” he grunted.

There was no God; only him and I.

In the reflection, I watched as his movement stilled, cock throbbing between my walls, and his mouth fell open when he tilted his head back; groaning out his release. Then softly, Noah’s body fell onto mine and he buried his face in my neck.

“Are you okay?” He wondered.

“I’m good, mochi. So fucking good,” I lazily smiled but whimpered when he pulled out of me.

“Let me get you a washcloth,” he left a kiss on my shoulder before slipping into the bathroom.

I snuggled closer into the pillow on my chest to let my eyes rest for a moment. Exhaustion dug itself so deep within my bones that I didn’t even notice when Noah began cleaning me up with the damp but warm cloth then he draped the blanket over my naked form.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed or noticed he left until the bed dipped beside me and I opened one eye to stare up at him. Noah kissed me from between my shoulder blades down my back, his nails grazing beyond the wake of his lips as he traced over the large snake tattoo on my back.

“This sight is familiar,” Noah spoke quietly.

I propped my chin on my hand. “But I’m not going anywhere after. I’m not leaving you to deal with my inconsiderate decisions. I’m right here with you, Noah.”

“I know,” he nodded. “We’re creating new memories now. Righting all of those wrongs. I’ve been excited for both of us to leave the past and move forward.”

“Me too,” I left a chaste kiss on his chin, feeling the slight stubble tickle my lips.

Noah tucked a piece of hair behind my ear then began tracing the line of my cheekbone, and jaw, then booped my nose, earning a giggle from me.

“I brought you some clothes in case you want to get dressed,” he said while handing me a pair of black joggers and a matching shirt.

I took them with a smile. “I think I should start keeping some clothes here.”

“Plenty of space in the closet,” Noah threw a thumb over his shoulder.

My heart fluttered at his words, realizing yet again that Noah was allowing me to occupy parts of his private sanctions.

“I’ll clear out two of my dresser drawers for your stuff the next time you’re over,” I promised with a kiss on his lips.

He hummed while grasping the back of my head to keep me there for a second longer.

“It’s a deal, angel.”

Slipping out of the bed, I trotted into the bathroom to get dressed while I heard Noah open his bedroom door and rummaging in the kitchen. When I hopped back into his bed, Salem came bounding into the room with the bell on his collar jingling.

“Hi baby,” I cooed when he jumped up on the bed. “So, what do you think of the cat tree dad bought you? You like it?”

His response? Curling up on Noah’s pillow with a chirp of approval.

“I’m gone not even five minutes and he steals my spot,” Noah chuckled entering the room again; dressed in nothing but a pair of black Bad Omens joggers and bright yellow socks.

“Get used to it. You invited him over and now what’s yours is his,” I scratched between Salem’s ears.

“I’ll gladly share with him,” he said while handing me a plate.

My eyes lit up as a gasp fell from my lips. “Is that limoncello tiramisù?”

“Yeah, I picked some up from that Italian bakery you love. Carlos’.”

“Yes!” I exclaimed while quickly digging into the treat.

As I leaned against the headboard to eat, Noah sat cross-legged in front of me to eat his share, both of us basking in the silence; beside Salem’s purring.

“Are we a family now?” Noah asked.

With a bright smile, I leaned over to press a kiss on his cheek. “Yeah. We are.”

I set both of our empty plates on the end table next to Noah’s bed then pulled my knees to my chest.

“You know what I’d love right now?” I asked.

Noah winked which caused me to playfully smack his chest. “Not that.”

“OK, sorry. What would you love?” He chuckled while rubbing his chest.

“I’d love to listen to The Grey. I’ve been dying to know how you worked in my poem ever since you sent me that video.”

“Alexa, play The Grey by Bad Omens,” Noah said with a smile.

“Now playing The Grey by the band Bad Omens.”

When Noah’s voice finally broke through the music, I let out a small gasp. It was different, new, hearing this voice come from the man in front of me. It made me proud to see how far he’d come from Finding God Before God Finds Me, knowing what his work ethic was like. He was always trying to break down the typical stereotype of what rock should sound like. He wanted to make changes and from this song alone, Noah was doing that.

Gave you way too many chances, you ran through 'em all. Got everything I could want, but it wasn't enough. Nobody left for me to talk to, nobody to call. Got everything I could want, but I still wanted more.”

My eyes lit up. “Oh, this was from the video!”

Noah giggled. “Yep.”

I continued to listen to the song when he linked our hands together, bringing them to his lips to leave a kiss on each of my fingers.

“I did it to myself, tried to be someone else. I let it tear me down, and I'll never be the same. I did it to myself, tried to be someone else. And you didn't notice 'til I finally got, finally got away.”

“Noah,” I beamed. “This is amazing. The lyrics, your voice, the beat. Everything about it.”

A red hue crossed his cheeks as he sheepishly glanced down at his lap where our intertwined hands were.

“Do you like it?” He gazed up at me through his long lashes.

Rising to my knees, I now draped my arms around his neck and kissed his forehead, nose, both cheeks and then finally his lips.

“I love it, Noah. And I love you.”

He twirled my necklace between two of his fingers. “I love you too, Y/N.”

For the first time since we rekindled our love, it was then that I noticed the tattoo on the side of his hand.

K.E.A.T.O.N.

When Noah realized I was reading the letters, he held up his other hand so I could read the letters on that hand.

P.I.E.R.C.E.

“Noah,” I breathed while putting his hands against my chest.

“I needed to. He needs to know that he can sing his songs through me while he’s gone,” he explained with a lone tear slipping down his cheek.

“I know.” I kissed his hands. “It’s okay.”

Glancing over my shoulder, I took notice of the time and frowned. Earlier, Noah mentioned that tomorrow, well technically later today since it was already nearly two in the morning, Bad Omens were shooting the music video for The Death of Peace of Mind and he needed to be up early for it.

In six hours.

“I should probably get home,” I sighed.

Noah’s hold against my hips tightened. “You can stay. I’ll sleep better if you’re next to me.”

“You need your rest, mochi,” I patted his cheek. “I also have plans with Astrid to help her open up Fika then we’re going shopping right after.”

Reluctantly with a sigh, Noah agreed and let me go, not before leaving a kiss on my forehead.

“Salem is staying here tonight though,” he said.

My jaw dropped as I stood from the bed and placed my hands on my hips. “Excuse me?”

“Look at him,” Noah pointed to a sleeping Salem. “You can’t wake him.”

“Fine,” I dragged out the word with narrowed eyes. “Tomorrow night. My place.”

Noah towered over me when he stood to full length in front of me. “I’ll be there, angel.”

NOAH

Stuffing my hands deep into the pocket of my yellow hoodie, I let my black slides drag my feet behind Y/N as we walked closer to her apartment door. The chill midnight air breezed through the loose strands of hair but I was too far gone in my mind to brush it away. Even though we promised to see each other tomorrow, making plans for me to spend the night here tomorrow night, part of me was worried. Afraid that once we parted ways, Y/N would second guess everything that happened and ignore me for months on end.

Why was I so nervous?

I kept asking myself that as we came to a stop in front of her door. I shook at the thought that what I was doing in all aspects of my life mattered. I felt the need to get it right; especially with Y/N.

Dr. Poulos once said “Nerves are a signal of truth, of what you value, of what you need and cherish. The constant needs of what I’ve wanted, the comfort and stability I desired. That the idea of not gaining happiness brings on those telltale tremors. Always ask yourself what the nerves are telling you. It’s an important way your body speaks.”

She wasn’t wrong. I knew in the back of my mind that I was terrified Y/N would never come back.

What if I wasn’t good for her?

I desperately needed to fight these demons and not let them win.

Y/N loves me. She loves me.

“Mochi, you’re shaking.”

Snapping out of my thoughts, I noticed that Y/N had wrapped her arms around my midsection to pull me closer to her.

“Oh, I am? Didn’t notice,” I mumbled under my breath.

“What’s wrong?” She questioned.

“Angel, let it go. It’s nothing.”

Part of me wanted to remove her grasp from me; the part that was used to shrinking away from my problems. But the other part of me that wanted to be a good man for her made me cup the back of her neck instead.

“Talk to me,” she quietly begged.

However, I remained silent; the words weighed heavy on my tongue.

“Noah-.”

“I don't want you to leave,” I blurted out.

Y/N’s eyes softened. “Noah, I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

“No. I-I don’t know. I’m-.” I ran a shaking hand through my hair. “I don’t want you to wake up tomorrow and change your mind. I’m not perfect-.”

“Stop,” Y/N shook her head. “Don’t even say that, Noah. You know I love you. Just like I know you love me. Nothing will ever change my mind, alright? We’re both right here. We need to remain here, focus on that.”

I let out a broken breath and brushed my lips over her forehead, my hands going back to grasp behind her neck. “Please don’t leave, don’t leave me in the shape you found me.”

“Never. I will never leave you like that again,” she buried her face into my chest, breathing me in.

I rested my chin on top of her head. “I love you and I want this so bad, angel. I want you.”

“I love you, Noah. I’ll reassure you as many times as I have to,” Y/N turned her head up at me now. “But you have to trust that I won’t let you fall. I’m here with you. It’s you and me, okay?”

I blinked while letting out a calming breath. “I didn’t mean to ruin the night with my worries.”

She kissed the tip of my nose. “You didn’t. And don’t apologize for your feelings. I know what we’ve gone through has done a lot. But we’re moving past that, Noah. I’m proud of that and I’d like for you to start trusting me.”

“I do,” I promised her with a kiss. “I do trust you.”

“Good,” she rose to her tiptoes to lay another kiss on my lips, this one deeper than the last but she pulled away before I could slip my tongue in. “Take care of our baby. I’ll see you two tomorrow night.”

With a heart doubled in size and adoration in my eyes, I watched Y/N as she slinked inside her apartment, throwing a peace sign over her shoulder at me.

We’ll be okay.

NOAH

Grunting, I helped Nicholas, Folio, and Jolly maneuver the large board out of the truck and down the ramp to bring it inside the large warehouse where we had everything else almost set up. It was just before eleven a.m. and even with a second cup of coffee, the caffeine hadn’t seemed to take effect quite yet. After I dropped off Y/N at home last night, I returned to Salem, who was still curled up on my pillow when I left him, and as I lay next to him, my mind was plagued with negative thoughts I tried so hard to push away. It kept me up till almost four in the morning then four hours later, Jolly knocked on my bedroom door to wake me.

As soon as we all arrived at the warehouse, I put on my best professional face and went to work going over the original plans with Orie, making sure we all were on the same page. This was our first music video in our new era so we wanted to make sure it was perfect.

Now, as I stared up at the large board, pulling on the ends of my white shirt, I allowed my mind to wander to Y/N, wondering what she was up to right now.

Did she like the paint idea?

Was the sex good enough? It was great for me but I hoped there was no pain for her. She said there wasn’t.

It sounded like she enjoyed it.

Was I too vocal in my proclamations?

No, I know I wasn’t. Y/N returned those proclamations every time.

I ran an unsteady hand through my hair while letting out a long sigh, and staring down at my feet.

My emotions were a part of me, and in this relationship, they blended with Y/N’s. Although, there are times I had these storms inside of me, never because of her, but from previous damage; the triggers from my past. I was certain things would be okay and this self-deprecation would pass.

I desired Y/N’s presence like a madman gone awol. In those moments of a storm, I had to find my calm and center myself, typically by myself. But with Y/N, I didn’t have to do that. Like my music, she was my muse.

“Noah?”

Glancing over my shoulder, I gave a small smile to Nicholas. “Yea?”

“Are you alright? You’ve been kind of quiet all morning,” he observed while stuffing his hands in the pockets of his black hoodie.

I eventually knew someone would notice my quiet demeanor. I’d only been humoring when it was dire to do so.

Fuck, I missed Y/N. The negative thoughts monster has bitten his way through the bars.

I hated that this had come out of nowhere, sinking its teeth inside of me with no abandon. Our date last night was amazing but these fucking nerves kept trying to sabotage things once again. I did my best to not allow them to.

I needed to stop worrying about last night, knowing I could change anything about what happened even though there was nothing that needed to change. Just like today, I needed to stop worrying about everything that could go wrong and focus on everything that would go right.

“You know you can talk to me,” Nicholas’ voice snapped me from my thoughts.

“I know,” I nodded curtly. “I’m fine. I just want things to go perfect today.”

He reassured me with a squeeze to my shoulder. “It will. We’ve been planning the details for months.”

I shifted all of my weight from one foot to the other, casting my gaze away from him and towards everyone who continued to work tirelessly.

“You miss Y/N?”

My eyes darted back over to Nicholas. “She texted me earlier after she helped Astrid open Fika. They’re going shopping before grabbing some late lunch. I was going to meet Y/N at her place with Salem once we were done here.”

“So let that be the light to help you through today.”

I scratched my chin and nodded. “Yeah, I know.”

“Noah! Nicholas! The red lights on the masks aren't working!” Orie’s voice boomed in the vast space of the warehouse.

Motioning Nicholas along, we spent the next handful of hours directing, watching, and redoing some scenes of the music video a few times over to make sure everything went off without a hitch; the perfectionist in me. We even stopped for a few-minute break so Orie could try and throw candy into Folio’s mouth while I peeked at the few unread messages from Y/N.

Angel 🪽: I may have bought a few things I’d like to model for you later. If you’re up for it. 😉

A sudden burst of warmth spread to my cheeks, something that didn't go unnoticed by Orie, who snickered.

“Oh, there’s only one person who can get you to smile like that.”

My eyes pinned into him, a sharp look that said mind your own business. Stepping away from the group of them, I responded to Y/N’s message.

Me: I’d never turn down a show from you, angel. Can I get a hint?

Angel 🪽: It’s red. And I’m very excited for you to take it off.

Fuck.

I adjusted myself with a cough and spent the next couple of minutes texting her with a bright smile. It was nearing nightfall which meant we were close to recording the next scene of the music video.

Angel 🪽: Astrid has not stopped gushing about Jolly. It’s kind of cute though when she calls him Joakim. Did you know that she’s thinking of naming a drink after him at Fika?

I snorted while glancing up at Jolly, who was busy texting away on his phone; most likely to Astrid.

Me: I’d love to know the name of this drink.

Angel 🪽: Älskling. It means honey. She’s thinking honey, Earl orange, and pomegranate tea. Because he’s “sweet like honey.”

Angel 🪽: Noah Sebastian, don’t tell Jolly I told you because I know you can’t keep things like this to yourself.

Feigning a hurt expression, I sent her a selfie and then typed out my response.

Me: My lips are sealed. But I have to get back to work. Me and Salem should be at your place around ten. I’ll grab some food on the way.

Angel 🪽: Burgers? 🥺

Angel 🪽: Also, you gave you the right to look so fucking good, huh? I can’t wait to kiss those lips.

The way my heart jumped in my chest made it almost hard to breathe.

Me: Whatever you want, angel.

Angel 🪽: Just you. And burgers. I’ll always take a burger.

Pocketing my phone, I rounded a finger towards everyone, my voice carrying throughout the space around me.

“Alright! Let’s film this pool scene before it gets too cold for the girls.”

Two hours later, it was nearing eight in the evening and all we had left to shoot was Bad Omens part of the video. We were in the home stretch and I was practically bouncing on the soles of my feet knowing that I’d be seeing Y/N in a few more hours.

As the four of us were dressed in our outfits for the music video, I chatted quietly with Folio while fixing the collar of his jacket. He’d been busy on every break today either talking to his girlfriend or planning something.

“How are things going with her?” I questioned.

The smile that spread on his face made a faint one pull on mine, knowing that one of my best friends was happy.

“Really good. I’d love to have you guys meet her soon.”

I nodded. “Definitely.”

Folio’s eyes peered over my shoulder, a smirk now pulling on his face and he wiggled his eyebrows. Before I could ask what he was staring at, that invisible string in my chest vibrated with such vigor, that it nearly knocked me off my feet.

“Well, look at this group of handsome men!”

Spinning on my heels, I saw Y/N and Astrid walk into the warehouse with bags of food from one of our favorite diners and both of them holding onto two trays of drinks. My heart ran amok in my chest as my stomach flipped three times over at seeing Y/N wearing the yellow hoodie I wore last night when I dropped her off.

“I swung by your place to grab Salem and pack you an overnight bag so once you’re finished here, we can head straight to my place. And yes, I did steal your sweater,” she answered my thoughts.

“Yellow is your color, angel,” I mused while slowly closing the distance to her. “You didn’t have to do all of this.”

Astrid walked up to Jolly, who grabbed the things from her and laid a kiss on her lips; her laughter echoing around us.

Y/N shrugged while I mimicked Jolly’s actions of taking the things from her hands.

“We know how hard all of you are working today, it’s the least we could do.”

Orie came up to grab the food and drinks from me before dispersing it to everyone.

“Thank god you’re here, Y/N. Noah’s been really bossy today.”

She placed a hand on her hip, cocking it out while narrowing her eyes at me. “Bossy, huh?”

“He’s a tyrant,” Orie chuckled before taking a bite of his burger.

I wrapped my arms around Y/N, breathing her in when I brushed my nose along her hairline. “You’re not going to turn her on your side, Orie. You’re wasting your time.”

She raised her lips to meet mine and I hummed in delight when I tasted the milkshake she must have had on the way over here. Even though Y/N was here in my arms, I still couldn’t quiet the negative frame of mind that plagued me throughout the day.

“I like this new look,” Y/N straightened out my jacket.

All I could do was nod in response and her brows creased in worry. “Are you alright?”

Linking our hands together, I pulled her through the warehouse to slip outside where I knew no one would be. We finished the pool scene a while ago and the extras had left for the night.

“Oh, a pool? Are we going skinny dipping?” Y/N teased with a wink.

I ran a hand through my already-styled hair, still not saying anything. My mind was a jumbled mess and I was afraid if I tried to speak, my words wouldn’t make sense.

“Noah, what is going on? You’re worrying me.”

Her warm hands cupped my cheeks so I had to look at her, those bright eyes pleading with worry.

“Talk to me,” Y/N breathed.

“Did you enjoy our date? Was it to your standards? Did I do alright with everything?”

The questions blurted out like word vomit.

“Of course I did, Noah!” Those eyes darted back and forth between mine. “I had a wonderful time. Did I do something to make you think otherwise?”

I clutched her sides. “No, you didn’t! I promise. I know we talked about things last night. I wanted to make sure last night was everything you wanted.”

“It was,” she adjusted the collar of my turtle neck. “I promise.”

“I felt even closer to you than I ever have before. Especially when we had sex and I just wanted reassurance,” I sighed. “That’s ridiculous, isn’t it?”

“Mochi, I loved every second with you. I loved everything about it. I felt closer and more connected with you too. Stop fussing if I had a great time. I’d sit and watch ants crawl out of the ground if it meant I could be with you.”

Something flashed in my mind that brought a genuine smile to my face and washed away all of those worries.

Y/N crossed her arms over her chest. "You'd sit and get a tattoo with me?"

I brushed away a loose strand of hair that fell from her braid behind her ear, fingers trailing against the skin of her neck.

"I'd sit and watch ants crawl out of a hole for hours if that meant I'm sitting next to you," I vowed with hooded eyes as I stared down at her lips.

I pressed a kiss to her lips. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you. I take it we’re on for a second date then?”

“I’m wide open,” Y/N winked with a kiss on my cheek.

“Good,” I grinned.

“Noah! We’re ready!”

We both glanced over to the large opening of the warehouse to Nicholas who was waving us inside.

“So, you’re staying the rest of the shoot?” I asked.

Y/N beamed. “Nowhere else I’d rather be.”

READER

As I moved about my bedroom, tossing things into the suitcases that laid out on my bed, there was a delicate knock on my open door and Chase gave me a warm smile.

“Malcolm and Noah are at the store right now and wondering if there’s anything else you need for this weekend,” he sat down on the edge of my bed.

“No, just the list I gave them,” I said while zipping up my suitcase.

“Are you nervous?” Chase asked, playing with Salem.

“A bit, yeah,” I sighed while plopping down onto the bed next to him. “This is our first album as a three-piece. It’s completely different from our other albums so I’m afraid people won’t vibe with it.”

Chase squeezed my knee. “They will. The reviews from the singles we already released are positive.”

“I know. I’ve just been in my head a lot.”

There was a slight hesitation in Chase’s breath before he asked his next question.

“Have you talked to your parents at all?”

My heart sank with guilt and I began chipping away at my nail polish. “It’s been a few days since I talked with my dad. With everything from trying to plan the album release party and Noah, I guess I kind of forgot to call him.”

Chase wrapped an arm around me to pull me into his chest. “Your dad understands how busy you are. He’d never hold it against you.”

I snorted. “Unlike my mom. Part of me wants to call her and give her an update on my life. Because I do love her, regardless of all of her faults, but I’m just afraid that she’ll judge me; again.”

“Do whatever your heart tells you, sweets. You never know, she might surprise you.”

Both of us shared a knowing look before we burst out in a fit of laughter knowing the odds of that happening.

“But stop worrying about the small stuff, Y/N. Ethan said the house is booked, the guest list was sent out, and the caterers are paid. Everything is set, all we have to do is show up and promote the album,” Chase said as Salem lay between us.

When I nodded, he stood to his feet and placed a kiss on top of my head then slipped out of my room. Pausing packing for a moment, I reached for my phone that was charging on my nightstand and I let my finger hover over my mom's contact for a long moment, wondering if I really wanted to do this or if it was the guilt for not reaching out to her more.

Pros: she could be happy for me and even want to show up at the party.

Cons: she calls me a disappointment yet again and criticizes my choices.

“Fuck it,” I groaned then clicked on her name.

It rang twice before going straight to voicemail. I rolled my eyes, knowing that she ignored my call, but tried not to dwell on the way my stomach dropped.

“Hey mom, it’s me. How have things been? I heard you went to Greece for a few weeks to visit family. I bet that was nice, I’d love to see some pictures. Maybe we could meet up for coffee to talk?”

I ran my sweaty palms on my sweats before continuing. “I have some news. Hollow Souls new album releases this Saturday and we're throwing this party to celebrate it. I know you never were too keen on my career choice but it would mean a lot if you came. I’ll text you the details. S'agapó.”

Ending the call by saying I loved her in Greek, I hit the red button with a disappointed sigh. I knew there was a higher chance she wouldn’t answer my call rather than actually answering it. Instead of dwelling on it, I texted my dad.

Me: Can I call?

His response came almost instantly.

Dad: You never have to ask, sweetheart.

With a smile, I decided to FaceTime him instead and broke out in a large smile when his face appeared on the screen. His hair had a bit more gray than the last time and a few more wrinkles in the corners of his eyes. The glasses were practically falling off his nose but when he saw me, he pushed them up.

“There she is! Oh, I’m loving the new hair!” He beamed.

“Thanks Dad. I’m sorry I haven’t called in a while, life’s been kind of crazy,” I explained while leaning against the headboard.

My dad waved me off as he spun around in his office chair, the large and filled bookcases now his backdrop. “It’s alright, sweetheart. How have things been?”

We spent the next few minutes catching up when Noah entered my room, both hands full of bags. When I went to help him, he held up the bags higher so I couldn’t. With a playful glare at him, I turned my attention back to my dad while Noah went about emptying the bags.

“So your mom didn’t answer?”

Briefly ignoring the questioning glance from Noah, I shook my head at my dad.

“I don’t know why I’m surprised. It’s like she has this radar that goes off before I call to talk about my life. If it’s not about her, she doesn't care,” I pulled my knees up to my chest so Noah could sit down in front of me.

My dad took off his glasses to rub his eyes before putting them back on his nose. “I’m sorry sweetheart. I wish she never took her own frustrations out on you. She’s unhappy with how things ended with the divorce and she can’t seem to heal from it.”

Noah’s fingers grazed over the exposed skin of my ankle.

“All these years later and I still try to make her proud of me,” I shrugged.

“I know sweetheart. But sometimes, you have to think about yourself and make yourself proud before her. That’s what matters.”

Noah’s hand brushed away the hair from my face and I smiled up at him.

“Oh, whose hand is that?” My dad's questionable voice came from my phone. “Those are a lot of tattoos.”

With a glance at Noah, he nodded so I shifted my position for my phone to not only show me but him as well.

“I wish I could introduce you two face to face but this will have to do. Dad, this is Noah.”

Noah gave a small wave to the phone. “Hi, Mr. Y/L/N, it’s an honor to meet you.”

“Shit, even your neck is covered! That had to hurt,” my dad chuckled while rubbing his own neck. “It’s an honor to meet you as well, Noah. My daughter has told me quite a lot about you. All good things, no need to worry.”

My cheeks burned and Noah wrapped an arm around my side, pulling us closer.

“You have a wonderful daughter. I want to assure you that I love her and will take great care of her,” he vowed.

My father snorted while moving about his house now. “I knew it from the moment I saw that video of you two performing on stage together during your last tour that you loved Y/N. It was clear in the way you smiled at her.”

“Dad,” I muttered under my breath.

Noah, however, looked at me with deep affection in those almond eyes. “I think I knew it back then as well, it just took me longer to admit it.”

“Call it father’s intuition,” my dad said. “But I have to go. I’m meeting some friends for ramen.”

“Ugh,” I groaned. “I would kill for some Japanese ramen right now.”

“Well,” my father started while slipping into his jacket one-handed. “Bring Noah the next time you visit and we can all go out for some. There’s this great place next to this shop that sells some kind of Manga drawings. I don’t understand it but the kids your age seem to love it.”

“We’ll be there,” Noah promised with a kiss on the side of my head.

“Have fun at the album release party, sweetheart. I can’t wait to hear the new songs!”

We both waved at the screen before it went black, me hanging up the call.

“Your dad seems like a great guy,” Noah noted while rolling off of my bed and trotting over to my dresser.

He opened the top two drawers, rummaging around for some of his clothes.

About two weeks ago, he slowly brought some of his things over here while I did the same at his place. We’d been bouncing back and forth between the two but with how busy I’d been planning the album release party and all the finishing touches for the album, it’d been a few days since Noah and I spent the night together. So now that we were leaving tomorrow for the weekend, he decided to spend the night at my place so we could ride up to Big Bear with Chase and Malcolm.

“He is,” I rested my chin on my knees. “I really hope one day we can visit him together.”

“We will.”

Noah promised with a kiss on my head before retreating out of my room so he could shower while I finished packing all of our things, the excitement of this weekend making me dance around my bedroom.

READER

My heels clicked against the hardwood floor as I typed away on my phone, the hustle and bustle of everyone setting up for the party falling away from me.

The Power Puff Girls group chat:

Me: You guys on your way back?

Astrid: Had to stop at the store quickly! Matt texted Jolly to grab some Dr. Pepper. We picked up Maxxine about thirty minutes ago but would have been back at the house by now if Jolly wasn’t taking FOREVER in the book section. He’s trying to find some kind of new fantasy book to read this weekend.

Maxxine: It’s kind of cute watching the two of you giggle with your own inside jokes while I just stand here as a third wheel.

I let out my own chuckle as I stopped in front of the large mirror in the rental house, brushing away any lint from my white dress. The sleeves were lace and stopped right at my elbows and the bottom of my dress rested mid-thigh. I was afraid that the front may have been too low cut but Noah reassured me it was fine.

With an array of kisses between my breasts.

My phone vibrated in my hand and I read the new message.

Astrid: Oh hush you.

Me: Well, we’re very excited for you to join us, Maxxine. Bring some more females into this group of male hormones. I’d been dying to introduce you to someone!

Maxxine: No, Y/N. Please. My last date was so horrendous, I still haven’t recovered.

“Angel?”

Glancing away from my phone, I smiled at Noah as he came bounding down the stairs dressed in a black long-sleeve and almost eggshell white pants. I licked my lips at the sight of him dressed up. It wasn’t anything fancy but it still made my heart flutter.

“Have you seen my shoes? The black-.”

“The black lace-ups,” I nodded. “Yes, they’re in the closet in our room. Next to my house shoes.”

He pressed a kiss to my lips. “Thank you.”

As Noah retreated upstairs again, I turned back down to my phone.

Astrid: We promise, this guy is different!

Maxxine: I don’t know. I think I should just be single for a while. My luck with men hasn’t been the greatest. I always chose losers.

Me: Please, you’ll be thanking us for setting you up with him.

Setting my phone on the kitchen counter, I peered over to Jesse, who was setting up the drinks and snacks at the dining room table. Noah mentioned to me the other night how Jesse had been feeling quite down a lot lately due to his anxiety and had been falling into himself, closing himself off from everyone. While Jesse wouldn’t admit it, we all had an inkling feeling that seeing some of his best friends get into relationships, made him doubt himself in finding someone. We also knew how hard of a time he had in Pittsburg when Erra was there touring a few months ago, so Astrid and I decided to set him up with a mutual friend of ours and I invited her to the party tonight.

“Hey,” I slinked up beside Jesse and bumped my shoulder with his.

“Hi,” he smiled. “You look beautiful. Excited for tonight?”

“Thank you! I am. But I just wanted to let you know that there’s someone I want you to meet tonight.”

He set down the cups and raised a brow. “Why me?”

“Oh, no reason,” I shrugged before patting his chest and walking away.

“Y/N! What’s that supposed to mean!”

Giggling, I met up with Chase and Malcolm in the main living area of the house. Chase was brushing away Maclolm’s long auburn locks and I smiled at the two of them. I knew they were nervous about being open about their relationship in the beginning but now they were blossoming together and I couldn’t have been happier for them.

“How are we feeling?” I asked them to check-in.

Malcolm ran a hand down the front of his black dress shirt. “Nervous as hell.”

Chase rubbed his shoulder. “It’ll be fine, love. The support already has been incredible. It’s only going to get better.”

I wrapped my arms around both of them. “In case this album flops, I want you guys to know that I’m glad we took this chance. I love what we created.”

“It’s not going to flop,” Chase rolled his bright blue eyes but returned the hug. “Love you two, idiots.”

I pulled away from them and turned towards the front door when it opened, smiling at Astrid, Jolly, and Maxxine who walked inside. My eyes darted from Maxxine to Jesse, who froze in the middle of his tracks. He took in the sight of her; long legs, olive skin, long black hair, and bright hazel eyes.

Maxxine, who had her arms full of bags, gave a slow once over of Jesse with a blush and faint smile.

“Hi,” he cleared his throat. “Let me help you.”

“Thank you,” she allowed Jesse to take a couple of bags from her.

Astrid and I shared a proud smile.

“Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?”

Noah’s deep voice sang in my ear as he wrapped his arms around me from behind, a kiss to the side of my neck. Turning in his embrace, I pecked his lips.

“Hm, once or twice,” I wrapped my arms behind his neck.

With the soft tune of music playing in the background, our bodies began to sway lightly. When his eyes fell behind me, his brows furrowed together.

“Who’s the girl with Jesse?”

I turned slightly in his embrace to see Jesse and Maxxine laughing about something with each other. She was lightly touching his arm and the smile on his face was one that you couldn’t scrub away no matter how hard you tried.

“Oh, that’s a friend of mine and Astrid’s. Her name is Maxxine. I thought that maybe she and Jesse would hit it off,” I explained.

Noah’s lips left feather-like kisses along my forehead. “I love you.”

I grasped the front of his shirt, engulfing myself in his scent.

“I love you too. But before the party starts, I want to show you something.”

Linking our hands together, we slipped away from the group and down the hall of the rental home to the office where I already had things set up. I closed the door behind us and motioned for Noah to sit on the long sofa while I sat on the recliner chair diagonal from him. On the table was a pair of wireless headphones that were already hooked up to my phone.

“What’s this?” Noah wondered after falling onto the couch.

I handed him the headphones. “I know you’ll hear this song later but I wanted you to hear it for the first time with just the two of us. It’s an important song and it means a lot.”

My heart was drumming inside of the confines of my chest making it hard to breathe. I finished recording this song months ago and besides me, Chase, and Malcolm no one else heard it. I wanted Noah to be the first.

Once he placed the headphones over his ears, I loaded up the song on my phone and hit play. Even though I couldn’t hear the song physically, I could hear it in my mind.

I know it's warmer where you are and it's safer by your side. But right now I can't be what you want. Just give it time.

Noah’s shoulders went stiff as he flicked his eyes up at me, steepling his fingers together in his lap. I gave him a reassuring nod, urging him to continue.

And if you and I can make it through the night. And if you and I can keep our love alive, we'll fight.

Now nothing gave way on his face as he stared down at his hands, the only movement was the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.

We can meet in the middle. Bodies and souls collide. Dance in the moonlight where all the stars align. Oh you and I, oh you and I, oh.

I couldn’t bear being so far from him while not knowing how he was feeling so I rose from my chair to sit on the other end of the couch next to him.

Well, it's cold when we're apart and I hate to feel this die. But you can't give me what I want. Just give it time

Noah’s eyes fluttered shut and I swore I saw all the oxygen leave his lungs, telling me I knew what part of my lyrics he just heard.

But for now we stay so far. 'Til our lonely limbs connect. I can't keep you in these arms. So I'll keep you in my mind.

My bottom lip caught between my teeth as my knee bounced with anticipation, wanting desperately to know what he thought about my song. But I didn’t want to disturb him yet.

Can we meet in the middle? Bodies and souls collide. Dance in the moonlight. Where all the stars align. Oh you and I, oh you and I, oh.

Glancing at my phone, I realized the song ended, but Noah made no effort to take off the headphones. My lips parted to speak when I noticed a lone tear roll down his cheek.

“Noah?” I tapped his arm.

With the heat of my touch, it was as if he came alive again. Ripping off the headphones, Noah’s lips attacked mine with an inferno, making me fall back onto the couch with him on top of me. My fingers quickly found their usual place in his hair while he hooked my leg around his hips.

“Angel,” he fanned in the crook of my neck.

“Did-did you like it?” I asked.

Noah’s tongue brushed along the pulsepoint of my neck and I shivered underneath him.

“I loved it,” he breathed as his teeth scraped up along my jawline before slipping his tongue into my mouth.

We had a short fight for dominance before reluctantly I let Noah win, his hands running up and down my bare thighs. When he pulled away, I was dizzy; kiss drunk. And his eyes burned as he looked down at me.

“Are you sure?” I questioned, still filled with worry he didn’t like it.

“Y/N,” he lifted my chin with the finger that had the small heart tattooed on it. “I wouldn’t lie to you about this. It was perfect.”

“Thank you,” I wrapped my legs around him to bring his body closer to mine, moaning when I felt the outline of his cock brush along my heated core.

His forehead fell onto my chest and sighed. “Do we have to go out there? Can we stay here the two of us? In our bubble.”

I lifted his head to kiss his nose. “Unfortunately, this party is partly for me so I have to show up.”

Grudgingly, Noah untangled himself from me and then helped me to my feet, fixing my dress and hair for me.

With our fingers linked together, he led me back into the main part of the house where the party was already well underway.

THIRD PERSON POV

The crowd of people kept congratulating the members of Hollow Souls for an amazing album. Everyone loved the new songs and was excited about the new direction they were headed toward. Chase and Malcolm chatted with one of the reps from the record label while Y/N was talking with someone she didn’t expect to see there.

“I can’t believe you flew all the way to Los Angeles from Vermont for this! You didn’t have to,” she smiled while wrapping her arms around the man in a hug.

“I wouldn’t miss this for the world, Y/N,” Joe shrugged. “Where’s Noah?”

“Um, last I saw he was talking with his friend Bryan.”

She glanced around the room but broke out in a large smile when Noah slinked up beside her and left a kiss on her cheek.

“There you are. I have someone I’d like you to meet. This is Joe,” Y/N pointed between the two men.

Noah extended a hand. “Nice to officially meet you.”

“Yeah you too,” Joe shook his hand with a smile.

The three of them chatted for a long while after moving to one of the couches in the living room, Y/N watching with fondness as her boyfriend and one of her good friends got along pretty well. She even stole a glance over towards Jesse and Maxxine who were seated on the couch across from them. His arm was thrown over the top of the couch, fingers grazing over the skin of Maxxine’s shoulder. Every so often she would slink in closer towards him.

“Would you like a drink, angel?” Noah asked.

Her eyes snapped back to him and she nodded. “Dr. Pepper, please.”

Once Noah stood from the couch, Y/N opened her mouth to ask Joe how life was going when someone else sat down on the couch next to her, almost in Noah’s previous spot.

Devon? Derrick? No, his name was Dennis; a mutual acquaintance of Ethan, their manager.

“Hey, Y/N. I thought I’d sneak in to tell you how awesome the new album sounds,” he slicked back his overly gelled hair.

She gave him a tight-lipped smile. “Thank you.”

While she knew of him from things Ethan would say, Y/N never actually met him.

“I love the new vibe you guys have going on. It’s very different from your old albums. Although, I must say that my favorite is still your self-entitled. Trey’s vocals kick ass on that.”

Joe sat up straighter from his spot on the other side of Y/N while she narrowed her eyes at Dennis.

“Everyone has their own opinions I suppose,” she said while trying to pull down the ends of her dress when she caught Dennis staring at her legs.

“You know,” he licked his lips and moved closer to Y/N. “You’re doing really well without Trey. How about we go out for a drink?”

“No thank you, I’m not interested.”

Y/N slinked back closer to Joe, who gladly accepted it.

“One drink?” Dennis tried again with a sly smirk.

“I don’t drink,” Y/N narrowed her eyes while crossing her arms over her chest, hoping to show the guy that she was finished with this conversation.

Joe sent a look over to Malcolm, who was standing in the kitchen next to Noah, and with that shared expression, the redhead nodded.

“Noah,” Malcolm motioned behind Noah.

With a perplexed look, Noah turned around and nearly crushed the glass in his hand at what he saw. Y/N was almost in Joe’s lap, trying to get away from some douchebag who kept advancing towards her.

“What the fuck,” he grumbled under his breath, nostrils flaring.

Tonight was not the night to lose his cool but he could feel that ugly feeling burning low in his gut; the feeling he despised. He didn’t want to come off as jealous or that he couldn’t trust Y/N because he could. But Noah did not like the way this guy was almost undressing her with his eyes.

Joe wanted to intervene but also knew that Y/N had it handled; something she’d proven before.

She glanced around the room with panic in her eyes until they fell on Noah, utter relief filling them. The guy followed her gaze and scoffed when he realized what she Y/N was looking at.

Noah’s blood ran cold as his heart was thumping loudly in his ears, everything becoming white noise to him. His fingers shook at his sides, doing his best to remain calm.

“Who is that guy?” He asked Malcolm.

“Dennis. Ethan’s assistant.”

Matt, who had snuck up beside Noah, urged him with a look.

“This asshole just asked Y/N to go outside with him for more privacy.”

Fire burned in Noah’s eyes as he snapped them back over to the couch, where he nearly choked at the sight in front of him. Dennis was dragging his fingers down Y/N’s neck with intimacy that was reserved for Noah only. That was his spot. Y/N was his, it was proven tonight when she played her song for him.

His insides burned with rage that it nearly made him unable to see anything in front of him.

The sound of Y/N’s hand smacking Dennis’ hand away broke through the haze in Noah’s vision.

“Don’t fucking touch me,” she seethed.

Joe quickly pulled Y/N up from the couch just as Noah pushed himself off the edge of the counter and made his way through the crowd over towards his girlfriend; hands shaking with more vigor now. It would be so easy to punch Dennis and show him who Y/N belongs to, however, Noah wouldn’t create a scene tonight; not when this night meant so much to Hollow Souls.

With three deep breaths, Noah came to a halt in front of Y/N who quickly found solace underneath his arm.

“Everything alright?” He wondered.

Y/N, albeit with the annoyed look in her usual bright eyes, wore a faux smile. “Yeah, now it is.”

“I think you were just leaving, no?” Joe asked Dennis.

The man shook his head while slowly rising to his feet. “No, actually I wasn’t. I heard that Y/N is single so I thought to shoot my shot.”

Noah’s body vibrated with anger so Y/N rested a hand on his chest, her touch immediately calming him.

“I’d like to know where you heard that,” Noah spoke slowly, even though he was on edge.

“Does it matter?” Dennis harshly laughed. “All I’m saying is that she looks sexy as fuck tonight. I thought we could sneak away for a bit but it seems like she’s too far up your ass to even notice there are other guys here.”

“I already said no,” Y/N’s voice was stern.

Noah’s eyes sliced Dennis in half but remained calm; an eerie calm that seemed to have the gathering crowd of their friends on edge. His arm was still around her, claiming Y/N as his own but for added measure he left a kiss on the side of her head.

Dennis raised his hands in defeat. “Alright, I get it. It’s fine, from what I hear from Trey, you can’t be satisfied anyway.”

Chase appeared almost out of nowhere and grabbed him by the collar of his green polo. “Time for you to go. Now.”

“Chase, please. No fighting,” Y/N begged still in Noah’s embrace.

His usual bright blue eyes were dark, a deep hue of midnight, while he glared at Dennis.

“I promise, no fighting,” Chase gritted out through clenched teeth. “I’m only going to show this asshole the way out.”

Noah and Dennis shared one final glance, victory dancing on the former's lips before he whispered in Y/N’s ear.

“Upstairs. Now.”

Her eyes sparkled when she gazed up at him with a mischievous smirk. The both of them slipped away almost unnoticed by everyone, running up the stairs two at a time with Noah smacking her ass, her giggles echoing far behind them.

READER

As soon as we were in the confines of our bedroom in the rental house, Noah lifted me in the air to press my back against the door. I wrapped my legs around his waist while his hands gripped my thighs. There was a dire need of want in his eyes as he crashed his lips to mine in such a frenzied, hungry kiss, that it made me see stars from the force of it. His teeth grazed over my tongue and then my lips, drawing the teeniest bit of blood.

“Fuck, Noah!” I exclaimed while dotting a finger to my lip.

Growling, he began biting my neck, licking away Dennis’ touch. “I don’t know who the fuck he thinks he is. No one will ever fucking talk to you like that or touch what’s mine.”

“Oh god, yes,” I hissed, running my hands through his hair when he sucked on my sweet spot.

Somehow Noah managed to yank off my panties in our position and stuffed them deep into his pocket. One lone finger slipped between us when he pinned me to the door again and started rubbing fast circles on my clit.

“Shit. Fuck. So good,” I crowed while pulling on the ends of his hair.

Once I was wet enough, Noah quickly pulled out his cock, rubbing a fist over it for a few pumps before slipping in between my folds with a hard snap of his hips that we rattled against the door. I felt so full, so stretched open, that I gasped; not realizing at first that Noah forgot to put on a condom.

“I want that motherfucker to hear who you belong to, angel,” he grunted with each thrust, nails digging into the skin of my bare ass to keep me grounded against him.

“Fuck, god. So good,” I panted while scratching at his shoulders. “Right there.”

We both were grunting so loudly and with the banging of the door, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that everyone could hear us downstairs. But none of them mattered.

Only Noah and I did.

His lips attacked mine once again, teeth smacking and tongues exploring every inch of each other's mouths.

“Say my name, I want him and any other man who thinks they have a shot, to hear who you belong to,” Noah bit down hard on my neck, his thrusts were fast and relentless.

“NOAH!” I screamed when his finger pressed against my clit again, being exactly what I needed to come apart on his cock.

My body writhed in his tight hold on me and with the force of his hands on my ass, I knew that I would have bruises in the morning but I didn’t fucking care.

“You’re mine.” He grunted while craning my neck back by my hair.

Noah went back to working on the raised red mark on my neck, right alongside the other bite marks he left before.

“Yes, I am,” I rasped, gone in ecstasy.

“Forever angel,” Noah’s hips stilled before pulling himself completely out of me. “Fucking say it.”

“I’m yours forever, Noah!” I proclaimed with a feverish nod.

“You’re mine, angel,” he gruffed while now wrapping his hand around his cock.

It was thick and red, almost angry from being denied release.

“It felt too good and I didn’t want to risk it,” he sighed while letting me fall to my feet.

I kissed his lips, this time more gentle than our previous kisses. “Cum on my chest.”

Noah’s movements around his cock faltered for a moment, pupils dilating to pure black.

“What?”

Dropping to my knees, I pulled down the front of my dress to expose my bare chest to him and peered up at him through my lashes.

“I want you to mark me, Noah. Mark what’s yours,” I begged.

“Shit, Y/N,” he mused while running one hand through my hair, dragging his fingers down my neck over my chest to pull and pinch my nipples.

His grip around his cock was tight, knuckles turning white as he moved his hand up and down with such a velocious pace, it almost made it hard to focus on it. I licked my lips when I spotted the precum Noah used to spread over the head of his cock and I whined with the desire to taste him.

The hand he had wrapped around the back of my neck to keep me in place tightened its grip as he bent over me, resting his forehead against the door. Noah was still dressed but I could only imagine that the muscles in his stomach were taut, his release so close.

“Cum for me, Noah. Please,” I begged with a whiny breath.

“Fucking hell,” he howled my name when his warm release shot all over my neck and down between my breasts.

I hummed in pleasure, seeing the white stickiness run down my stomach, reveling in the feeling of his mark all over me. Noah stared down at me through hooded eyes, his chest heaving with each deep breath.

“I didn’t think,” he took a deep breath while licking his lips. “I didn’t think that would be so hot.”

Allow him to help me to my feet, I couldn’t wipe the smirk from my face. “I did, why do you think I asked for it?”

Noah’s eyes flashed as he bent low to capture my lips in a kiss. “Am I going to keep finding out your secret kinks, angel?”

“I think so since you discovered two of them already,” I dragged a finger down his cheek.

“You like possessive sex? I feel terrible for throwing you against the door,” Noah rubbed the back of his neck.

I shrugged. “It’s not so much the possessive side of it but more so the dominant side of you.”

He lifted my hand to his lips, leaving a kiss on my palm. “Do you want to head back downstairs?”

“No, I’m exhausted and need a shower,” I giggled while motioning to my chest.

Even though his cheeks reddened, the look that crossed his face as he looked me over made my core clench.

“Get cleaned up and I’ll sneak downstairs to grab us some snacks,” Noah patted my ass, dismissing me towards the bathroom connected to our bedroom.

“Think Folio will share those chocolate-covered pretzels he brought?” I wondered.

Noah chuckled while stuffing his cock back into his pants before zipping them. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

Right before he slipped through the door, I chastised him when I noticed the large red mark on my neck.

ASTRID

“Okay, I think they’re finally finished,” I chuckled while walking into the bedroom I was sharing with Jolly. “The door stopped rattling awhile ago and when I walked past their bedroom, I heard one of them snoring.”

Jolly peered up from strumming a few notes on the guitar in his lap and smiled at me.

“It’s most likely, Noah. Do you know he wears those nose strips?”

“No way!” I gasped while pulling down the sleeves of his sweater I was wearing, moving about the room to finish getting ready for bed.

It was his black Bad Omens hoodie, with the hand and gun on the front.

“Yeah, try sleeping in a moving sweatbox and hearing that. I sometimes worry he’ll inhale the bus curtains. That’s Y/N’s problem now,” he chuckled while reaching for me and pulling me to the bed with him.

I broke out in a fit of giggles when he placed me in his lap and then rested the guitar in mine. He set my fingers in the position they needed to before helping me strum a few notes.

He placed a kiss on my shoulder. “I’m glad you were able to leave Fika for the weekend to be here with me.”

I turned my head towards him and kissed his lips. “Jessica can handle it. I need to start loosening the reins a bit and enjoy things more.”

Jolly’s eyes glinted as he set the guitar down on the floor before lying me back down on the bed, lifting my end of the sweater to reveal all I was wearing underneath was a pair of black underwear.

“You walked around like this?” His voice rumbled deep within his chest.

I innocently shrugged. “I didn’t run into anyone. Besides, I’m practically swimming in your sweater. No one would have seen anything.”

Hooking my underwear with his fingers, Jolly practically ripped them down my legs before flipping me onto my stomach.

“Keep the sweater on, käraste,” he demanded while spreading my legs wide.

“Fuck, yes,” I nodded while burying my face into the pillow, hearing Jolly’s belt buckle fall to the floor.

NOAH

Jolly and I moved around the large kitchen, almost with ease like we’d done this countless times before as we made breakfast for everyone. It was our last day up in Big Bear and we had a full day of activities planned.

Breakfast, a mountain hike, lunch at a diner in town, and Y/N wanted to steal me away for a few hours to go horseback riding.

The large table was filled with everyone and I had to stop for a moment to appreciate everyone here who came out to support Hollow Souls. They didn’t need to but they did because Y/N, Chase, and Malcolm became part of our family with that tour that seemed so long ago now.

“Noah, can you hand me the eggs?”

Snapping my gaze away from everyone, I turned towards Jolly and handed him the carton of eggs.

“So,” I smirked while pouring more pancake mix onto the sizzling griddle. “I heard you had a great night last night. I walked past your room to come down to the kitchen for a drink and heard you grunting something in Swedish. What was it?”

He froze, mixing the eggs in the large bowl for a moment before scoffing. “Like you’re one to talk. We all heard you guys last night. The door wouldn’t stop rattling, shaking the walls.”

My face was beet red and I adjusted the collar of my sweater to ease it away from my neck. “I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about.”

“I’m surprised you even heard anything over your snoring,” Jolly shrugged with a sly smirk. “I told Astrid you use nose strips.”

I dropped the spatula, it clattering to the counter and gasped. “You did not!”

A sudden movement from the stairs caught both of our attention, our heads snapping to the forms of Jesse and Maxxine walking down, her wearing one of his shirts. With a shared look, Jolly and I scurried over to our girlfriends, me pulling on Y/N’s shirt while she poured herself a cup of coffee.

“Mochi,” she smacked my hand away. “Not now. I’m hungry and need caffeine. Sex in the shower took a lot out of me this morning.”

“Angel,” I reached for her again.

“I’m serious,” she held a stern gaze over the rim of her cup as she looked at me. “I need a break.”

Rolling my eyes, I turned her around just in time for her to see Jesse hold out the chair for Maxxine, who blushed up at him in thanks.

“No fucking way!” Y/N sputtered into her cup and then looked back at me. “She stayed the night with him?”

I wrapped my arms around her, breathing in the peach scent of her body wash, and smiled. “Look at you, little matchmaker.”

We shared a kiss before I motioned for her to sit down at the table so I could bring her a plate of food.

Everyone went about the kitchen, filling up their own plates while I sat down next to Y/N, handing her the plate. Once everyone was seated, Malcolm took a long pull of his coffee before setting it down on the dark oak of the table.

“So, who do you think was louder last night? Jolly or Noah?”

The noise of my fork falling on my plate rang loudly in all of our ears while Jolly nearly choked on his scrambled eggs. Both of us slowly sank into our seats while Astrid and Y/N shared a look across the table, stifling a fit of giggles behind their hands.

Noticing the way our faces reddened, Folio spoke up to change the subject. “Did anyone enjoy seeing the snow dogs? Michelle and I had a great time when we were here last time.”

“Oh that’s right,” Davis nodded. “You guys were here for Valentine's Day, right?”

While their conversation fell on deaf ears, I felt my heart stutter in my chest and glanced over to Y/N, who was having her own conversation with Michael who sat next to her. The realization hit me with such force, that I had to lean farther back into my chair.

Even though it was well into March, we never spent Valentine's Day together, and honestly, that wasn’t something that sat well with me. My heart yearned to make up for all the times we missed during our time apart and for the rest of breakfast, I made those plans in my mind.

“Were we really that loud last night?”

Y/N asked me at the same time Astrid asked Jolly and I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her into me with a chuckle, brushing my lips against her ear.

“Want to see if we can get even louder before we leave?” I nibbled on her ear lobe.

#noah sebastian #noah sebastian and reader #noah sebastian x reader #noah sebastian reader insert #noah sebastian smut #enemies to lovers #right person wrong time #tina and sarah talks

298 notes · View notes

alchely · 2 months

Text

My Top Gallavich fics

So, under the advice of the lovely @iangallagherisadeadman I've decided to compile a favorites Gallavich fic list along with a brief rec of each, this won't be a strict top 10 cause I'm not gonna torture myself into excluding some of these stories on some made-up self imposed arbitrary rules.

A bunch of disclaimers: most of these fics are long fics, going from 30k words up, I'm not purposefully excluding shorter fics, I have read plenty of them, but they do have a harder time sticking in my head months after reading.

Most of these fics will be explicit, just read the tags on the fic itself if you want to find out more.

Some of these fics don't have links because the authors chose to lock them and as such make them unlinkable, in order to read them you will need to go through the author's page while you're logged in your AO3 account.

This ended up ballooning out of control and is A LOT longer than ten fics, I apologize in advance :p.

YOU'LL NEVER SEE US AGAIN – spoonfulstar - 231k words

Mickey and Ian have been students at Marceline boarding school their whole lives, as their time at the institute draws toward the end they will start to discover many things, about themselves, about each other and about the world they live in.

THIS FIC! I CRIED! The number of fanfiction that are able to make me cry can be counted on a singular hand, the emotional stakes get higher and higher as the story goes on, leading to a beautiful and bittersweet climax.

This story will make you think and feel deeply about topics you'd never think a shameless fic would delve into.

I am obsessed with Mickey in this fic, he and Ian grow up in an environment that could not be more removed from South Side Chicago and yet his personality is still so recognizably and distinctly Mickey.

The story goes very dark at times, and the fic itself could be considered lengthy, but I assure you the author has made sure to not make you feel it. Those 200k words flowed so well the story did not feel long at all.

HELP ME (TEAR DOWN MY REASON) – wehangout - 34k words

Mickey is a detective and Ian becomes a suspect in an investigation except Mickey already knows him because he's his favorite dancer.

This fic falls under the umbrella of fics where “Mickey is so in love with Ian he does something unbelievably crazy”.

Oooh boy, this fic, it's written in second person (yes you've read that right), tbh out of all fics I've read from this author I think this one was the easiest to adjust mentally to the change in perspective.

I loved Mickey’s “love” in this, just… This raw connection to Ian, the perfect cocktail of feelings, I could read that all day long.

IN ANOTHER WORLD – Roryonic - 249k words

Mickey does not get sent to prison at the end of S5, what happens after and how his presence influences future events (mostly Ian, but also every other Gallagher as well as his own family).

As far as I'm concerned this fic is the closest to a perfect S6 and beyond fix-it. The dialogue writing in this story is so close to canon Shameless that I could picture entire scenes in my head with the actors playing the characters, with their body and personality quirks.

Sometimes I find myself describing this fic like it's the actual show's deleted scenes, “Look, Mickey has his own storyline! And Mandy is here! And the existence of Yevgeni does not become a plot hole!”

There are some Mickey lines in this fic that to me are as canon as if they'd been in the show. Absolutely iconic writing.

I love this author so here's a rec of some of their other longfics, however I highly suggest a lot of their other much shorter stuff as well:

BATTLESHIPS AND LOVE BOATS: Ian and Mickey start their “no strings attached” kind of sex relationship a little later than canon but their attraction and love is just as strong. This is a sort of High School AU that turns into a Prison AU that turns into something else and every shift is just as lovely as the next.

YOU SMELL LIKE LOVE: Ian and Mickey are childhood friends, to the point that the rest of the Gallaghers might as well consider Mickey a seventh brother, mmmh, I sure wonder how things will start to change. Look, I never thought I'd love a childhood friends AU for Gallavich yet here I am, if it's good it's good.

ME AND THE DEVIL: Mickey unconsciously calls for a vengeance demon and Ian Gallagher shows up at his door, because Mickey is a stubborn dumbass they fall in love instead. This story has a lot of twists and turns and the premise is only the very beginning of the story. I LOVED it!

THE INCREASINGLY POOR DECISIONS OF IAN GALLAGHER – Shamelessquestions - 309k words

Ian is a dancer in a club, he accidentally gets involved in the affair of a dangerous mafia don, but the true danger is the attraction he and the mafioso’s right hand Mickey feel for each other as soon as they meet.

What. A. Classic. Truly, an unforgettable story, and I don't mean this in hyperbole, I read this story around… 2016/2017 during my second round in the Shameless fandom, then I read countless other fics in a lot of other fandom and yet this story was the only one that my mind retained from back then, to the point that I could still remember some of the finer details as well as the final plot twists when I came back to reread it.

The plot is constructed beautifully and the original characters (part of the Shamelessquestions fanfiction universe, as they come back time and time again in every one of their AU to fulfill their role in the story) are just as vibrant.

What a story, truly.

Favorite original character in this AU: Sal, his downfall is so satisfying and yet so pitiful to read.

TEENAGERS SCARE THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF ME – Mellow_Yellow - 221k words

Ian finds something scary and calls Mickey for help, even though they had only reconnected that very day after two years of not seeing each other. Together, they get sucked into a situation they weren't at all prepared for. Can they even admit that they're in over their head?

The very beginning of this fic is SO cinematic it grabbed my interest from the very first scene and didn't let go until the end, DO NOT search for spoilers.

The only warning I'll give is that it does deal with a bit of gore and what I'm personally gonna define as slight psychological horror. That's it. Enjoy!

BROKE STRAIGHT BOYS – dancermk - 66k words

Mickey becomes a porn actor for a site where he has to pretend he's straight and not enjoying the copious amount of gay sex he's having on camera, enter Ian, another actor under the same agency and their off the chart physical chemistry.

This story has, needless to say, some really, really good smut. I especially loved their first time together, but every sex scene in this story is seared in my mind.

ETHERIZED AGAINST THE SKY – Snarfle - 213k words

So, I debated whether I should add this fic or not, but I think if there is one fic that will stay in my mind long after this Shameless binge of the past couple of months it's this one, and it should absolutely become one of those fic that everyone in the fandom should read.

After Mickey gets shot by Kash his life takes a completely different direction and he ends up in a group home where, through many difficult times, he turns his life around.

So many iconic moments in this fic, some funny as fuck, some sad, some so absurd that I'm surprised they weren't lifted straight from Shameless, one so gruesome in the very first chapter that I was surprised to have such a visceral feeling from just words on a screen. Yeah, this story will stay with me for a long time.

OLD RULES FOR NEW SIDE PIECES – Shamelessquestions - 217k words

Ian is a Fed and he spots Mickey looking suspicious in an art museum, the mutual attraction is overwhelming, Mickey is not what he seems and Ian is already with someone else, but that's not gonna stop him from pursuing what he and Mickey have.

Putting it as bluntly as I can, this fic made me face the realization that I love cheating fics (if the cheating happens to someone else to bring together the endgame couple). I have already reread this fic twice and I could probably go for another one and not get tired of it, it's that good, and out of all this author's fics it's probably my favorite.

Favorite original characters in this AU: It's a three way tie between Dre, Ivan and Carrie, they're all very captivating in this story.

Other fic from this author I'd recommend cause I really love their style:

LOST IN TRANSLATION: Ian meets a very attractive man while he's in Ukraine who doesn't speak English, a mere language barrier won't stop him from flirting for hours. (adorable)

YOU MAKE ME FEEL HUMAN – Dragona - 66k words

Ian is an assassin, he meets Mickey and thus begins a very sick love story.

To say I'm obsessed with this fic is an understatement, I suggest to everyone to just go read the original author’s own description of the fic, it sets the tone of the story magnificently.

This is an Ian Gallagher that almost resembles Jerome (also played by Cameron in Gotham) but like… a slightly more subdued and saner S1/S2 version of him. I love the layers that get peeled right in front of my eyes, the madness that creeps in a bit more every chapter. I LOVE this story.

DRIED INK - 87k words

This fic combines my two favorite Gallavich-specific tropes, one being ‘Mickey comes back from prison after s6, Ian is with someone else’ and ‘Ian cheats on that someone else for Mickey’

I love the Gallaghers in this and how unsurprised they are at Ian going back to Mickey right away. It's a little jewel of a fic.

Mickey tries SO hard to stop himself and Ian in this but their love is too magnetic, they're irresistible to each other.

THE QUESTION OF NORMAL – blue_newman - 92k words

Ian is a prison counselor, Mickey is in prison, they fall in love and it's beautiful and Ian is incredibly devoted to Mickey in this fic and I fell in love with them both in this.

KINDA RAW – catgrassplantdad - 6k

Quite simply this is my favorite short pwp fic.

Illustrating those “five times” in one night that Mickey references in 11x01.

This fic is so hot, I love it <3

QUATERVOIS – DodgerBear - 51k words

Soldier Mickey gets stationed in the middle of nowhere and meets a farmer called Ian who makes him question everything.

Falling under the same umbrella of “Mickey does something crazy for Ian” fics and this is why it stuck in my mind even if it's been a while since I've read it.

I LOVE this story, their dialogues and everything that happens in it. The setting is lovely and you will fall in love with the description of Ian’s farm.

Other fic by the same author that I also loved:

BURDEN OF PROOF: Cop Mickey gets caught in a legal battle between the two oldest Gallagher brothers, something doesn't feel right though…

THE WORDS HE DOESN'T SAY: Mickey is released before Ian in s10 and has to meet a court-mandated therapist. The story is from the therapist POV and goes AU from the beginning of s10 in that Mickey gets involved back into Yev and Svetlana’s life, the dialogue is, quite obviously, the main attraction of the story and it's really well done. (Also, written in first person).

THE MENAGERIE – CrossMyDNA - 147k words

Ian decides to re-explore his bdsm preferences at The Menagerie where he meets sub extraordinaire Mickey on his very first visit.

Shameless is undoubtedly the fandom that opened my eyes to what bdsm could be back in… approx 2016? When that other popular bdsm fic was still around *ahem*.

So it definitely feels like a sign that coming back into the fandom this fic now exists and is SO GOOD.

Obviously it's very explicit, the smut in this fic is one of the best I've ever read.

The chemistry between Ian and Mickey sizzles off the screen and can absolutely be felt even in moments not of the nsfw variety, absolutely recommended!

MICKEY MILKOVICH’S GUIDE TO FLIRTING – whatwouldmickeydo - 40k words

An s2 “missing moments” between Gallavich, completely canon compliant, all under the pretense that Mickey is following a step by step guide to flirting.

I wish this fic was describing canon moments, not kidding a single bit, I wish I could somehow magically manifest these scenes into existence they're that good and fit that well into canon.

M8TE – gallawitch - 53k words

Omegaverse fic where Ian and Mickey both start using an app and end up matching with each other, even though a connection is made almost instinctively, coming to terms with it with a sound mind will take a bit longer…

Hey,had to have at least one of these on here lol

I love omegaverse and this was everything I wanted from it, couldn't have asked for anything better really <3.

SHACKLED – MyRelapse - 19k words

Ian has a change of heart and he decides that Mickey IS the one he wants, even if he's still in prison, so he keeps in contact and goes through every hoop imaginable to have him back as soon as possible.

Reading this made me so happy like I could burst, love it.

WAITING ON MY OWN TOO LONG – Ride4812 - 266k words

This rec more than any other on this list is what I'm gonna consider self indulgent because it covers the trope I always craved to read in such a satisfying way: Canon AU where Mickey comes back from prison after 8 years, Ian has found someone else but the moment the two meet again they fall back into each other right away.

The series is made up of 4 smaller fics:

One more night

Something more this time

No more lonely nights

Ain't this life so sweet

(I will point out here and nowhere else that the last installment of this series has some segment that probably needed to be re-read a couple more times, but by that point I was too invested, and the quality fluctuates a lot only in certain parts)

The writing style is very direct and to the point, which I love, the smut is very present and written beautifully and most importantly never boring.

Ian is a MESS in this fic and had me Stressed™, mostly cause for some reason I can't handle too much casual depiction of drug abuse and addiction (I know, ironic considering the fandom).

Conflicts and resolutions are never clean cut, they don't necessarily resolve quickly or definitely or the way you probably imagine they should and I find this level of realism very satisfying.

Taking a bit of space here at the end to also rec a couple other Ride4812 fics that I also loved:

COUP DE FOUDRE - A model/photographer AU where Ian and Mickey fall in love the instant they meet and do some crazy things because of that.

HOPE HE MIGHT - A lawyer AU where Ian and Mickey are on opposing sides for the same client, an interesting murder mystery steeped in a religious cult.

Generally I feel like this author is really good at depicting just how unapproachable Mickey can be to anyone that isn't called Ian Gallagher and I eat it up every time.

WHAT THE NIGHT DOES TO THE DAY – andchaos - 9k words

A Gallavich childhood friends AU with a quite original arrangement for the story and the various segments of their lives. Very satisfying read.

RANSOM – BeckyHarvey29 - 112k words

Terry sends his sons to kidnap a Gallagher child to force Frank into paying back the money he owes, unfortunately for him Mickey and his brothers kidnap Ian, and a whole other kind of story unfolds.

Mickey and Ian falling in love in this fic is such a good read. I don't wanna spoil anything of how that or the kidnapping plot goes, since the two are so intertwined. Just know that it will be worth it.

UNDER LOCK AND KEY – Suzy_Queue - 106k words

Ian is assigned the night shift at his new job where he provides spare keys to his fellow college students stuck outside their dorm rooms. To make matters worse his shift coworker is the oh so infamous Mickey Milkovich.

I am magnetized by the way this author writes their pining for each other, their attraction and obsession, how it blooms and unfolds. This fic in particular had me develop a very bad case of tunnel vision, couldn't really turn away until I finished reading it all.

I still haven't read everything this author has to offer, but so far I also loved:

INHUMAN: A mysterious force starts attacking people close to Mickey and it all seems to lead to a mysterious redhead Mickey is oh so coincidentally obsessed with. Very cool paranormal story.

THESE FOOLISH GAMES: Mickey takes over as the boss of the local branch of a trampoline park, where Ian is one of the employees, they annoy each other to no end but what they don't know is that they're secretly texting each other.

IS THERE SOMEWHERE – andchaos - 48k words

Mickey is born with no words on his skin, convinced he's going to live a life of misery cause no one will ever say the words he's destined to hear, he's not a very happy guy. Here comes mute boy Ian who crashes into his life and won't let go.

A classic Soulmate AU, I love that like in a lot of other Gallavich fics their physical connection and compatibility usually comes before their emotional one, it is one aspect that I feel distinguishes their relationship to many other fandom’s ships.

LAST NIGHT AT THE VERONA GRAND HOTEL – the_rat_wins - 27k words

Mickey starts working at an ancient hotel who's supposedly haunted. Mickey doesn't believe in ghost stories, he is much more interested in this one guest he meets at night during his shift.

What a cinematic experience this fic is! Absolutely recommended, the length of it makes it so you can read it in the same time it would take to watch the same story in movie format.

Other fics by the same authors that have impressed me:

FADE THIS ONE TO BLACK: Ian dies of overdose in a pile of snow outside the club, when Mickey finds him there he vows to do anything to get him back.

I don't know why but this fic in particular gives off the vibes of being a pilot for a ya urban fantasy TV series, except we gotta imagine everything that comes after the first episode lol

NO LIE: Ian and Mickey are Soulmates and as such they can't lie to each other. This series is short and sweet and full of feelings, perfect

PARAGRAPHS – pink_ink - 100k words

Ian becomes a reading tutor for ex-convicts, Mickey is among them and Ian starts paying him more and more attention.

This is a story where they meet under very different circumstances and where they've lived slightly different lives compared to canon and yet they're still able to find each other in the end.

Also, sign me up for every fic where Ian has to work just as hard to help Mickey and care for him as the opposite, where Ian's brand of stubbornness is the only way to get through to Mickey.

I'm also adding a couple of ongoing fics, just two to not overwhelm too much.

NONE THE WISER – Loftec - ~218k words

Ian starts visiting Mickey’s diner, it takes a while and yet no time at all to warm up to each other.

I'm captivated by the author's writing style. I love Ian's and Mickey’s relationship. I love how they sort of take their time and yet pine helplessly for each other.

I'm obsessed with the fact that the whole point of the fic doesn't appear until two thirds of the way in cause the diner scenes were just too good to pass up on lol (and I 100% agree with them).

INTRO TO QUANTUM DATING – spoonfulstar - ~563k words

Canon Mickey and Ian meet in University. A college slice of life but drenched in the casual (and not so casual) darkness of canon shameless.

The dark humor in this is fenomenal and left me gasping laughing so many times.

Unexpectedly Ian in this fic is pursuing a linguistics oriented degree, which was what I studied when I tried university, the topics are explained in such an accurate way I have to assume the author studied them themselves and that this story is somewhat a reimagining of their own college experience because if not this would be an absurd amount of accurate research to make.

Reading this fic feels like living through the American college experience from the comfort of my home lol.

As I said before, this author's way of writing does not weight you down even with its length, the story flows perfectly from one scene to the next and before you realize it you've reached the end and you have to accept that 500k words weren't even enough.

Let's end this list with some quick recommendations

WHILE WE'RE MAKING OTHER (PEOPLE'S) PLANS - kyasticlikestea

Mickey is volunteered to organize someone's else's wedding after he managed to salvage his own so well, he'll do it, but his own Southside way.

THIS IS THE ROAD TO RUIN - bricoleur10

Ian and Mickey never go to rob Ned, the story unfolds differently from there. A fix-it with a lot of Gallavich longing , very good smut and some really good dialogue.

HEY, HONEY MINE (I WAS THERE ALL THE TIME) - serveteas

Mickey talks about his crush with Iggy and accidentally pronoun-slips. Short, to the point, funny af and I just really love it. Takes place after their fight at Kash’n Grab in s2.

AGAINST GLASS - AllThatMatters

Ian gets traded from one club to another as a dancer (and more) and ends up in the Milkovich family's club. This is a Mafia!Mickey story with some pretty tight sub-plots, I love his brothers in this.

ONE OF A KIND - fckyeahgallavich

Mickey breaks his finger and it has to be set in the hospital, chaos - of the homophobic kind - ensues. Protective!Ian, I wanna hug Mickey in this.

IAN THE FRIENDLY GHOST - Ravenheart

Ian is haunting an apartment and Mickey starts living in it, Ian is maybe starting to have a crush on him. This isn't angsty!

BLOOD IN, BLEED OUT - brewrosemilk, Whatsastory

Historical AU. Perfectly innocent bystander Ian Gallagher is thrown into the affairs of the Ukrainian Mafia back in 1954, his relationship with Mickey will span decades and he won't remain innocent for long, the mafia can corrupt anyone.

TEENAGE RUNAWAY - sadwhales

Ian comes to live and finish high school with his half siblings on the South Side, he's immediately captivated by a boy sitting under the bleachers, maybe his North Side naivety will catch his attention too.

GARDEN SONG - melwrtiesthings

A glimpse into their lives in their West Side apartment, a lot of initial angst due to a manic episode and then a lot of recovery and healing and learning more about themselves.

#gallavich #shameless #Gallavich fic rec #fic rec #ao3 #fic rec taken wayyy too seriously #jesus what is wrong with me #f*ck it I'll just tag this now and deal with the links later #if anyone wants to contribute to the list through tags or comments you are WELCOME ❤️#my post

181 notes · View notes

gloryofroses19 · 3 months

Text

The Force of a Curl

Major John ‘Bucky’ Egan was hungover, wet and missing a shoe. Hungover because those boys in the 389th challenged him to a drinking contest, wet because his mother stopped pestering him to take umbrellas when he was twelve years old and missing a shoe because of that damned English mud.

If the boys could see him now, Bucky thought, shaking his head. He could practically hear Curt and Buck’s laugh all the way from the US.

Sighing loudly as the storm increased, the pilot moved to pick up his shoe. But as his fingers brushed the shoe, the Major was shocked to find that the rain had stopped. No, not stopped he amended noticing the umbrella extended above his head.

“Are you alright, Major?” Asked a feminine voice conveying a mixture of concern and thinly veiled amusement.

While he had only been at Thorpe Abbots for two days, John Egan recognized the woman before him. Lieutenant [last name] was a notable figure to many. To most on the base, she was the pretty faced WAC lieutenant included in the upper brass briefings. To Bucky Egan, she was a puzzle he wanted to solve. Though their interactions had been limited to a short introduction and shared proximity during meetings, he already knew she was beautiful, smart, calm and confident. Even when facing the asinine questioning of Colonel Huglin. However, this interaction was offering something entirely new…

Standing to his full height, John ran a hand through his hair. Whether it was because of the rain or self consciousness of being caught in this position by her was something he’d never tell.

“Oh, I’m doing great, Lieutenant. Just enjoying the feeling of the ground.” Shooting her a confident smile despite his sorry state.

“Just with one foot?” Raising an eyebrow, [y/n] struggled to keep the laugh from escaping. “Guess you pilots really do forget what it’s like to be on solid ground. Bit of advice then, try to avoid the puddles. They’re deeper than they seem.” [y/n] teased as the Major moved to rescue his shoe from the mud.

“Oh, why didn’t I think of that?” He responded airly feeling his grasp on the situation slip. With no teasing retort brewing on his mind, the pilot was left feeling mollified by the teasing glint in her gaze.

Raising the umbrella to adjust for the height difference, [y/n] watched transfixed as a stray curl fell in front of his eye. He really was a handsome sight to behold [y/n] mused as his hand brushed hers to take the umbrella from her grasp.

If anyone were to pass by them, the pair offered the illusion of intimacy and familiarity through their shared laughter and proximity. However, an illusion was just an illusion unless perceptions were altered.

“You been here long?” Like in any small town, she had heard of the new Major before she met. His singing alone had reached her ears before she entered the pub two nights prior. Though his voice was loud and brash when singing, the deep Midwestern baritone during conversation was far more pleasing. “I hope you’ve fared better with the mud than I have, Lieutenant ''.

“5 months and yes I have,” [y/n] began before pausing to giggle at a memory, “but two weeks in being here I…” Looking up into those inquisitive cerulean eyes, [y/n] stopped herself from continuing. Clearing her throat, she reminded herself that he wasn’t just any handsome man, he was a Major. And therefore, it was probably best to not inform her superior of some slight trouble that happened to find her. “Nevermind, sir”.

Noticing the tone of professionalism that blended into her dulcet tones, John frowned. He had heard this tone before, it was how she responded to him when he introduced himself and when she spoke during the Brass meetings.

“No, don't give me sir, I don’t want sir. I’m soaked and missing a shoe, rank’s off. Call me Bucky or I’ll even take John.” He liked this version more, because there’s nothing he loved more than someone he could laugh with. Even if it was at his own expense as Bucky Egan wasn’t a man who took himself too seriously.

“Come on, can’t leave me hanging like that. You’ve seen me at my lowest, it’s only fair that you share as well.” He countered, his determination to get her to smile at him again unwavering. To further emphasize his point, he wiggled his sock clad foot hoping to get another laugh.

She could see why many were transfixed by the new Major on the base, he carried himself with a genial ease that was both disarming and charming.

Deciding she might as well dig her own grave, she relented with a sigh. “Two weeks in I got locked in the enlisted men’s mess hall on an unnecessary errand for Colonel Huglin.”

Eyes crinkling in delight, John took in her deadpan delivery that was obviously a pass fake to her underlying embarrassment. “How’d you get out?” John asked in response, knowing it would be a worthwhile story.

“As the metaphor goes, when one door closes another one opens. Namely a window in the back of the kitchen.” She remarked casually as if any rational person’s first idea would be to climb through a window.

Laughing in warm boisterous bursts, Bucky’s gaze was unwavering and full of affection and intrigue.

The implication of his gaze was enough to make any girl flustered, [y/n] included. Deciding to busy herself with pointing in the opposite direction, she hoped to quell the butterflies. “Can I walk you somewhere, Major?”

“How chivalrous of you.” He responded softly, with a matching grin. Watching the rain drops land on her otherwise pristine uniform, he stepped forward. Leaning closer, he was captivated by the teasing curl of her lips.

“Well if being one shoe down and soaked doesn’t make you a damsel in distress then I’m not sure what else would.”

With the way she was smiling at him, he wouldn’t mind being saved by her again, John thought. “Well you got me there. Walk me to my billet kind knight?”

Up until this point in the war, her mindset had firmly been 'loose lips sink ships’. No unnecessary comments or connections or else her heart would be broken. However, watching that damn curl fall across his face, [y/n] knew she had lost this battle. And if she was so easily defeated by Major John Egan then she feared for the poor unsuspecting Germans.

“Lead the way, Fly Boy.”

#john egan x reader #bucky egan x reader #major john egan x reader #john egan imagine #mota x reader #mota fanfic #john egan x female reader #masters of the air imagine #masters of the air x reader

204 notes · View notes

starysky1289 · 5 months

Text

Alpha!Vanessa X Omega!Reader. Walking home.

This is my first time writing omegaverse, I hope it’s alright <:

Also shout out @707bot1 happy birthday man I hope u enjoy this.

The rain fell heavy on your umbrella, making it harder for you to trudge down the street. You didn’t have a ride home sense your S/O has dropped you. They was a delta, although they had the ego of an alpha times ten. You weren’t good enough for them, they’d yell at you, not obedient enough, not good enough for you to be called there’s.

It didn’t help you were stuck in a heat, nothing you did could even suppress it. You didn’t have the money for the suppression tablets that you used to take, your job was going through a crash and you were suffering from it. You were practically bait just waiting to be taken by an Alpha.

The whine of a police siren stopped you, looking over you watched the black and white car pull besides you. You stepped towards it hesitantly, and the window opened. Your nose filled with the scent of alpha, almost sickly sweet and heavy with sweat. You were expecting a big guy, but instead it was a petite blonde, who gave you a soft smile, waving towards you.

“ hey, what’s got you walking out here all alone? It’s a stormy mess. “

“…I missed the bus, I’ll be fine. “

“ you scared of the scent? I ain’t gonna do nothing to you dear, I’m an officer. Can I give you a ride, I’d hate to see you out here any longer.”

You were hesitant to answer. She was clearly official, the badge, the gun, the car obviously. But you were still weary. Her blue eyes shown with only kindness, it wouldn’t hurt, and you were a while from home.

“ alright maam…thank you officer…”

She unlocked the door, and you quickly got in, closing your umbrella and keeping it between your feet.

“ just call me Vanessa. What’s you name hun. “

“ Y/N. “

“ well Y/N, Where’s your home, I’m sure someone’s worried about ya. “

“ 146 WestWood avenue, I live in the apartment building there….and no..no one’s waiting for me. Not anymore atleast…“

Vanessa pulled back onto the road, she clicked her tounge, adjusting her radio on her hip and glancing over at you.

“ awfully sorry to hear that dear. You wanna talk about it..? “

She obviously wasn’t trying to get in Your legs, maybe she just hadn’t noticed your heat yet. You where ways told how tough and intimidating alphas where, but she was sweet, gentle, the complete opposite of what you where taught to respect.

“ my former spouse…they where a delta..said I wasn’t good enough for them..I wasn’t obedient enough. So they left me for some skimpy little omega. It’s why I was walking home…I don’t have a car, and any money I get right now is going towards bills “

“ oh dear. How awful is that…some people just don’t know how to treat a girl these days. Always expecting there omega to be perfect little things for them. Shame you’ve never had a real alpha..treat you good is what they’d do. “

You blushed, gripping you pants. Was that, attraction? Nonsense, she was just beings nice, she wouldn’t make a move on you that fast would she?

“ h-hehe…s-shame I might never know…”

“ nonsense…”

As she pulled up to the stop light, she turned to you, holding you chin. Your heat in you made you want to lunge into her and make out with her right here, but you were self trained enough to know better.

“ you just need to find the right one~ “

You never had this feeling,even from your ex spouse. Vanessa chuckled, and turned back to the road. You were confused, but warm, was this attraction? It couldn’t be, why would you be.

Vanessa pulled up to your apartment building, it was anything pretty. A worn down old building with rotting architecture. You gripped your umbrella as you slowly got out of the car, looking back at Vanessa.

“ you sure you good sweetheart? “

“ y-yeah…I’ll be ok..thank you officer. “

“ what’d I tell ya, you can just call me me Vanessa. I’m of shift anyway. Have a good night “

“ yes…well..I have some homemade soup cooking right now…would you wanna join me..? “

Vanessa smiled, hoping out of the car and locking it. She waked up to you and help your hand that was holding your umbrella.

“ I thought you’d never ask. “

*~*

You both had an Italian wedding soup with garlic bread for dinner, followed by a gentle conversation about eachother over wine. Something about her made you melt, it could just be the police uniform she was still in, maybe it was just how her eyes looked like little pools of water, or maybe it was just because this heat was so bad you’d take anything you could get.

“ so, Y/n. Have you got a nest built? “

“ Huh-?? “

“ well, that heat seems like it’s not going away anytime soon. I atleast hope you have somewhere comfy your curling up. “

Your face grew red at the question, she knew about the heat, you were stupid to think she didn’t. You gripped your pants and glanced off.

“ my beds all made up..pushed against the wall so I can curl up in it…”

“ good.”

“ why do you ask, Vanessa…”

Vanessa swirled her wine, before throwing back the last bit. Her eyes glanced across the room, before back at you, smiling softly.

“ just curious. if you needed some help finishing it I wouldn’t mind at all. “

“ o-oh uhm…I..I did get this big new comforter I can’t seem to..get over my bed..would you wanna help with that~? “

You both stood up, looking up at her with your big doe eyes.

“ I wouldn’t love anything more beautiful~ “

This was wrong. A random girl, a random alpha in your home, and now you were leading her to your nest, your little spot in this world. Your bedroom was the nicest room in the apartment, your bed all covered in multiple blankets and pillows to keep you comfy. You grabbed the new comforter, opening it from its packaging. Vanessa was silent behind you, before you felt her big hands grab your waist. You didn’t pull away, letting her feel up and down your delicate waist.

“ that feel good baby? “

“ mhm…such a strong grip on me…”

She pushed her head onto your shoulder, grinding on you gently.

“ well, I can’t let you get away now. You let me into your nest…”

“ and maybe i don’t want you to go away Vanessa~ “

You gridded back against her, whimpering softly. You could feel her bulge forming from under her tight uniform. She helped you throw the comforter over the nest before humping your ass.

“ you see what you do to me princess~? Fuck…I’m gonna have to fill you with my pups now~ “

“ o-officer~….”

You turned around, and she pulled you into a deep kiss, her lips practically eating your mouth. You held onto her waist, fiddling with her belt.

“ V-Vanessa….”

“ shh…poor little mutt…all pent up with that poor heat…let me take care of it…”

Vanessa slipped her fingers around your waistband, quickly pulling them down. You wore a pair of panties that were soaked through, slick coating your folds and upper thighs.

“ look at you…all this for me baby~? “

“ y-yeah….i-i cant help it…”

“ yeah? All dirty for me baby? “

Vanessa quietly unbuckled her belt, stripping off her pants to be let with a pair of navy blue boxer briefs on. Her bulge was big through it, and the tip just poked out the top.

“ big isn’t it baby? Bigger than that ex of yours? “

“ yes Vanessa…m-much..much bigger…”

She finally dropped her boxers, letting the full thing throb against your ass. It had to off been at least 9 inches, and it was thick. You could see the knot beginning to form at its base.

“ you gonna take this baby? Gonna let me stuff you good…? “

You let yourself fall backwards into the bed, keeping your legs spread open for her to gawk at.

“ I-I’m all your Vanessa. P-please officer…m-mate me…”

Vanessa let out a low growl, pinning you down in the bed. Her breath was warm against your neck, and she kissed down your face, leaving small bites on your cheeks and earlobes. She stripped your panties off and tossed them to the side, grinding against your soft folds.

“ s-stop teasing…please just fuck m-me…”

“ your little delta may of used you up quickly…but i…I savor my meal…what i do to you..”

You whined as she continued to thrust against your folds, before letting it finally slip in. You moaned out in a pleasured relief, your head going back against the soft blankets.

“ s-so…so tight..fuck..”

Vanessa got to a steady pace, holding you down tighter every time you squirmed from its size. Your moans would grow louder every time she’d thrust in deeper, panting into your chest. She stripped off your shirt and bra, gawking down at your tits.

“ V-Vanessa…nessa please it’s s-so big!! S’to big!! “

“ Quiet baby…I-I’m having fun here…Ima…Ima make you feel good soon gorgeous…”

She bent down and burried her face between your tits, thrusting in harder. Her dick was practically ripping you in half, making sure that your hole would only take her. You’d cry out, and she’d shut you up by thrusting in deeper, making you want to whine and moan louder.

“ who’s pretty pussy is this huh? Who’s it belong too y/n. “

“ Y-you!! I-it belongs to you Vanessa!! “

“ absolutely it does..f-fuck feels..feels s’good….”

With a quick movement, Vanessa grabbed your arms and held them above your head, leaning down into your neck. You were about to complain, before feeling her night down on your neck. And she bit hard. She was marking you, marking you as hers and hers only.

“ V-Vanessa!! “

She only groaned in response, throwing herself back and picking you up, sitting you ontop of her cock. She held your hips and thrusted into you deeper.

“ F-fuck!! N-nessy its t-to much!! I-I’m gonna cum! P-please please I-i can’t!! “

“ My…my girl…m-mine…my pretty girl…f-fuck..take it..take every last drop I give you “

And with that she slammed into you, you practically screamed out in a mix of pleasure and pain. You felt her knot locked in you, and you struggled to regain your breath. You felt her cum filling you, and you could only lay into her as you could feel yourself cumming with her.

“ A-h…ah…v-va…Vanessa…”

“ shh..so good y/n…so good…gentle, get some sleep…I’ll hold you..”

You didn’t argue, you held her tightly and met your eyes close, kissing her nose gently.

“ I l-love you vaness….”

“ i love you too y/n…”

*~*

You woke up surrounded by the comfort of your nest, but your legs twitched with pain. Vanessa must of got loose in the middle of the night, and gone home. You groaned, trying to cling to her scent, before hearing a knock on the door, Vanessa slowly made her way in.

“ I’m so sorry I was gone y/n. I ran to the bathroom. Do you need anything? Money, water, food? Let me look at your mark real quick too. “

Vanessa was quick to tend to whatever you needed. She delicately looked at the mark on your neck, before giving it a gentle kiss.

“ d-does this mean I’m your m-mate now nessy…? “

“ only if you want. But let me take you to dinner first, then you can choose. I’m sorry about it..I was stuck in the moment, and I just need you closer…so my instincts took over and I..marked you…I’m sorry hun..”

You kissed her gently, holding her hands and laying on her.

“ you did nothing wrong…w-will you make me breakfast..? “

“ of course hun. You stay here, soak up my scent. I love you y/n. “

“ I love you t-to Vanessa…”

Vanessa chuckled, slowly getting up and heading out of the room. You nuzzled into the pillows and sniffed each one. Her scent was everywhere, the sickly sweet scent mixed with sweat. But you could also smell fresh cucumber, mandarin, and eucalyptus. You smiled, hugging a pillow tightly and you began to drift off again.

You finally had the alpha you were always told you’d have. But yours was different, she was tought, but gentle. She was possesive, but kind and loving. And you wouldn’t have your Vanessa any other way.

#vanessa shelly #five nights at freddy's #vanessa shelly x reader #vanessa shelly smut #alpha!vanessa #omega!reader #omegaverse #Tw: G!P #tw: cnc

229 notes · View notes

superstarz9 · 1 month

Text

So y’all fw Mr. Puzzles hcs?

Cause I got some :]

So canonically, based off the emerging movements he makes going from tv mode to ‘normal’ mode and the appearance of his arms/legs, there isn’t much of Puzzles that’s human anymore. The closest things he may have left is his heart and lungs (since he smokes, but that’s also a stretch).

While I prefer the idea thar he smokes, I like to think that he only holds the cigarette and pretends to smoke with a small smoke machine in the back, since the cig isn’t actually lit in the scene (not on purpose, of course).

As a kid, he was inspired to smoke from the old cigarette ads in cartoons (like the Flintstones Winston commercial).

He loves cooking shows and remaking the recipes, but he can’t eat. For a relationship hc (platonic or romantic), he’d probably love making food for you and get feedback on his cooking (eg, more spices, cook more/less, different recommendations). And compliments, of course. Always gotta compliment the chef, after all.

Body-wise (and this one might be kinda gross cause of minor body horror so skip if not comfortable), since we’ve established that there isn’t anything organic anymore about his body, he probably looks like a wire version of muscle anatomy. He’s very self-conscious about this, and tries to hide it the best of his abilities (long clothes, wrapping his arms to keep his shirt in place, the gloves). To add, his brain is probably a unique motherboard with wires surrounding it like a brain.

He sees and hears through the antennas, and makes sure to keep then aligned as much as possible. If one of them is slightly bent out of their usual shape, things look and sound very broken, like your vision going in and out. To add, the top dial changes the channel from his expressions to a specific show, and the lower dial adjusts his volume.

Technically canon but he has heterochromia! His right eye is dark brownish and his left is light blue. (He has homophobia in his eyes 😔 /j /ref)

We already know he stims lets bffr.

My friend’s hc: His angry/scary/humanoid face is parts of his original face, as well as the face that glitches during the movie’s end (I stg I know where that face is from. I wanna say Jack Stauber but I know it’s some kind of claymation. Speaking of Jack Stauber, Mr. Puzzles kinda gives Mirror Man vibes, y’know?).

Since he’s not as human anymore, he doesn’t get sick normally. However, he can get versions of illnesses through similar methods. He can overheat and power off on hot days, and he’s probably not great in rain. His signal also jams when it rains, so he’d constantly be bumping into stuff and wouldn’t be able to control the channels properly (I say control the channels cause idk what else to call it but that thing he does in the movie where he runs all the channels in his head and stuff. His head’s still a fully functional tv after all). If he’s shocked with lighting or smth, he’ll lose his signal, which is his equivalent of going into a coma.

Speaking of rain, he’ll try his best to be on top of the weather and carry an umbrella. However, if he doesn’t have actors for the weather channel and is preoccupied with other projects, he’ll be stuck at the studio waiting out the storm. Relationship hcs for this can be rlly funny. You’d catch him all bitter about the sudden rain as he stands by the door waiting for a cab or smth. If you pull out an umbrella, he’s turn into an absolute drama queen. “Oh, it’s such a TRAVESTY! This HORRIBLE rain just WON’T lighten up! Oh, if only there was someone so kind and caring who’d share their umbrella with me!” You could a) not share the umbrella and receive an even more bitter Puzzles, b) insist on holding the umbrella and have him walk with you awkwardly, or c) give him the umbrella but he holds it so high that you still get wet.

Despite his hatred for the rain, it’s one of the few things he can still enjoy about his humanity. Being a bunch of wires and other tech, he can’t feel anything, just being numb, minus a light electrical pulse, similar to a heart beat. He can’t feel specific textures but can grab and roughly identify objects. However, he can feel the rain and how different it is from other things, and it reconnects him with the real world. For any Steven Universe fans, it’s like Peridot stepping out into the rain for the first time, but more somber.

If he’s out in the rain one day, he’s sick the next. When he sneezes, his screen goes static-y for the moment.

When he sleeps, he has a black screen with the small “sleep mode” pop-up in the corner. He’s also a very light sleeper.

When he zones out, it’s the Puzzlevision logo bouncing across the screen as a screen-saver.

Aight that’s all I got right now. If this does well I’ll post some more!

#mr puzzles #smg4 puzzlevision #mr puzzles headcanons #headcanons #puzzlevision

128 notes · View notes

astral-realities · 2 months

Note

Hello again! New questions bc im really curious! How much do you all identify with your puppets and their appearances? Are they more of a tool for you or are they significant for your sense of self? I've noticed that your appearances somewhat reflect your personalities, was this a design choice made by your architects or have you been adjusting looks along the way by yourselves? (I know Habitually Stargazing did a little, the dress looks really pretty on you btw!) Im particularily fascinated by the antennas! Im guessing you don't use them much having a hard-wire connection to the rest of your superstructures, right? (perhaps they would be more practical when communicating with visitors in your chambers? I don't know..) Im seeing a sort of analogy between animal motifs in ancient art and masks and those retro-looking antenna resembling those used with older technology, though I might be wrong.. I'd be thrilled to know whether these hold any cultural / traditional signifincance among machines alike!

Also I'd love to know more about your serial numbers! What do they mean, and do you more identify with them or with your names?

Finally, Flowers - a creature for you

It's an umbrella slug, hiding under it's umbrella!

Hope you all have a wonderfull day, looking forward to hear from you!

SDA: Oh! While the exact details might vary from case to case, I would say that it's a bit of both - the puppet is a tool tied to an iterator's sense of self.

SDA: The puppet is only a small part of yourself, but it represents you as a whole. You .. used it to communicate with your citizens, you use it to communicate with your peers. Others start to see *you* in this form. The more you use it, the more you begin to identify with it. With time, its image truly becomes yours.

SDA: From our creators' perspective, it might have been a matter of needing an interface to interact with us. It seemed to be more natural to speak with something that you can actually look in the face.

SDA: Another important fact is that the puppet is by far the most expressive part of our bodies. Our biological elements can be somewhat controlled by our programming, but it cannot fully override them - there will always be a living, sentient being deep below.

SDA: One that has its own emotions, preferences, opinions; one that wants to express itself. The puppet serves as an outlet for that. It can gesticulate, it allows you to convey how you feel in a way that's understandable to most.

TFB: It would've probably been easier for them if we couldn't think for ourselves. Just tell us what to do and we do it until the end of time, no questions asked.

TFB: Instead, they chose to fully depend on something with an *attitude*! Some really tried their best to keep good relations with their iterator, afraid of putting it in a bad mood...

SDA: Yes, I suppose...

SDA: Some of us might pay greater attention to the puppet's appearance, adjusting it to our own tastes, mostly with clothes and accessories. Fashion was important in our creators' culture, so it wasn't out of the ordinary for an iterator to request a new robe or a necklace. Some took matters into their own hands.

SDA: ... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ramble on like this.

BROS: Don't you dare, it's always nice hearing you so passionate about something~

BROS: About the antennae - you're right, they're not as powerful as the equipment in the rest of the structure! They're decent for close-range stuff, and they're what you'd resort to in case of an emergency.

BROS: Like, somehow losing access to the rest of your body. The puppet can't do much on its own, but thanks to these, it would be able to communicate with anything near it.

BROS: Aaand they were mostly another way for the architect to visualize whatever concept they had for a puppet.

HS: I'm almost offended by the "retro" remark. As far as I'm concerned, these are state-of-the-art.

BROS: Sure, sure~

BROS: Finally, as for the model numbers. They represent the architect's name, the cycle when the project was officially completed, and the name of the project at that time, like this:

BROS: Nobody really identifies with this, it's mostly used in paperwork - maybe some database stuff. Even if two iterators were given the same name, it's extremely unlikely they also had the same creator *and* creation date, so it allows for telling us apart that way.

HS: The name that appears in your model number isn't truly binding either. Such as...

TFB: Come on now, don't put them on the spot like that.

SDA: ...

SDA: It's fine...

SDA: Originally, I was called "Visions of Serenity", you'll see me in databases as GTIAOT672005VOS.

SDA: I was renamed shortly after, due to some... rather unfortunate coincidence.

SDA: It really doesn't matter now.

---

TFB: Also, thank you so much!! I don't get to see many marine species around these parts, this is lovely!

HS: (...and thank you...)

#UMBRACULUM UMBRACULUM SWEEEP 403-418 i love your questions so much . 10/10 thank you so much #also. the drawing quality's gonna drop on days when i Want To Answer but have no energy to draw properly!! sorry :^)#a: sda #a: bros #a: hs #a: tfb #rain world oc

72 notes · View notes

ch0wen · 2 years

Text

The Escort | Tangerine x Reader

A/N something I needed to just write down after seeing bullet train for a second time. Not proofed…should I continue?

The back of your head throbbed, as your eyes blinked open adjusting to the light.

“You hijacked my car?”

“Told you,” he inhaled in a puff of smoke from his cigarette before flicking it out the partly open window, “I need to get you back to Nevada before Friday, love.”

“I am not going back there,” you snapped.

“Seems like you currently don’t have much say in the matter. I want to get paid. And in order for that to happen,” he made eye contact through the rearview mirror, “I need you.”

You stared at him for a moment then rolled your eyes; breaking the connection. The ache throbbed again and you attempted to rub your head but could not move your hands from around your back.

Shifting, you feel the fabric of a tie rubbing against your wrists. Confirming, as you peered around the seat, with the buttons of the dress shirt now open, it was his tie binding your arms.

The tie he was wearing when you picked him up an hour ago. Ran into him at the gas station. He mentioned something about heading in the same direction as you. His brother screwed him because he forgot him there at the station, was it? Or because there was an issue with his car? Against your best interest, you faltered and offered a ride.

You didn’t even question why a good-looking man in a suit was seeking out assistance at a gas station in Colorado. But you heard that accent and gazed too long into his blue eyes and heard your own words agreeing to take him before your brain could catch up.

Now, because you thought with your pussy and not your head, you’re tied up in the backseat with the British hitchhiker driving you to your family.

Your eyes frantically searched your car for some other weapon to use to stop him from taking you any further. Your black umbrella sat on the passenger seat; likely used to knock you out before. To your right, behind the passenger seat, you spotted your purse haphazardly tossed on the floor.

After passing him a sideways glance, you slowly reached for the strap with your right foot. Your arms strain against the binding of the tie. You feel it loosen.

—————

“Pull the car over!”

The bag strap was tight against Tangerine’s neck. His head slammed back against the head rest a couple of times. Trying to make contact with your nose to get you away from him. He let out a discouraged groan when the attempt was to no avail.

“Fucking hell,” he gritted out.

His ring-clad left hand clawed to relieve some tension from the strap off his reddening skin, as he fought to desperately keep his eyes on the road.

Yours deceived you. You looked down to his spread thighs momentarily before a smile spread across your face. The taught strap loosened a bit in your hands,

“Really?”

Amusement was dripping in your voice. Tangerine’s eyebrows furrowed at the sudden tone shift and offered you a sideways glance. Then as some of his adrenaline faded, he felt that uncomfortable tightness in his navy dress pants.

He cleared his throat as his left hand moved down to adjust himself, “it’s only human nature.”

His cockney accent was weakened by his clear arousal. You watched this self righteous man falter because he’d been caught with a hard on after your attempted asphyxiation. Or maybe it was the power that turned him on? You moved a bit closer, your lips grazing his pink blush-crept ears, “It’s a pretty fucking kinky thing though, hm?”

To tease him further, your left hand took hold of the bag strap as your right gently scraped down his hairy chest. Fingers idly played with the chain of his gold necklace. Tugging and tightening the way it sat around his neck.

“God dammit. I’m pulling over.”

Next: The Escort - Part 2

#I’ve been working on pt 2 and it’s the smuttiest thing I’ve ever written #tangerine #bullet train #aaron taylor johnson #tangerine and lemon #atj #tangerine x reader #bullet train blurb #lemon and tangerine #tangerine fic

3K notes · View notes

myechoecho · 2 months

Text

Lovely Runner ep 1

I was not expecting Sol to be paralyzed. She’s not Sun Jae’s superfan for no reason. When she was at her lowest, close to suicide it was his kind words that gave her courage to live on. It’s deeply personal to her since she credits him for saving her life. I’m also fairly confident he’s the mysterious person who pulled her from the accident (and maybe her mom knows???).

So yes, of course she’ll try to save him. I do hope that she realizes teen swimmer Sun Jae is not 34 yo superstar Sun Jae who has apparently committed suicide. If it was a suicide (and I’m not 100% it was), his reasons are not necessarily found in his teen years. Though I suppose she’s trying to protect him.

Still, it’s clear that teen Sun Jae has some struggles because what she said to him about struggling alone clearly affected him.

I also hope they address what going back in time means for Sol personally. It’s before her accident so she can walk again. No matter how well adjusted to her life she is now, it must be incredibly emotional for her. How is her accident going to play into this?

Not only that but you have her grandmother before she had Alzheimer’s/dementia, which is always very painful for family members. It’s yet another layer she’ll have to deal with.

I did love the parallel with the umbrella.

I’m not familiar with the webtoon so I’m don’t quite know where it’s going. I do think we will need to know more about what was happening in Sun Jae’s life in the present. How they handle that I’m not sure since teen Sun Jae won’t know anything about his future self.

#lovely runner #kdrama

83 notes · View notes

prismaticpichu · 3 months

Text

Genesis’s Kindest Deeds ❤️

• Considering trashing all his outgrown clothes when going through his wardrobe, but then deciding to donate them instead

• Has a habit of holding the “door open” button on an elevator for at least 10 seconds to make sure no one else needs to enter

• ALWAYS leave a 20% tip (plus a smiley face and “thank you :)” but don’t tell anyone else)

• Taking Zack to the infirmary when he felt sick and Angeal wasn’t around

• Picking up 30 wrappers while on a walk one day and throwing them out

• Tying Zack’s shoes when he couldn’t bend down from over-squatting

• Massaging Seph after a stressful day

• Offering to cook dinner instead of Angeal after a stressful day

• Standing in line at a coffee shop, overhearing that the person in front of him forgot his wallet, and offering to pay for him. He even bought his kid a sprinkled sugar cookie <3

• Putting little sticky notes on the pages of catalogs that he thinks Seph will like best

• Canceling all his plans one day to attend a meeting with Sephiroth, knowing Angeal was on a mission and his best friend was astronomically anxious. He squeezed his hand under the table some time during it and whispered that everything was going to be alright.

Angeal’s Kindest Deeds 💜

• Making peppermint and ginger tea for Sephiroth & Genesis when they both fell ill (it was Genesis’s fault for the record- man kept trying to adjust the blankets on Sephiroth when he thought he wasn’t warm enough, and eventually caught his cold)

• Attending at least 55 Loveless performances with his friend

• Telling Genesis to read him Loveless lines when the auburn appeared down

• Telling Sephiroth to name the periodic table alphabetically for him when the man seemed down (see this is very exciting to some people)

• “Losing” several arm wrestling competitions to Zack to boost his pup’s self-esteem one day when the boy was down

• Volunteering at the local pet shop/animal shelter

• Delivering home-cooked meals to the orphanage in the slums

• Adding decorative plants to every floor of the ShinRa building

• Buying Sephiroth an aromatherapy bracelet to help with stress

• Walking 50 minutes out in the pouring rain to pick up Zack at a restaurant because he forgot an umbrella

• Adopting a small, hyper Third as his own when no other SOLDIER was willing to show him the ropes

Sephiroth’s Kindest Deeds 💚

• Went to the slums one afternoon for a monster extermination mission; left with 500 Gil given to children he saw living in impoverished conditions

• Found a stray, wounded cat in the street and took it to the animal shelter; endured several scratches along the way, but never did he leave the poor animal to fend for itself

• Allowed Zack to hold Masamune—one of his prized, protected possessions—knowing it would make the boy’s (and Angeal’s) day

• Stitching Zack’s clothes back together after a violet mission left a tear—and before the boy would receive an earful from Angeal about being responsible.

• “Losing” to Genesis one spar when the auburn was having a particularly rough day

• Constantly buying books for Genesis so he never runs out of material to read (always having at least two ready for him while he’s in a current book)

• Offering to donate his blood to save his treasured friend, despite years of being tested from Hojo leaving him horrified of needles

#sephiroth #ffvii #crisis core #zack fair #ff7 #angeal hewley #genesis rhapsodos #floof #randomness #<3333

98 notes · View notes

froggibus · 1 year

Text

A Moment of Hesitation - Leon Kennedy

Pairing: Leon Kennedy x F! reader

Genre: angst, hurt/comfort, mutual pining??

Word Count: 4.1k

Summary: leon has always kept you at arms length in order to protect you, but after leading the two of you into a trap, the cracks start to show and feelings come to light

CW: kidnapping, violence, gun violence, knife violence, bindings (reader and Leon are tied up with ropes), interrogation + interrogation techniques (including torture), reader shoots someone (self defense), drugging, mutual pining, hurt/comfort, love confessions, leon and reader are coworkers, somewhere between RE2 and RE4 leon

you guys were warned ahead of time lol. this started after i watched criminal minds and my hand slipped and suddenly i had 3k words and had to finish it. kind of my first shot at writing anything like this (slightly inspired by my mammon fic tho) so sorry if there's pacing issues. enjoy <3

————

Leon knows he messed up when he wakes to a bucket of water on his face and ropes holding his hands behind his back. Three men haul him to his feet, holding him up even when his knees buckle. How did he even get here..? Wasn’t he on a mission with you—he freezes in his tracks.

Where were you? He squints his eyes, desperately looking for you in the dark room. He feels relief for only a second when he sees your crumpled form on the ground, bound in the same way he is before his blood runs cold. You shouldn’t be here.

It was supposed to be a simple mission: investigate a supposedly abandoned Umbrella Facility for more information on their newest BOW. Of course, nothing can ever go right for Leon S Kennedy, and somewhere along the way, noxious gas was released throughout the lab you were in. He had tried to push you out of the room, not caring what happens to himself as long as you’re safe, but seeing you here means you must not have gotten away.

He clenches his jaw in frustration. Ever since he realized he had feelings for you, he just wanted to protect you. Sometimes that meant taking on the harder missions alone, and when he couldn’t, he was watching you like a hawk. This was supposed to be easy, though, and he let his guard down. A major fuck up on his end.

Another man, another Umbrella lackey, emerges behind you, yanking you up by your bindings. Leon growls, instinctively moving towards you before being tugged by the men holding him. A woman in a lab coat splashes water in your face and you begin to stir.

You wake up wet, frigid water dripping down your face and running over your eyelids. You try to open your eyes only for the water to pour into them. It stings, and you reach out to wipe your eyes dry only to realize your hands are being held behind you.

“What the—“

“Nice of you to join us,” a woman’s voice echoes off the damp walls of the room you’re being held in.

Your eyes adjust to the water and the darkness and you manage to make out a few things. One, is that you’re in a small room, most likely underground from the dank smell. Secondly is that you’re restrained and the gun that was once tucked into your hip holster is gone. Thirdly is Leon, who’s watching you with concern, three men holding him back from running to you.

Right, you remember. There was gas in the room, and everything had gotten all foggy and dizzy. Leon had tried to push you out, you realize, and you had gotten out until you tried to drag him out of the room and passed out along with him.

Leon glances at you and you cringe under his gaze. His sacrifice was for nothing given that you’re standing here with him. He should have known that you never would have left without him.

“Mr Kennedy,” the woman crows, dark lips curling upwards. “Care to enlighten us on what you and your friend were doing in my lab?”

Leon frowns, “that’s none of your business.”

“That’s unfortunate,” she sighs, and signals to the man holding you, “I guess we’ll have to use other means to find out.”

The man drops you, letting you fall face first on the ground. You manage to land on your chest just before you hit and save yourself a broken nose.

Leon strains against his captors, screaming for you, “don’t you fucking dare—“

“Don’t I dare what, Mr Kennedy?”

He growls, jaw set hard as he narrows his eyes on the woman. But she’s right. He can’t do anything to help you in his current position, and he has absolutely no fucking clue how to get you out of this. So, he shuts up.

“That’s what I thought,” she smirks at his silence. “Now will you tell us?”

You guys share a look and you can see the conflict in his eyes. You know he can’t tell them, even if it means sacrificing you. But you can’t help but think that if you were in his position, you’d tell them anything they wanted to know. You’d burn the whole fucking world down for him.

She takes his prolonged silence as a ‘no’ and gestures at the man behind you. A boot meets the back of your head and you’re sent sprawling face first on the ground. The sole of his shoe plants itself on your cheek and grinds against it so hard you swear you hear cracking.

“Get your—“ Leon manages to land an elbow to the face of one of his captors. “Get your fucking hands off of her!”

You spit dirt on the ground and glare at the man above you. He grins back and the sight makes your stomach churn.

Leon is seething, his heart pounding worse than it ever has. “If you hurt her,” he says in a low voice, “there won’t be a place on heaven or earth you could hide from me.”

You’ve never found Leon so scary. Threatening, sure. But even when he’s interrogating people and shooting zombies, you’ve never felt the chill that you do now. The man holding you down must feel it, too, because he suddenly retracts his boot from your face.

Still, in different circumstances, in different contexts, his words would make you shiver. You try to shake the thoughts away. It’s because you’re his partner, y/n. Nothing else. Leon doesn’t see you that way.

The scientist woman, clearly dissatisfied with Leon’s silence, recalls her lackeys and slams the metal door behind her. As soon as Leon hears footsteps rescinding, he’s dropping to his knees next to you.

“Y/n,” he whispers, “y/n, get up.”

You whine, trying to sit up without your hands. Leon can hardly watch as you manage to prop yourself up on your chest and eventually fall back on your knees.

“Are you hurt? Did they do anything to you?”

You shake your head, keeping your voice quiet,“I don’t…I don’t think so. Nothing aside from what you saw, at least.”

He seems to relax at that, shoulders sinking down from his ears. He wants more than anything to reach out and wipe the dirt off of your face, to check every inch of your skin and make sure you’re okay.

“I-I think I know a way to get us out of this, okay?” He shuffles closer to you until his knees are against yours, “but you have to trust me.”

“I trust you with my life, Leon.”

His chest warms at your words but it’s short lived. “They took my gun but I still have my knife in my pocket,” he breathes, “I just need you to grab it and we can cut the ropes. Can you do that?”

“I-I think so,” you nod, turning around so that your hands face his front.

You lean back, fingertips reaching out for his pocket. Leon leans into your touch, pressing his pants against your hand. He gasps when your fingers brush across his crotch and you freeze in your tracks.

“Did I hurt you?”

“No,” he grunts, “just—a little more to the left.”

You somehow manage to get the knife from his pocket and flick it open. Leon moves his head down until he can clench his teeth around the hilt, ducking down until the blade is level with your bindings.

“Stay perfectly still,” he mumbles around the knife.

You try but it’s cold and you’re sore and he’s so damn close to you. Still, you manage, and soon enough you start to feel the bindings release until you can pull your hands free.

You hold them out in front of you and rub at your raw wrists, the red skin aching from where the ropes dug in. You turn to face Leon, taking the knife from his mouth and wiping his spit on your pants.

“Turn around,” you whisper.

He obeys your command, turning so that his back is facing you and his ropes are level with your hands. Your hands shake with every movement but you manage to saw through the rope and release him.

He gasps in relief, letting the tattered nylon fall to the ground. “Alright,” he stands up on shaky legs, “now to get out of here.”

You try to follow suit, pressing your hands against the floor to try and force yourself onto your shaking legs. You manage to get one leg up but as you stand, you pitch forwards.

Leon anticipates your fall before it even happens and catches you. “You alright?”

“The gas must not be out of my system,” you shake your head, “I can walk. I’ll be fine.”

You prop yourself up on his shoulder and push off, stumbling a bit before getting your footing. Leon watches you carefully, making sure you’re able to stand before approaching the sealed door.

He tugs on it and though the metal whines, it doesn’t budge. He pushes it and the metal gives way, opening to a dark corridor. You think of making a joke about him pulling a push door, but bite your tongue. Now is not the time.

Leon surprises you by grabbing your hand and leading you up the hallway. “Do you have my knife?” He asks. “We don’t know what could be lurking around these halls.”

“Yeah—do you want it?”

“No,” he shakes his head, blond hair flopping in his face, “you hang on to it.” I’d rather you be protected.

You reach the end of the hall and Leon pulls you to the left where more light seems to be coming from a staircase. There’s noises up ahead—just a shuffling of footsteps—but it has Leon instinctively tugging you closer to him.

You’re so close you can feel the warmth radiating off of his back and his heart beating in his chest. “Leon,” you say, pointing towards a shadow being cast from the top of the stairs.

He nods once, taking the stairs one step at a time, anticipating some sort of horrific BOW. Instead, it’s one of the men from earlier. Not just any man—the one who had stepped on you.

Leon can hardly contain his anger as he drops your hand and sneaks up behind him, wrapping an arm around his neck. He holds his head with one hand and uses his forearm to cut off his oxygen, and even after the man goes limp, Leon holds on.

You watch with wide eyes, not sure if you should intervene or not. He's hostile, after all, and he did step on your face. You don’t have to jump into action, though, because Leon sees the look on your face and gently lowers the unconscious man to the floor.

“Asshole,” he spits, and reaches for your hand again, “come on, we must be close to an exit.”

You place your hand in his and run your thumb gently across the back of it. A simple, silent gesture that doesn’t go unnoticed by Leon; a gesture that calms the fire inside him.

“I—do you think it’s only the guys from earlier?” You ask.

“I’d like to think so, but we should still be on guard…” I don’t want to lead you into another trap.

Leon swallows hard. You’re so close to him, he can feel you breathing. All he wants is to make sure you’re okay, really okay, and to hold you until you calm down. But he can’t do that, not until he gets you out of here at least. And even then, would you let him? He’s kept you at arms length for so long, would you even be willing to come closer?

It sure feels like it when you’re practically leaning against him the entire way through the halls.

“Leon,” you whisper, and when he doesn’t answer, you tug on his arm. “Leon!”

He jerks backwards, almost knocking you into a wall in the process. “What?”

You jab your finger towards two more shadows up ahead. It must be the remaining men from earlier. His eyes go wide, his lips forming an ‘o’ shape when they follow your gaze.

“You get the one on the right, I’ll get the one on the left. Okay? On three, two, one—“

You lunge forwards, brandishing the hilt of the knife. You smack the base of the hilt directly against the man’s head as hard as you can, and he crumples to the floor. Leon raises an eyebrow at your tactics from where he’s choking out the other guard, and you swear you see him smile.

You dig around in the man’s pockets, only to find your gun. You nudge his face with your foot, “fucker,” and click the safety off.

Leon lays the man on the ground, turning back to speak to you just as the final man leaps out from behind a corner. He’s holding Leon’s pistol, but before he can even shoot, there’s a hole in his head and your handgun is smoking.

Leon looks at you, then at the man, then back at you. “Y/n,” he breathes, bewildered.

“Don’t let your guard down, remember?” You try to quip, but your voice and hands are shaking.

Not because you just shot a man, no. You’ve had to subdue more than a few hostiles in your line of work. No—you’re shaking because had you been a second slower, or your aim a bit worse, Leon would be dead right now.

You swallow your feelings down. You can deal with them when you get out. For now, escape is all you need to focus on.

Leon picks up his pistol from the man and waits for you to cross the room to him. He can’t hold your hand now, not with his gun, but you’re still close enough that he can feel you.

He tries to ignore the way his face heats up at the contact.

—

It takes several more hallways before you’re back in the room you got gassed in, and then twenty minutes from there, but you finally get out.

It’s dark out, the sun having dipped down below the horizon hours ago, and the breeze bites despite being in a desert. You shiver, rubbing your bare arms.

The moonlight illuminates Leon’s face, letting you see the bruise that covers his cheek bone and the dirt all over his skin. Still, he’s as beautiful as ever.

He raises a hand to your face. There’s a small gash from where you hit the ground earlier, a streak of blood down your face. “This looks bad,” he moves his hand down to your jaw, looking at you seriously. “We’ll have to clean it once we get back to the motel.”

“O-okay,” butterflies erupt in your stomach under his touch.

The walk to the car isn’t long, but the silence makes it seem much worse. Warmth lingers on your face from where Leon had touched you, and you find yourself rubbing at it. He’s being so gentle now—but why?

It’s not like he wasn’t before, but it was never like this. So what could explain the change in behavior? Was it guilt? Gratitude? Did he resent himself for the fact he couldn’t bring himself to leak secret government information to save your life, or did he want to thank you for saving him? Both? Neither?

The enigma makes your head spin, and the only thing you’re sure of is the warmth in your face and the butterflies in your stomach.

Even the drive back to the motel is strangely silent, Leon occasionally glancing at you when he thinks you’re not looking. Examining your wound, you assume. It’s a lot more than that for Leon, though. He needs to make sure you’re okay. That you’re alive and safe and out of harm's way. Harm that he put you in.

It’s a miracle for him that he could even drive back to the motel with the way his thoughts raced. Still, he gets you there safe and sound, and suddenly the two of you are stepping out of the car on shaky legs.

“Are you—do you need help?” He asks.

You don’t want to admit it, and on a good day you wouldn’t. But this wasn’t a good day, and you do need help. You think about it for a second, and nod.

The position you fall into with Leon is only natural for the two of you. Something you’ve done on countless missions when one or the other or both of you got injured. An arm around your waist, an arm around his, leaning your body weights on each other. Stumbling desperately for your hotel room in the dark. If anyone saw you now, they’d probably just assume you’re a couple on vacation that had a few too many.

If only they knew how complicated it really was.

Leon has to release his arm from you to dig through the pocket of his pants for the keycard, but he lets you rest your full body weight on him in the meantime. You relax on him, the warmth and scent and curves of his body the only familiar thing in the world.

The lock turns green and clicks, letting Leon push the door open and help you into the room. You’re almost relieved to see the double beds and feel the brisk air conditioning. The only thing that would make it better is if it were your own bed.

Leon clearly shares your sentiment, kicking off his boots and leaping onto the mattress, “what a sight for sore eyes.”

You sit on the edge of your bed, slowly taking off your combat boots one at a time and spending way too much time fiddling with the shoelaces. “Tell me about it.”

You almost laugh at the words that just left your mouth. It’s just a figure of speech, but there really is something you want him to tell you about. You want to ask him about his sudden closeness and the mission and the brush with death and above all, his hesitation earlier.

A part of you knows why. He doesn’t want you to die, you’re his partner, but you know and you’ve always known, the job comes first. You might be willing to sacrifice everything for him, but he can’t do the same.

“We need to clean your face,” Leon sits up suddenly, the rustling of his clothes catching your attention. “It’ll get infected otherwise.”

You don’t feel like doing anything right now except for laying down and staring at the ceiling, but you know he’s right. You begrudgingly follow him to the bathroom. He’s already unpacking his first aid kit, digging out antiseptic spray, cotton pads and a bandaid.

Like every other time you’ve done this, you settle on the counter in front of him. It’s such a familiar feeling that it’s almost bitter. He wets a cloth with warm water and starts to wipe off the dirt and blood on your face. You flinch under his touch, the wound stinging with the water.

“What’s on your mind, doll?” His voice is soft, calm. Nothing like it was earlier when you were being stepped on. The contrast makes you shiver.

You feel like you’ve been here a million times but at the same time, everything feels different. “It’s been a long day,” you say quietly, “for both of us.”

He wets a cotton pad with antiseptic and starts to dab it across the cut. “We’ve had longer days.”

You don’t say anything to that, clenching your teeth together to keep from hissing in pain. You never do get used to the burn of cleaning wounds.

“Seriously, what is it?” He looks at you seriously.

“I feel like I’m going insane, Leon.”

He gently presses the bandaid to your wound, dropping his hands from your forehead to your forearms. “Why?”

“I—” your skin practically burns where he’s touching you. “It’s everything. It–it’s me and it’s you and the mission and my feelings and—God, we’re partners Leon, we’re partners and I’m going to fuck it all up.”

The way you say partners lingers in the air. You choke on the word like it’s painful, like it’s a curse, some sort of vile thing that haunts you. And in a way, it is. Your partnership with Leon has long been a curse complicated by your own feelings.

His brow furrows, “what are you…?”

“I would sacrifice everything for you. And I know I shouldn’t feel this way and it’s stupid and it’s selfish but…” You can feel tears pricking your lashes.

“But what?”

“Why won’t you do the same? You hesitated—earlier, you hesitated. You weren’t going to talk.” You burst into tears at the end of your sentence, the horrors from the day coming back to haunt you.

Your feelings are so overwhelming that they drown you. Your sadness and heartbreak and fear, and your anger and resentment. The bitter feeling whenever you’re reminded that Leon is your partner, nothing more.

Leon squeezes your arms gently, trying to get your attention. “Y/n,” he sighs, “look at me. Please.”

When you can’t bring yourself to meet his gaze, he slowly moves a hand to your face and wipes your tears away. His hand catches your jaw, tilting your chin up until your eyes are level with his. The way the tears catch on your lashes make the world look like a stained glass window, Leon the most beautiful mosaic you’ve ever seen.

“You need to understand,” his voice is soft, “I didn’t hesitate because I don’t care about you. I hesitated because I do. I keep my distance because I care about you so much, it scares me. Y/n, I would let the whole fucking world burn if it meant keeping you warm.”

His words stun you. They leave you warm and dizzy and lightheaded, your heart pounding against your ribcage, your skin burning under his touch. It’s all so confusing, so overwhelming. This whole time, did he really feel the same way?

“I meant what I said, doll. If someone hurt you, there wouldn’t be a place in the universe where they’d be safe from me.”

You’re staring at him and he’s staring back. His eyes have always been his most expressive feature, and right now they’re telling you exactly what you want. The warmth they hold, the concern and the affection, it’s all you’ve ever wanted.

“Leon…”

He leans in, ghosting his lips on yours. Heat spreads through your body. “We’re partners,” he whispers against you, and somehow that word sounds less venomous than it ever has.

“Partners,” you repeat, your lips catching on his as the words leave your mouth.

He presses his lips on yours harder, moving his hand from your face to the back of your head, holding you against him. He’s needy and desperate for your touch, as if he’s trying to keep you with him forever. And he is.

“Partner,” he mumbles, moving his lips down to your collarbone. “My partner. My brilliant, brilliant partner.”

You shiver at his touch and his words, the moment so raw and intimate it makes you wonder how long he’s wanted to do this.

“My brilliant partner,” he pulls away, staring directly into your eyes, “so brilliant she couldn’t even see I was in love with her.”

“I—” you start to say but the words fail you.

Leon strokes your hair, planting a kiss to the bandaid on your forehead. “I know,” he says. “I know.”

He pulls away from you and grabs your hand, helping you off of the counter and leading you to bed. Both of you are still in your uniforms—a mess of vests and cargo pants and holsters. It’s a slow process to discard the most uncomfortable parts, but it’s worth it when you’re left in just a plain white t-shirt and underwear. There’s angry red marks on your skin from where the straps were.

You shyly look over at Leon who is dressed the same way you are. His shirt and skin are still dirty, and you’re sure you are too, but you don’t care. It doesn’t matter now.

All that matters is you and Leon, and the way he lays on the bed and waits for you to lay next to him. The way he draws you in, your head on his chest, listening to the sound of his heart beating. The way he means everything to you, and you mean even more to him.

#leon kennedy x you #leon kennedy x reader #leon s kennedy #resident evil 2 #resident evil #resident evil fluff #resident evil angst #resident evil 4 #hurt/comfort #mutual pining #angst #fluff #re2 remake #re2 x reader #re4 leon #re2 leon

803 notes · View notes

sugarplumxx · 4 months

Text

strangers - toji f.

inspired by strangers by ethel cain/bones and all!! basically a tokyo ghoul au because cannibalism as a metaphor for love >>

cw: nfsw, blood + gore, violence, cannibalism

You meet Toji in the spring.

It’s a beautiful day.

One of those days right after a rainstorm, where the ground is damp but the sky is dry: cool and crisp and ebbing into March. Residual raindrops trickle from the leaves, splattering to the ground every so often, occasionally landing in your hair. Not worth an umbrella.

It’s a beautiful day, and you’re being followed.

Late afternoon, after you’ve run all of your errands, picked up a drink at your favorite café, and are ready to walk home. Except you can't, because a man in a black hoodie and navy beanie has been following after you for the past fifteen minutes.

You try and shake him, walking around a few corners, even taking enough left turns to get full circle, and he’s still tailing you. You check behind yourself, and when you look back, he’s close enough for you to see the hunger in his eyes.

Not sure if it’s ghoulish hunger, or just the kind that men so often bear. Not sure if it’s the kind that eats at the flesh or at the soul.

Either way, it’s not safe.

You try and head back towards the crowded part of town. With more people, it’ll be easier to shake him. Better yet, find a public bathroom or somewhere with other women. Still, that’s ten minutes out, and you start to walk a little quicker. Of course, this is the day you forgot your pepper spray. Not that it would help if he truly is a ghoul.

Ghouls, you’ve learned, have appetites unlike any others.

You don’t fully notice the man leaning against the building until you’re close enough to smell his scent: deep and musky, like Marlboro reds and hard liquor. He’s tall, at least six foot two, and despite his jacket you can tell he’s well-built. Against your better judgment, you slide next to him, far enough to be appropriate but close enough that he looks down at you with his piercing dark green eyes.

“Please, help me…” You whisper, almost too soft to hear. “I-I’m being followed, and I don’t know what to—” He cuts you off with a scoff, running a big, veiny hand through his dark hair. You panic, worrying that you’ve fallen out of the frying pan and into the fire, but before you can decide what to do next the beanie creep has gotten close. He watches you with a dumb smirk, but his eyes settle on the mountain of a man beside you and he swallows heavily.

“Got something to say?” The man asks, tilting his head a little. Beanie gulps again, shaking his head.

“Didn’t think so. Scram, freak.”

With a last look at you, the man scurries off, and the guy beside you sighs heavily. You’re ready to leave now, to get home and lock your door and shower both of their gazes off of you.

“I-I—” “Shouldn't be out alone. S’not safe. Pretty little thing like you…” He adjusts, looking down at you again.

“I-I was just running errands…” “M’sure you were. But you should run along now, too.” His hand ghosts over your shoulder before he gives you a soft shove. “Better that no freaks get their hands on you.” You do as he says, the place where he touched you tingling all the way home.

___

Toji sees you again in a few days’ time. He’s not sure what cosmic force has brought you two together again, but he wants it to fuck off and leave him be. It’s bad enough that he hasn’t had a good meal in a few weeks, but you’re just too pretty, smell too good, too soft and sweet and shy for his self control.

It’s out at a café, of all the cliché places to see a pretty girl. You’re dressed in a cute little sweater and denim skirt, typing away at a laptop with a coffee and pastry in front of you, both untouched. As the little bell rings, your eyes flutter up to the door and then widen when you see him. Shit. Before he can back away from you, you’re already standing and walking up to him.

“H-Hi again.” “You need me to get rid of another douchebag, or can I get a drink?” He’s an asshole, and he knows it, he wants to rip himself apart for the way your face falls a little (but not as much as he wants to rip you apart, to tear into your flesh and lick your bones clean—)

“I never got a chance to thank you. I didn’t even really say it, I-I’m sorry, I was overwhelmed and I didn’t know what to say—” He grunts, cutting you off with a shrug, but you seem to be insistent.

“Let me pay for your drink, at least.” He can’t refuse free shit. But he should refuse sitting at your booth with you. Perhaps he would if he could, but regardless of shoulds, woulds, and coulds, he does, and he takes a swig of his steaming black coffee as his eyes pierce into you again.

You’re just so…you. The little twitch of your nose, almost like a bunny, whenever you sniffle. The soft way you speak, you tell him about how grateful you still are and how you were just so scared, scared for your life if the man was a ghoul—

His stomach curls at the way you say it. Not like it’s a dirty word, or like it’s something wrong. Simply that it’s something that would have put you in even more danger than if he was a mere human.

Something that is putting you in danger right now, with the man in front of you, making permanent indents in his palms with how hard he’s clenching his hands.

He’s dangerous, and he knows that. The day you first came up to him, he had considered tearing into your pretty throat. If he hadn’t made you run along so fast, he probably would have.

But you’re dangerous. The way you look at him, smile, the way you offer to share your pastry with him and the soft pout when he refuses.

“Do you want your own?”

“Nah. M’not hungry.”

You’re just good. Not nice out of courtesy, not because you’re trying to repay him, but because you’re genuinely good and don’t want him to go hungry. But he is going hungry, and you’re not helping, if anything you’re making it worse because he wants to, needs to devour you.

“What’s your name, mister?” “Toji.” He’s not sure why he tells you. “You got one?” You do, and it’s beautiful, as sweet on your lips as he knows your flesh would be on his.

You’re good, and you’re dangerous because of that.

Toji knows this, but he still saves your contact in his phone. He knows this, but he still sees you the next Saturday afternoon, waiting outside of the craft place.

He’s lied to you a lot to get to this point. Originally you thought about going to dinner, but he said that he had too many dietary restrictions (you believed him, because why else would he be drinking black coffee?) and preferred to eat at home. You’d wondered about a movie, but he’d said that he’d prefer to go somewhere that you could really talk, and not that he was worried that anywhere with you and him together in the dark would send him over the edge. You’d even suggested a museum, but he said that he wanted to look at you, not art.

Toji imagined the way you’d blush when he sent that text. He couldn’t stop himself from flirting, no matter how much it tore him up, because he knew it’d make you happy.

He’d rather break himself than break your heart. Your stupid, little, fragile heart.

Your heart, that would be so easy to rip out, to suck clean as it tries desperately to keep beating—

Ceramic painting. Safe enough. Even kind of cute, although he’s no romantic. He meets you there, trying to ignore how adorable you look in your sundress and cardigan, and for the next two hours or so, the two of you talk over painting pottery.

He wasn’t sure about it going into it, but he’s enjoying it now, maybe even a little too much. He’s never painted before, not the type, but it’s satisfying how the colors blend together as he swirls dark and light blues together—

“Oh, ouch—” You let out a soft whine, immediately putting your finger into your mouth. You’d cut it on a raw edge of a mug, and he grips the table, the smell of your blood syrupy sweet and sickeningly mouthwatering. You grab a bandaid from your bag, focused on covering up the wound, and by the time you look up, Toji’s gone.

“Toji?” You call out, before standing. “Toji?” You step outside of the building, seeing him walking away, and a stab of fear rips through your chest. Did you say something wrong? Do something? Did he get mad at you, upset? “Wait!” He turns, his jaw hardened and gaze not meeting yours. You catch up to him, panting a little, your eyes starting to tear up. Sometimes you hate how sensitive you are.

“W-Where are you going?” “I can’t…be around you,” he says, after a pause. “You…it’s not safe. It’s for your own good.” “What do you mean? Did I do something wrong—” “No, fuck, no! No, that’s the problem. You’re too…perfect. You smell good, your skin looks so soft, and I—godamnit. Look, I’m glad we talked, but I’m sorry. I can’t do this to myself any longer, or to you—” “Do what?” You’re about to cry, and he wants to scream. He doesn’t want you to cry. “I don’t want to hurt you!” It comes out too loud, and he looks around before stepping forward. “But I put you in danger by being around you.” You seem to be processing it a little more now. The blood on the mug being what set him off. The lack of eating, the hunger in his eyes that you’d mistaken for romantic interest.

“Oh…o-oh.” You look down at the ground. “Okay.” He feels his heart breaking, and he wants to scream again. Why? Why does it hurt so badly to see the way you stare at your shoes, the way you’re clearly trying to hold it together? He’s known you for less than two weeks, seen you twice before this, it shouldn’t matter.

“I like you…” he says after a while. “You’re a cute kid. Should have a guy your age, who won’t want to eat you, not a monster.”

“M’not a kid,” you say softly. “And you’re not a monster. You helped me, remember?” He does remember.

“Toji, you saved me. I don’t…a monster wouldn’t do that.”

“Doesn’t mean anything.” It does, fuck, it does, it means so much, too much. “Just…just forget about all of this okay?” “I don’t want to forget.” You’re going to cry again. “I..I-I know it was fast, but I…I thought we were…” You trail off, feeling stupid. He knows how you feel, though, and in another life if he was just a regular man, he’d let himself admit that he feels the same way.

“I like you.” He repeats. “But I don’t want to hurt you.” You nod, but your eyes are still watery. He knows he’s breaking your heart.

“S’for your own good, kid.”

___

Toji eats the next day. Eats to fill the void that you left in him, to fill the space in his stomach that he knows you should occupy. Some random creep hitting on girls at the bar with pills up his sleeve that Toji invites out to “share a catch with.”

The fucker believes him, and is shocked to find that there’s no drugged up girl in the alley next to the bar, but in fact a six-foot-four ghoul who tears his throat out before he can even scream.

The meal is good. Enough to take some home for later. He packages it well, throwing it into the fridge and washing off the blood from his boots. He showers, the scalding water on his back enough to ground him again. No longer starving, he thinks a little clearer.

Once he’s in bed, he stares at the ceiling, a different kind of hunger panging in his stomach.

He sees you, your stupid teary face and stupid ditsy smile. He hates you for how much he’s thought about you, but what’s worse is that he’s thought about more than eating you.

He wishes all he wanted to do was eat you. Things wouldn’t be so painful then.

He could have meant it when he said it was for your own good.

Toji texts you the next day.

Can we talk?

You meet by the waterfront that night. It’s still chilly, the breeze enough to ruffle your hair, and you huddle into yourself a little. Toji keeps a safe distance, not too close. It takes a little bit for you to talk.

“What did you…want to talk about?” He swallows before he responds.

“About you. I just want you to understand, kid, I didn’t want to hurt you.” “I know that.” You look up at him. “But…it still hurts. Either way, I think it would.”

After another long pause, you speak again.

“Are you going……to eat me?”

“Don’t think I can, kid.”

You turn to look up at him. He’s so much bigger than you, not just height-wise, but overall mass. You know that you wouldn’t stand a chance against him. What you don’t know is why you aren’t more afraid.

“It’s the easiest part, isn’t it? To kill? Easier than the chase, than the begging and pleading.”

“It’s the hardest part. To know that…that something’s gone because of you. Something you can’t have anymore.”

“Oh, that’s awfully philosophical, old man.” You elbow him playfully. “Finally acting your age?” “Yeah, killing you might be easier than I thought.” His chuckles are light, dancing up into the night sky, and you lean your head against his shoulder. He takes a deep breath in, you feel his whole body move as he does, as he accepts this.

“I don’t think you’ll kill me, Toji. I feel…I feel safer with you than I do alone.” He nods.

“Maybe…we can figure something out, kid.”

___ Toji fucks you for the first time after a month of you two actually being together.

He takes you to restaurants, ghoul-run restaurants underground that you have no business going to, but with him beside you, he knows no one will give you trouble. You bring your own food, takeout he pays for on the way there, and you sit together in the back corner. He takes you to the movies, to go painting and hiking and watches you eat ice cream at the park.

He doesn’t touch you, though, and that makes you crazy.

You’ve never been a needy person. You’ve always preferred to help others, to people-please, to deny yourself in favor of indulging others. The only sex you’ve ever had was purely for your partners, to make them happy.

The last guy you had sex with took advantage of that. He was handsome enough that you were with him for about four months, and during that time you learned quickly to hold yourself back. The guy took you when he wanted you, where he wanted you, how he wanted you: quiet and complacent.

Toji doesn’t seem to want you at all.

You work up the courage to ask him one night, relaxing at his house after a dinner date.

“Am I…am I not your type? As far as…sex goes?” He looks over at you from across the couch. He won’t even hold you.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” “You don’t touch me…I mean, we’re watching a movie and you don’t even hold me…we never hold hands or anything.” “I don’t touch you so that I don’t kill you.” You nod, swallowing a little. You like being with Toji, but he can be so blunt. It hurts a little, sometimes.

He sighs, his gaze softening, and reaches over to brush his hand against your cheek.

“Look at me.” You do.

“I…I want you. In all of the good ways. But also in all of the ways that should scare you.” “It doesn’t scare me, Toji. You don’t scare me like that. I trust you.” His eyes widen a little, like he’s never heard that before.

“Fuck, kid. You’re gonna be the death of me.” He says the same thing later on, as he slowly and gently thrusts into you. You let out a whimper, your head falling forward and quick gasps leaving your mouth.

“Squeezing around me like this. Didn’t know you were this needy.” His dirty talk is unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before. It’s about more than just himself, more than just your body, but about both of you and how you’re connected. He’s also big, so big inside you that you can’t help but tear up with each controlled movement of his hips.

“God, m’gonna lose my fucking mind. She’s so wet for me, hm? So tight.” You nod, letting out another little whimper. You’ve always been the type to get less vocal when you’re overwhelmed, and if there’s anything that overwhelms you it’s the drag of his cock against your walls, the slap of his hand against your skin, the way he groans into your neck when he gets close. You flop forward after he guides you to orgasm, talking you through it the whole way and then chuckling when he sees you go limp.

“M’not done, kid. You wanted me to touch you, to take you…so I’ll take what’s mine, yeah?”

___

You move into Toji’s house in late summer.

It’s humid the day he comes to your old apartment in his truck, loading the boxes into the bed and wiping his sweaty face with his white tee. His hand grips yours as he drives you home for the first time.

After unloading everything, you sit together on the floor by the fan. He’s watching a soccer game, leaned against the couch and nursing a beer, and you put your head in his lap as you nap in the sunlight.

You drift in and out of sleep, lulled by the feeling of him stroking up and down your spine, his hand slipped beneath the cotton of your tank top.

After a few hours of dozing, you get up to find something to eat. He stays, his own eyes starting to grow heavy, but he’s snapped out of it by the little noise you make when you open the fridge.

“Oh yeah, forgot to tell you. There’s meat in there…” “I can see that.” You cringe a little, trying to look past the wrapped and sealed hunks of still-raw flesh inside.

“I can freeze ‘em. But there should be—” “Food?” He can hear the way you scrunch up your nose at the word. “Toji, did you buy food for me?” He blushes, shaking his head.

“No idea what you’re talking about, kid.” “There are apples in here. Apples, pomegranates…oh, and a few premade things as well!”

He’s silent, not responding, and you smile, heart swelling.

“Thank you.” “Figured…you’d need something to fill you up.” “Mh, I have that already.”

___

He comes home covered in blood.

“Not mine,” he tells you, his hand fluttering against your cheek. “Don’t furrow those brows at me, I’m fine.” “You’re covered in blood,” you say softly, shaking your head. “That’s…you’re not fine.”

He looks down at you, his eyes soft with some kind of gaze that almost mocks your concern.

“Just said it wasn’t mine.” “That’s worse.” You look up at him, your eyes hard with a look that tells him he’ll never understand. “Come on. I’ll wash you off.” You’re cryptic sometimes. Toji doesn’t like that. He prefers people to be more blunt, the way he is. Or maybe he feels like he’s missing something, and that’s not something he’s used to.

He sits in the water, water that has long turned pink, and he asks.

“Why is it worse?” “Hm?” You pause running the warm washcloth over his back. “What’s that?” “You said it was worse that the blood wasn’t mine. I don’t…why is it worse?” He hears you sigh, feels the soft breath against his shoulder blades as the puff leaves your lips.

“…I saw a dog kill a bunny yesterday.” “What?”

There’s a soft, warm feeling, a press of your cheek against his skin as you rest your head on his damp flesh.

“When I was walking in the woods. I saw them…it loved that bunny. I knew it.”

“How’s that?” “It ripped its throat out. And then it licked it, kissed it with all the passion you could imagine.”

He frowns, feeling you wrap your arms around his body, now scrubbed clean. “It takes a lot to die. But it also takes a lot to kill.”

He takes you that night, again. Again, and again, and again. You can barely keep your eyes open as he ruts himself into you, deep into that place that makes you jolt and punches soft little whines from the back of your throat.

His lips graze over your neck, right over your pulse, and you feel him press kisses to the vein.

He could tear you open right now. You would bleed out in his arms. But he’s not doing it, and if he’s led you to believe anything, it’s that it takes him an immense amount of control not to do so every second he’s around you.

“Something made you clench, baby?”

You whimper in response, your hands fluttering against his broad shoulders. You can feel him in your cervix, so close and deep that if it weren’t for the little pill you take every morning, he’d have gotten you pregnant already. Creating life with you, when his greatest fear is taking it away from you.

“I love you, Toji,” you whisper after he’s collapsed on top of you and pulled you into his chest.

You’re not sure if he’s awake to hear it, but you feel how he stiffens ever-so-slightly.

“Don’t have to say it back. Not if it’s not…right. I just want you to know.” “Shh. I love you too, kid.” ___

He’s always known that being around you puts you in danger. He thought it was due to his own inhibitions, his own desires, his own twisted hunger.

Not his own past catching up with him.

He gets a text one afternoon while he’s at work. It’s from you, and he smiles, preparing himself for a daily post-lunch check-in.

All it is is a location.

Immediately, he stands, trying to call you, but it goes straight to voicemail. Shit. He feels hot panic pooling in his stomach, as he gets close to the place.

Some alleyway. Not far from home. Not safe.

He can hear soft whimpers, pained and terrified, and he sprints down the alley, his eyes landing on the beanie fucker from before who has you pinned to the wall. Your phone lays shattered nearby, along with your jacket, and you’re letting out cries as he digs his hands into your stomach and devours what he finds there.

Toji snaps the man’s neck before he understands what’s happening. He throws the man against the other side of the wall, his hands tearing into his cracked neck and pulling it apart.

The man doesn’t matter anymore.

You lay at the base of the wall, a sickeningly sweet red smeared on the brick above you. Legs having failed to keep you held up, too weak to support you, now crumpled uselessly underneath your broken form. There’s more liquid pooling beneath you, coming from your stomach, your nose, the corner of your mouth, too much to be healthy, and Toji’s beside you, pulling you into his lap.

“Hey, look at me. Keep those eyes on me.”

You cough, a deep red sputtering past your lips as you try to say something. He shushes you again, trying to assess where the blood is coming from. He finds the giant hole in your abdomen, the place the stains are forming, and a whimper comes from the back of his throat.

“N-no.”

He presses his hands to the wound, trying to stop the blood. It’s all over his hands, syrupy and mouthwatering in a way that makes his stomach turn.

There’s a gasp, a horribly pained gasp, followed by too quick breaths and wheezy begs for him to stop, to let up, not to press there, it hurts—

“I know, I-I know, fuck! I’m sorry, baby girl…” “D-don’t…don’t be…sor…” you trail off, your big eyes watching him intently. “S’okay.” “No, it’s not,” he sobs, his voice breaking. “You have to stay with me. I-I need you…” “H-hurts,” you whisper. “I-I…I need it to…to go a-away…” “What to go away? What do you need? Talk to me.” “The…the p-p…” You drift off again. “Hurts…”

“I know it hurts. But I need you to stay awake so I can figure out how to make you feel better.” “M-make it stop…” your voice is small. “Please, Toji…”

“I don’t know how.” His voice cracks again. “I don’t know what to do…” “It’s the e-easiest thing, Toji, to eat…”

“No. No, I can’t. I-I can’t do that.” “Y-yes…”

He sobs, shaking his head. He needs you. He doesn’t want to live without you.

“I can’t be the reason y-you go.”

“M’not…going…a-any—” you cough up some more blood. “I’ll wait for y-you…at home, yeah?”

“Y-Y…yeah…” “I’ll keep the bed warm.”

You let out a soft, pained whimper, barely audible, as his teeth find your neck. He sobs into it, the taste so sweet but so bitter, burning on his tongue. Your last breath is gentle, peaceful, and wants to imagine you that way forever. Not like this.

You’re all over his mouth, dripping onto the cobblestones of the alleyway. He lets out another sob. Your taste is all he’s ever craved, your flesh all he’s ever needed. All he needs is to eat. To love you and eat.

#toji fushiguro #toji x reader #toji smut #toji fushiguro smut #toji angst #jjk angst #jjk x reader #tw cannibalism #tw violence

75 notes · View notes