#she was better at the beginning. i knew you were trouble. we are never ever getting back together. now those were bangers

[crowleyaj]

taylor swift doing a collab with florence is good actually because now swifties might go listen to her and discover real music

[joycrispy]

I wanna talk about The Angel Who Would Be Crowley.

Because I had a certain set of expectations, which got thoroughly trashed in the first five minutes of S2, and my genuine response is, "Oh, fuck, yup. You're right. That's WAY better."

Looking around at GO fandom, I'm not alone in this. So let's talk about it.

Basically, a lot of people (myself included) believed that he was a high-ranking angel, and therefore as chilly and remote as every other powerful angel we'd seen at that point. We pictured Crowley-To-Be as long-haired, regal and imposing --and the fanart at the time reflected this. I'd link some if Tumblr didn't hate links.

Something like this:

We were collectively drawing on a few things --mostly, Crawly's appearance and general bearing in the Biblical scenes of S1--

--But also scattered hints of his importance, backed up by conspicuous absences in Heaven and a few profound displays of power. That's all better covered elsewhere, so I won't reiterate the arguments here. All I'm saying is: I think our headcanons were justified.

But it turns out he was this:

!!!

With his curly little--!!

And his neat white--!!

IT TURNS OUT, he was an angel who squeaked and squealed when he was happy; who flailed his arms around and made explosion noises with his mouth to explain nebulas; who preened when told his stars were pretty. Furfur, who knew him before the Fall, says:

"You used to jump on me back, little monkey in a waistcoat..."

(The use of a diminutive there, 'little'...oh, that fascinates me.)

In a pretty huge subversion of expectations, we're given these glimpses of an angel who was sweet, and joyful, and heart-meltingly silly.

In sum...an innocent.

(Perhaps innocent to a troubling degree.

We see how he troubles Aziraphale, during their first conversation. He starts looking around and behind them, checking to make sure that no one can HEAR the blithe and reckless things coming out of this angel's mouth. This angel who talks like he's never been reprimanded in his life; like it's never occurred to him that anyone would want to hurt him.

Before the Beginning, Aziraphale understood Heaven better than he did. The danger is plainly occurring to Aziraphale.)

So now, we the viewers are in on a cruel joke that Aziraphale has known all along, which is that this --THIS-- is the angel who--

*checks notes*

--did a million lightyear freestyle dive into a boiling pool of sulphur. For asking questions.

...Imagine you are Aziraphale, and everything inside you wants to believe Heaven are the Good Guys, and God is Good and Everything She does is capital-R Right...and now try to reconcile that. Keep trying. I don't think he ever totally managed it in 6000 years.

All this gets further complicated when we learn that, despite all of the above, we were still right. That sweet excitable babby up there?

He WAS a powerful and high-ranking angel.

That much is explicitly confirmed, with significant evidence that he could have been among the mightiest of archangels...

...Who apparently accosted his fellow angels for piggyback rides. And was remembered millennia later by those (now fallen) angels as something 'little.'

What does that tell us about who he was? Is?

Hell, Aziraphale has known to be wary of the archangels (and the judgements of Heaven in general) since before the Fall even happened. He chooses to believe they are Good; he can't fool himself into thinking they are Safe.

Yet he's absolutely certain that Crowley won't hurt Job's children. Enough to stand in a burning building and say to them, "I can't save you, but don't be afraid. I won't need to."

And what reason does he give?

("I know you."

"You do not know me."

"I know the angel you were.")

What does that tell us about who he was? Is?

("The angel you knew is not me."

But how is Aziraphale supposed to believe that, when he can see him all the time?)

tl;dr --yes, this is better. I love the tragedy of it.

'Innocence died screaming' and all that.

[edenesth]

The Way to His Heart [8]

Pairing: general!Seonghwa x wife!reader

AU: arranged marriage au (Joseon era)

Word Count: 3.6k

Summary: Life has been hell ever since your mother's passing many years ago. Despite being from a prominent family, you've never received the privileges associated with it. It only got worse with the arrival of your stepmother and her daughters. When the intimidating General Park was in search of a wife, your father seized the opportunity to dispose of you, simultaneously securing a connection with the powerful general—killing two birds with one stone.

Part 7 | Fic Masterlist | Part 9

"Sir, the dressmaker has arrived with the mistress' first batch of clothes. Should I send him directly to the House of Lotus?" Jongho asked tentatively from the entrance of his master's study.

Removing his hands from his head, Seonghwa looked up and shook his head miserably, "Lord, no. Send him to me first," The assistant bowed and went to do as he was told, "Right away, sir."

Hongjoong entered the study without bothering to knock, hands propped on his hip as he stared at your husband, unamused, "Would you mind explaining why I'm here instead of presenting the new clothes to your wife, Park Seonghwa?"

"I need advice, Hongjoong." The general croaked, feeling quite lost for once. He had rarely ever been in such a situation; who knew all it took was one woman to put him in such misery. Not even the most vicious enemies he had fought in war could have ever fazed him this much.

He returned from work the day before, enthusiastically sharing his plans for the grand wedding he wanted to give you. However, things went south when he dropped the bomb about the visit to your old home, foolishly believing you would express joy at the prospect of flaunting your newfound happiness to your wicked family. Instead, you were gripped with fear at the idea. You ended up retiring to your quarters early and refused to come out ever since.

Goddamnit, I'm the biggest moron ever.

The dressmaker raised an amused brow, having never seen Seonghwa like this before. He went over to sit down across from his friend, "Hmm, I didn't think you'd be having trouble in paradise this soon. Let's hear it; we'll see if there's anything I can do for you and that lovely wife of yours."

Taking a deep breath, your husband started from the beginning, recounting every single thing that happened from the start of your arranged marriage until the present.

"Wait, you're taking her back to that wretched place? No wonder she's upset, you idiot! You said it yourself; she suffered so badly being caged in there all her life. I mean, sure, your cause is very noble—wanting to make her family pay for what they've done with this plan of yours. But you'd been so focused on that, you forgot how traumatising it could be for her, huh? You really didn't think that one through, my friend."

Letting out a groan, the general pulled at his hair, "Yes, thank you for repeating it all to me like I didn't already know what I did wrong. Now, tell me what exactly it is that I can do to make it all better."

"You're welcome. Oh, I'll tell you what to do, all right. You best keep your dumbass seated here while I talk to her," instructed Hongjoong, watching expectantly as your husband frowned, "What? Why should you talk to her? It's my mess; I should be the one to clean it up."

Sighing, the dressmaker explained, "Look, we all know the only way for you to make things better is to not take her back to the damn house at all. But you do have a point, okay? You've come this far with your plan, and as much as it sucks, she must go there with you in order for this to work out. So, you stay put, and let me convince her to go willingly with you, got it?"

Seonghwa nodded reluctantly, realising his friend was right. As much as he hated how charming Hongjoong was and how persuasive he could be, he would have to rely on those skills to help you see things in the bigger picture. Sure, you were not privy to any details about the revenge, but hopefully, he will be able to make you at least want to stand up to your family for once.

"Lady Park, it's Hongjoong. I've brought your first batch of clothing. May I have permission to enter?" Blinking in surprise, you straightened up, not expecting to hear the dressmaker's voice, "O-okay, please come in."

Despite the anxious state you'd been in since the revelation your husband had dropped upon you the night before, you couldn't help but smile at the unusually colourful outfit of your visitor. Eunsook followed behind him with a group of servants filing in to deliver the precious cargo into your quarters.

The head maid felt relieved to see you smiling again, even if it was only a little. She had been concerned about you after witnessing your retreat into your old shell the previous night, as the fear you demonstrated reminded everyone of your initial arrival.

In an effort to distract you from your upsetting thoughts, the dressmaker quickly pulled out a few designs he thought you'd love, "Come, take a look at this! I made it the way you preferred and added a little touch of my magic. What do you think?"

Fortunately, his strategy worked like a charm, and you immediately moved over to him with sparkly eyes, marvelling at some of the most beautiful hanboks you'd ever seen, even prettier than the ones he had displayed in his shop.

As you admired the clothes in front of you, Hongjoong exchanged a knowing look with the elderly woman. Nodding, she quietly exited your room along with the rest of the servants, leaving you alone with your husband's old friend.

But you weren't entirely alone, of course.

Unbeknownst to you, Seonghwa was right outside, listening intently. He didn't spare any of his servants a glance as they all passed by him with a deep bow, waving his hand carelessly in a gesture to ask them to leave quickly.

"Hey, you haven't answered me. Do you like them, Lady Park?" The dressmaker asked, a teasing smile on his face as he found your endearing shyness adorable.

You nodded quickly, "Yes, I do. I love them. They're all perfect. I just... don't know if I deserve to wear any of these." The general felt his heart clench at your response, realising you were still far from being able to love yourself.

With a scoff, Hongjoong moved to stand beside you, "I'll have you know I only make dresses for people I deem worthy of them. Not just anyone can wear my designs, you know. And you, by far, are probably my favourite client. So that says a lot."

Your husband silently agreed with those words, resisting the urge to rush in there and hold you tight, to tell you that you deserved only the best, that you deserved everything good in the world.

Lowering your head, you fiddled with your fingers before replying in a small voice, "You're only saying that because I'm the general's wife..."

Sighing lightly, the dressmaker turned to face you, "You're not wrong... but that's exactly because not just anyone can be Lady Park. Many women before you tried to be in your position. Regardless of their efforts, he never would have given them the time of day. Yet, he wholeheartedly accepted you."

Recognising the doubt in your eyes, he further explained, "I understand if you think these are just words. But that's probably because you don't know the general like I do. We've known each other since joining the military in our teens. Back then, the Seonghwa I knew would never bat an eyelash at any woman."

As you slowly looked up to meet his kind eyes, intrigued to learn more about your husband's past, he continued, "Those rumours about him being the cold-blooded general were not lies. He really was as merciless as they say. He still is, just not to you. When I saw him again for the first time after years that day, I couldn't believe the man in front of me was the same friend I once knew. He's different around you; he's different because of you."

"It's evident that you're special to him, that you mean something to him. He cares so much about you; do you realise that?"

Tears welled up in your eyes, and you hurriedly blinked them back. The thought of someone genuinely caring for you still seemed surreal despite the amount of care that had been shown to you since living here. However, you were starting to understand that he was right.

Hongjoong grinned, seeing the effectiveness of his words, "You're the first and only woman who can tame Park Seonghwa, so you are beyond worthy of my dresses."

Before you could even attempt to protest, he held up a hand, "And don't bother telling me I'm wrong because I'm never wrong."

You couldn't help but giggle at his sassy words, and he smiled sincerely at you, saying, "So don't you dare question whether you deserve these clothes. You're the only one who deserves them because these are made only for you, do you understand?"

This time, you nodded with a wide smile.

"I want you to wear my dresses proudly and show the world who you are: the great Lady Park, the only woman General Park wants as his wife. No one will dare disrespect or look down on you again."

Feeling as if he knew exactly what had been worrying you, you felt touched. He was right; you were not who you used to be. You had no reason to cower from your family, recalling their belittling assumptions about your survival in this marriage. Now was your chance to prove them wrong.

With newfound determination, you nodded firmly, "You're right, I will. Thank you, Hongjoong. You're a good friend; Seonghwa is lucky to have you."

He crossed his arms over his chest cheekily, "I sure am. That fool hasn't a clue how fortunate he is."

Mission accomplished.

Pumping his fists in victory, your husband silently cheered outside, brushing off the playful taunts from his friend. Just this once, he would forgive Kim Hongjoong.

"Are you ready, my dear?"

The general turned to you as your carriage came to a stop, marking your arrival at what you assumed to be the Jang estate, your former prison. With a resolute nod, you smiled up at him, "I am."

As you moved to exit the vehicle, your husband halted you. Cupping your face in his hands, he gazed reassuringly into your eyes, "Remember, whatever happens, I'm here with you. You're not alone from now on; I'll always be here to protect you."

"I know, Seonghwa. I believe in you."

His heart melted at those words, and he couldn't resist pressing a lingering kiss onto your forehead. You fluttered your eyes closed, holding onto his wrists, cherishing the warmth he was providing.

"Alright, let's go." Leaving one final peck on your cheek, he got out of the carriage and swiftly helped you down, his strong arm securely wrapped around your waist. Eunsook stood there, mouth agape, that was initially meant to be her responsibility but she realised her assistance was no longer needed at the moment.

Jongho grinned, nudging the elderly woman on the shoulder as they followed their master and mistress into the minister's estate, "Come on, we've got work to do."

Taking a deep breath, you surveyed the familiar surroundings that once made you feel small. Feeling a reassuring squeeze on your hand, you found comfort in your husband's presence.

Yes, he's here with you now.

Nothing bad will happen.

His grip on your hand tightened, and his warm smile, reserved only for you, vanished when a few of your father's servants nervously stumbled out, bowing deeply before both of you, "Good morning, General Park. Welcome to the Jang estate."

The brave front you had put on seemed to falter slightly as you realised the servants here remained the same, showing no acknowledgement despite you no longer being their prisoner. Seonghwa, glaring at the maids in front of him, growled in a low voice, "You've left out Lady Park. Will you not greet my wife?"

Gulping on behalf of the servants, you witnessed the return of the general's intimidating demeanour. Hongjoong was right; he was still terrifying, just not to you.

The maids bowed deeper, "B-but sir—"

"What is going on here?" That voice resonated across the courtyard, causing your heart to plummet to the lowest pit of your stomach. Perhaps you weren't ready to face them at all. Your father emerged from the main hall, wearing an expression that was far from pleased.

You pressed closer to your husband, and instinctively, he wrapped an arm around your back, pulling you close. The minister's eyebrow raised in surprise at your refined appearance; he nearly did not recognise you. You were even more stunning than on the day you left this place, seemingly given a complete makeover.

Aside from that, he realised the general had meant his words when he had spoken so highly of you during assembly. Witnessing the intimacy between the two of you, there was undeniable evidence of shared affection. Your father began to question whether marrying you to his enemy was a mistake in the first place.

Seonghwa smirked, "Ahh, Minister Jang, it seems your servants do not know proper manners. They did not greet my wife, and that, to me, is punishable."

The old man felt his eye twitch at the general's satisfied grin before responding, "Well, I'm their master, so I decide what is punishable, General Park."

"Right, well, I'm just looking out for you. Wouldn't want people to find out what rotten-mannered staff my father-in-law has in his estate, not knowing how to show respect to even the general's wife."

"You do realise that before she became your wife, she's my daughter first." Your father sneered, and you felt sick at that, to be called his daughter when you've never once been treated as such.

Remaining unfazed, your husband retorted, "All the more reasons for them to show respect to their eldest miss then, no?"

Jongho and Eunsook bowed their heads in an effort to hide their snickers at the minister's red face flushing in embarrassment. He should have known better than to think he could win the general in an argument, "R-right. What are you fools standing around for? Show Lady Park some bloody respect!"

The line of servants bowed all the way down pathetically, "Yes, master! Good morning, General Park and Lady Park! Welcome to the Jang estate!" They chanted loudly, enough to bring about the rest of your family, coming out to witness what all the fuss was about.

"Very well, let us head in then." With a bored expression, Seonghwa walked into the hall with you, moving right past your stepmother and stepsisters intentionally, paying them no mind as he helped you into a seat before settling down beside you.

All four of the women standing in the main hall were rooted to their spots, eyes bulging as they took in the sight of you and your husband. First of all, you were nearly unrecognisable. If they thought you looked pretty on the day you got married, you were now almost a hundred times more beautiful, though they would rather die than ever admit it out loud.

Beyond your enhanced appearance, they were more taken aback by the general's beauty. He was nothing like they had imagined; he must have been one of the most attractive men ever, or at least the most handsome one they had seen so far.

Suddenly, your stepsisters were even angrier than they were upon learning about your stupid grand wedding. They were now furious with their father for never having told them about how good-looking General Park truly was. If only they knew, they would have volunteered to marry him themselves.

But what if there was still hope for them?

What if they had a chance?

After all, you hadn't officially wed Seonghwa yet and were merely here to discuss plans for the upcoming ceremony. Perhaps, with enough effort, they could still win him over. If a peasant like you could seduce the general, why couldn't any of them? With this determination in mind, the three stepsisters promptly began adjusting their appearances as you all gathered around the main hall.

You didn't appreciate the way your stepsisters were eyeing your husband, although you understood their motives. Sensing your discomfort, Seonghwa moved closer to you in his seat, whispering in your ear, "Are you feeling alright, my dear?"

Nodding lightly, you looked up with a small smile, "I am, as long as you're with me," He couldn't resist smiling at your words as he gave you a gentle peck on the head, "Good."

That should be me!

The three stepsisters clenched their fists, their fury intensifying as they witnessed the handsome general being affectionate with you. It should have been them; the title of the general's wife was more befitting a noblewoman like them, not a rat like you. How dare you sit there in their place as if you deserved it?

In an attempt to break the silence, Jinah cleared her throat and made her move, "Have you been well, unnie? I missed you so much! Did you know how worried I was about you? You must have had such a hard time, especially after you adamantly refused to marry General Park."

Seonghwa raised a brow in amusement, while you remained quiet, unsure how to respond to such a blatant lie. Jinjoo scoffed at your lack of response, "Unnie! Will you really not answer Jinah at all? You've always been like that, so ungrateful when we care so much about you!"

"Really? My wife being ungrateful? That's wild. I cannot imagine her like that at all." Your husband chuckled, holding you close when he felt you begin to tremble.

Jinhee's fists shook with envy as she nodded pitifully, "Yes, that's because you haven't known her well enough, my lord. She can be so scary when she's mad, you know how the eldest usually are."

Minister Jang rubbed a tired hand over his head when he realised what his stepdaughters were trying to do. Of course, these foolish girls would easily be blinded by the general's appearance. Even his own wife, seated beside him, found it difficult to take her eyes off the gorgeous young man.

Jongho and Eunsook, positioned behind you and their master, were making every effort to contain the irritation they felt. The audacity of these women to feign innocence after what they've put you through all these years. They were once again thankful not to have any of these conniving foxes as their mistress.

Rubbing his thumbs over your hands, Seonghwa laughed sarcastically in disbelief, "I'm sorry, I just find that so hard to believe. Are you sure you're not all talking about yourselves?" In an instant, his smile dropped, and he sent your stepsisters a death stare as if daring them to continue spouting more ridiculous lies about you.

Left in stunned silence, they blinked nervously and avoided his eyes, unprepared for his questioning. It was clear that they hadn't planned their silly little act thoroughly.

Damn it, how did that worthless thing manage to gain his favour?

"That's enough." The minister declared firmly, not wanting his stepdaughters to continue embarrassing themselves. All he wanted was to get the general out of his house as soon as possible. Every moment that Seonghwa remained felt like a threat; your father was walking on eggshells around him.

Pushing himself off his seat, the old man addressed your husband, "You mentioned wanting to see the environment your wife grew up in, right? Let's proceed with that before we delve into discussions about your wedding arrangements. I don't have all day."

"Sure, can't wait." Seonghwa responded smugly, standing up with your hand securely in his. A sense of unease washed over you as you wondered what kind of deception your father would employ. Surely, they wouldn't be stupid enough to reveal your actual room to the general. Dread filled you, and you longed to return home.

Your real home, not this nightmare.

« Preview of Part 9 »

As you all followed the minister around the estate while he showed the general what was supposed to be your old room, Jongho exchanged a glance with the private investigator who was still posing as a staff member in the estate.

"This is unnie's room; she has the biggest and nicest one out of all of us. She's so lucky and doesn't even know it. I'm the youngest and I have the smallest room; I'd honestly be happy to have anything at all." Jinjoo said innocently, playing with a strand of hair as she batted her eyelashes at Seonghwa.

You stared blankly at the room supposedly designated as yours. It was merely a guest room rearranged with some of your stepsisters' belongings to create the illusion of long-term habitation. Sensing Jinah and Jinhee's intense gazes on you, you turned to find them glaring daggers at you as if daring you to speak up and disclose the truth to your husband.

If you voiced your denial, who would believe you? It was your entire family against you alone. Would there even be a point in trying?

Just as doubt started to creep in, Seonghwa wrapped an arm around you, reminding you of his support, "Is that true, my dear? Is this your room? It doesn't really seem to be your style at all."

Everyone held their breath, awaiting your response, but you remained silent, fixing your gaze on the familiar space where you spent your entire life, now masquerading as a storeroom.

"What is it that you're staring at so intently, hm? Let's go take a look."

Oh, crap.

Shit will go down in the next part, I assure you. Patience, my dearest readers, patience HAHA this part was focused more on setting the stage for the main event.😈

Also, I've created a mood board for this fic. If you haven't already checked it out, go take a look! I might consider making another one that depicts Seonghwa's estate if I'm able to find the right images.

As always, thank you for reading and let me know your thoughts! <3

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[finelinevogue]

sad beginnings,

summary - everyone sees you as this weird and crazy ravenclaw. everyone except remus and sirius.

pairing - ravenclaw!reader x wolfstar

word count - ~2.5k

tw: angst | no happy ending (yet) | bullies | blood | fight | self deprecation | she pronouns used

You thought breakfast would be better than a bowl of porridge, but that’s what you get for waking up late.

You’d overslept on your alarm clock by 45 minutes and were now paying the consequences by eating disgusting gruel for breakfast. There wasn’t even any honey to drizzle on top, thanks to some older Ravenclaws hogging it for their pancakes.

Half the tables were empty, as people started to head off for their first lessons of the day.

You had potions in half an hour.

Potions was one of your favourite lessons of the day, not because you liked the subject - in fact you despised it - but because you got to secretly crush on two of the prettiest boys in school.

Remus Lupin and Sirius Black.

They were currently the only group of Gryffindors still at their table, making a rather loud ruckus as they stood up from the table to leave.

James was teasing Lily about something and Sirius and Remus couldn’t stop laughing over it. Lily pretended to be offended and fake punched Sirius for laughing at her, only to have Remus lean down only slightly and kiss Sirius’ clothed arm all better.

It didn’t help that the two boys you would of course have a heavy crush on would already be in a well established relationship.

I mean, they were the prettiest boys in the school and they were opposites to each other so their relationship made perfect sense.

You just wished you had gotten there with one of them first. But who? You admired them both the same.

Both of them had—

“Oi, Y/N!” A Ravenclaw in your year, named Philip, shouted from down the table, making your porridge slide off your spoon and splat against the table.

You looked towards where Philip and his band of quite mean friends sat.

“Daydreaming about boys you could never get, again?!” Philip laughed, causing others around him to as well.

You didn’t reply. You knew better than to reply. Just keep your head down and trouble should go away.

Your eyes drifted from Philip over to where the Gryffindors had nearly exited the Hall, only Sirius and Remus had stopped just shy of leaving.

They were stood talking to each other.

“Who is it this time Y/N? Hm?” Darcy, one of Philip’s friends teased.

“Remember when Y/N tried to date Isaac? As if she could ever date him.” Someone else joked.

You looked back down at your porridge, still listening to them but trying your best to block them out.

Looking at your breakfast made you think about Isaac. He was just as bland and boring. Until he wanted to have sex with you and you really didn’t want that, well then he became an absolute prick. Started spreading horrible rumours about you, showing his true colours.

Isaac started spreading stories about how you tried to come onto him, only to deny him. How you had been weird and crazy the entire night, when in fact it was the opposite.

Now everyone thinks you’re weird, a prude and a bitch.

One of the reasons you have no friends.

Isaac had managed to isolate you and Philip and his cronies had taken advantage of that.

“Think she was looking at Remus and Sirius.” Someone snickered, making you love uncomfortably.

“No way! Y/N has hots for the dogs,” They thought they were funny, “Is that true, Y/N? You want Remus and Sirius to be your little boyfriends?”

They all laughed, until they went silent.

“You alright, Phil? Can I call you Phil?”

Your head shot up to see Sirius leaning down over the bench next to Philip, resting his palms on the table and glaring him down. Remus stood right behind him.

Your heart rate increased at the sight of them magically appearing.

Did they hear? Did they know? Were they in on the sad and pathetic joke?

“It’s just Philip.” Philip gulped.

“Great, Phil.” Sirius smiled, but it definitely wasn’t genuine. “We heard your filthy mouth speak our names and, well, I for one don’t like pricks speaking about me or my boyfriend behind me back. So keep your goddamn mouth shut or I’ll hex you back to Year 1. Okay?”

“Uhhh…”

“I said, okay?” Sirius asked again.

“Yes, yes!” Philip stuttered.

“Good.” Sirius moved back to stand up.

It was lovely that Sirius had come over here to defend his boyfriend like that. You craved someone having the kindness, and definitely the courage, to stand up for you like that.

You watched as Sirius took Remus’ hand and you wondered what that felt like.

You could imagine Sirius’ hands being quite rough and Remus’ hands being calloused, but both still having a sense of softness to them. They’d both be very grounding and warm to hold on to.

Then they both walked your way.

You quickly started to eat your porridge again, keeping your head down. You don’t think either of them would make a scene with you, but maybe they’d caught on to your gazes and blushing and they’d had enough.

You thought you were subtle but maybe you’d been far more obvious than you intended. You cursed yourself, but only knew it was a matter of time before you made a fool of yourself.

Maybe they weren’t even walking towards you. Why would they? They didn’t know you, except for your name maybe.

But then you saw them stop in front of the bench on the other side of you.

You looked up to find them both smiling warmly down at you. You gulped, thinking the worst.

“You have potions next right, Y/N?” Remus asked kindly.

He did know your name…

And he knew your timetable…

“Yes?” You asked, cautiously.

“You want to walk over with us? We’re heading there now.” Remus asked.

You were a little gobsmacked that they were asking you to do something with them.

No one has asked you to do anything in a very long time, even something as simple as being asked to walk to class with them. So this was a huge deal to you.

“Really? I mean, sorry, I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

“Intrude?” Sirius laughed, “Never. C’mon.” He kindly smiled and you nervously got up from the table.

You picked up your robe and wand.

“Are you sure?” You asked to make sure a second time.

“Y/N, if you don’t hurry up then Sirius is probably going to pick you up and carry you there himself and then I’m going to have to deal with him moaning about crippling back ache later on… Oh my God… That want be implying anything about your weight… Um… Should I just stop?” Remus rambled and looked to Sirius for help.

“You really should.”

And you smiled.

Genuinely smiled, for what felt like the first time in a long time.

•-•-•-•-•-•

The hallways were starting to become busy.

People moving from morning time to lesson time, especially the first years with their overpacked bags and reckless running through the corridors to get to their lessons on time.

One darted past you, causing you to wobble. Luckily Remus was behind you and he put his hand on the lower part of your back to balance you carefully.

“Thank you.” You said, whilst trying really hard not to blush.

You failed to notice Remus blushing too as you turned back around. You definitely didn’t fail to notice the way Remus kept his hand on your lower back, helping you weave through the halls.

With two of the most popular guys in school, you didn’t realise how easy it was to actually manoeuvre through the corridors.

You’d spent too much time being infatuated with the time that Remus and Sirius were giving you, though, that you’d forgotten your potions book.

You stopped short, feeling the boys bump into the back of you abruptly.

“Bloody… Are you alright Y/N?” Sirius asked.

“I’ve forgotten my potions book. I’ll catch up with you, I just need to run to get it.” You turned to say to them, feeling slightly small underneath both their pretty eyes looking at you.

“Here, just take mine.” Sirius offered.

“No.” Remus swatted his hands, “Another “forgotten” book and you are going to get detention.”

“Oh screw that.” Sirius rolled his eyes.

“Y/N, take mine instead.” Remus insisted.

“What?” This time Sirius hit Remus’ hands away, “And mess with your perfect record? I don’t think so. Y/N…”

“Hey, listen.” You chuckled at the sight of them arguing… over you. It felt like the most surreal situation. “I’m just going to get my book, okay? Then none of us will be in trouble. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

You smiled at them in thanks, before darting around and away from them.

After you’r turned the corner, Remus hit Sirius over the head with his textbook.

“Ow! What the…” Sirius rubbed the back of his head.

“Really? You were about to give yourself a detention?” Remus chuckled, knowing exactly that was what Sirius was about to do and why.

“For Y/N? Absolutely.” Sirius smirked.

Remus shook his head and kissed Sirius’ cheek in admiration, before taking his hand and leading him off to potions.

•-•-•-•-•-•

As you rooted through your belongings in your dorm, you hummed to yourself with content.

You felt ten times lighter than you ever had felt before and all because the two pretty boys you’ve been admiring for so long had looked right back at you. They’d even gone as far as walk with you to potions.

Sirius was willing to get a detention for you and Remus was willing to break his golden reputation. That was flattery of their highest form.

You finally found your book, before pivoting to leave your dorm.

Only to find Darcy standing there with a cat in her arms, looking malicious as ever.

“O-oh Darcy. Hello.” You said, losing your hum and your smile with one look at her.

“Cut the pleasantries. You made us look like fools at breakfast in front of Sirius and Remus, you foul witch.” Darcy spat at you.

“I’m sorry, I never meant for that to happen.”

You felt yourself caving in on yourself, becoming that shelter of a shy person that these horrible people made you.

“And you think an apology will make it all better?”

“I don’t know.” You lowered your head.

“Well it doesn’t.” She moved towards you and you gulped in fear of her. She’d pulled at your hair and enchanted curses on you before, so you were terrified of what she might do now. Especially when it was just you two here.

“I’m sorry.” You looked up at her, hating that she could probably see the fear in your eyes.

“Show us up like that again and you’ll leave with more than just a scratch.”

“A scratch?” You asked, but maybe you shouldn’t have.

Before you knew what was happening Darcy’s cat attacked your face, clawing at your cheek with one powerful hit. The cat screamed what sounded like a war cry and you screamed in pain.

Your head turned to the side, leaving the cat’s claws to drag slightly down your cheek before letting go. You didn’t reveal your face again until you heard the door slam shut.

It only took a minute for you to delicately touch your cheek and see the blood for the pain to come flying in. You cried as you sat on your bed, cupping your cheek from dripping blood everywhere with one hand and the other hand resting on your forehead as you came to terms with what just happened.

You’d just been attacked for trying to apologise for something you hadn’t been in control of.

Your tears ran down your cheek and stung as they ran into the cuts on your cheek.

Walking to the little mirror hanging up on the wall, you looked in to see yourself. There were three lines scraped down your once bare cheek, running from just under your eye to resting on your jawline.

You cried some more, completely getting lost in the self loathing, before rushing around the dorm to find some healing lotion and tissues.

It took you ten minutes to clean up the mess on your face, and another five for the bleeding to calm down. It was an angry red mess, but you had to get to potions before the class ended.

You breathed out through your mouth a shaky breath, dabbing under your eyes with the sleeve of your jumper to wipe away the tears.

“You’re okay.” You said to yourself in the mirror. “You’re okay.”

You found that talking moved the cuts on your face and they stung even worse. So no talking it was. Brilliant.

“You’re okay.” You reminded yourself one last time.

But your words felt far from convincing.

[catnipaddictt]

hi! i was wondering if you could write something like where sam and reader have been best friends since forever, and the reader’s parents decide to go on a family roadtrip with sam and reader. the reader’s parents didn’t know they were dating but find out cause sam and reader fell asleep while cuddling/hand-in-hand

it’s totally ok if you don’t want to write it and sorry if this looked weird but i REALLY like your posts 💓

sam monroe x gn!reader

wc: 0.6k

cw: none this is just fluff!

comment: I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS REQUEST SO THANK YOU ANON!!!

The early morning sun cast its rays across the nearly empty street. It would be deserted if it wasn’t for your family. Every year for as long as you could remember, your parents had done an annual road trip down the coast, stopping at small towns along the way. You look forward to it every year, counting down the days till summer break arrives. 

However, this year was going to be different to most. Your parents had agreed, no offered, to take your best friend, Sam, with you guys this time. What your parents didn’t know was that you and Sam had been dating for the better half of the year now, and you were both looking forward to spending this time together. 

You had known Sam since you had started school together all those years ago, and you had become attached at the hip ever since. Your parents like to recount the days when the two of you were 4 ft tall and a lot less trouble than you were now. As Sam got older, he took on a more alternative look, something you admire about him. He was just so…cool. You didn’t know how else to describe it. His black hair (which you dye for him) and selection of piercings suited him and his personality perfectly. And when he asked you to show him how to do eyeliner when you both turned 14 you happily obliged. 

You throw your bag into the back seat before climbing in and buckingly up your seatbelt. Your parents were going to drive the 3 minutes to Sam’s house to pick him up before beginning your road trip. The sound of the car’s engine excites you, and when you pull into Sam’s driveway a few minutes later you are ecstatic. You hop out of your seat, and walk swiftly to the door before knocking twice.

Sam’s hair appears before you see the rest of him and he grumbles out “It's too early for this sort of carry on, your parents are crazy.” You laugh at him. He was never very good at early starts. “You can sleep in the car, come on!” 

You pull Sam and his bag to the car and you both climb in, settling down for the long trip ahead. Your parents greet Sam and make some small talk before turning on the radio. The sound of rock ‘n’ roll fills your ears and you nod your head along in time to the beat. Sam just looks at you like you are insane. 

Sam lies his head back on the car seat headrest, looking up at the car roof. He is tired and you can tell. You sneak your hand into his, covered by the bags in between you. If your parents noticed, they certainly didn’t say anything. He glances at you, gently squeezing your hand in his ring-clad one. 

As your parents drive down the coast, your hands stay intertwined, even as you both slowly begin to nod off, waking up at the crack of dawn taking its toll. By late morning you are both passed out, Sam’s head resting on your shoulder.

Eventually your parents pull into a small town for a bathroom break and to stretch their legs. Turning around to shake you both awake, your mother shakes her head at the sight of the two of you. Somewhere along the winding roads, the bags concealing your interlocked fingers had fallen to your feet, revealing your hands. 

She laughs to herself, smiling before turning to your dad; “I knew something was up with them.” she whisper-yells, happy that it's Sam and not some other douchebag guy. You dad grins, “should we wake them up?” 

“No, let's let them enjoy their moment.”

When you and Sam wake up, you are both met with two smiling faces and a lot of explaining to do.

Apologies for any writing mistakes, let me know if you want to be added to the tag list!!

Taglist: @heartsforanakin @qvnthesia @ysrjune @anisscarletstarlet

[justjudethoughts]

Lessons in Divine Mercy

Necessary Context: Very early on in my journey with Religious OCD, extremely well-meaning mentors would often tell me the story of the Prodigal Son, and end it with "you just need to trust in God's mercy! He wants to forgive you!" But you see, for me, that was never the problem. 14-year-old me KNEW God wanted to forgive her. She also knew that if she committed a mortal sin, she was supposed to go to confession. And, well, um, she thought everything was a mortal sin. Literally skipped brushing my teeth once and thought it was a mortal sin. What scared me the most was the realization I couldn't literally spend 24/7 in confession. And if I was committing a mortal sin every few minutes, then how was I ever supposed to stay in union with God? To me, absolutely none of this had to do with trusting that God was merciful.

I was wrong.

It took a while to come to this conclusion, but I eventually realized that trusting in God's mercy had more to it than simply trusting He wanted to forgive me. It meant trusting that He knew me better than I knew myself. That He saw my heart and my mind and the absolute agony I was going through, and more than that, that He cared. I had to trust that His mercy was bigger than my illness. That He wasn't scared of my scruples. In practice, that meant I had to trust that even if I somehow managed to

— 1) Commit a mortal sin 2) Convince myself afterwards that it wasn't a mortal sin and I was just obsessing and 3) Forgo going to confession in an attempt to not perform a compulsion— that God would not hold that supposed mortal sin against me. Of course, now I realize how unlikely that entire situation is to even happen in the first place, but at the time it was my reality. It was my fear every single day, and that leap of faith was a terrifying one to make. But when I did, I could finally begin to do the things I needed to heal (aka, avoid compulsions, trusting that God is going to take care of it even if I mislabeled and avoided something I actually should have done as a compulsion).

You see, what I hadn't realized at the time is that God's mercy doesn't just mean He forgives your sins— it means He has a tender, bleeding, broken heart for you. For you and for everything you have been through. For you and for every hurt stored in your chest. For you and you alone, as though you were the only one to ever exist. His mercy does not simply say "go and sin no more," it stoops to write in the sand, and while doing so, finds you at eye level. Looks you in the eye, takes your hand, and raises you to your feet. Calls you by name. The Jesus who meets you in the confessional is the same Jesus who wept when Lazarus died. Whose heart was moved with pity for the crowd. Who dropped everything to raise a little girl from the dead, and the first thing He said when she was awake was to make sure she was given something to eat.

Divine Mercy means that God sees where you are, knows where you are, and pursues you there. Meets you there. Why else do you think He came down to earth as a baby? We got ourselves in trouble by trying to build a tower to heaven because that was never what we were supposed to do. God stoops to us. The confusion of Babble was undone by the descent of the Holy Ghost.

He sees you. He knows you. And He cares. Oh, how it hurts His heart to see you hurt! And how much more it hurts to see you scared of Him. Do you not think the Hands that crafted you know every crevice of your heart? Do you not think that the God who became a baby, whose heart was pierced for love of you, could hold anything inside that heart beside tenderness at the thought of you? For all of eternity He has had a simple wish — to wash your feet and kiss your wounds. Will you trust Him enough to let Him?

[billskeis]

˖ ࣪ ⟢ bill doesn’t think he’s a good fuck

looking at the screen in disbelief, replays the video as to bill’s ex girlfriend live streaming the announcements to why she broke up with her boyfriend, ‘why did i dump my sexy boyfriend..? because he was bad at sex!!!’ as voices around the class continue to mumble so loud that their secrets were no longer secrets. a pat to comfort his broken spirit, tom, gustav and georg stood by their lead singer.

“don’t listen to her bill, i mean, i know your dick isn’t as big as mine but surely you can’t be that bad!” tom exclaims, georg and gustav stare at the dread-headed boy in disbelief to his attempts in comforting his younger brother, “really helpful tom, are you serious??” georg spews but bill himself doesn’t even seem to be listening to him.

blood and thoughts rush to his head as be begins to feel dizzy, her agonizing voice booming through his head as a reminder as to that the multiple times they’ve done it, she’s never felt good. it was all, fake, and inevitably, all for nothing. how could she?? georg and gustav echo in the back of his head as they call her an attention whore who’s just looking for trouble, but again, bill can’t help but scroll through the comments of how lame of a ‘boyfriend’ he was.

“try not to let her get to yer head mr. sexy ex boyfriend, you deserve way better than this—oh, we gotta go now?? see’ya later bill!”

gustav leans to look down at bill’s face who sulks at his cellphone, quickly leaving as the three boys now have to leave for basketball practice. shutting his phone off and slamming it onto the wooden desk, bill remain seated in the classroom where bodies begin to dissipate in the academic environment at the sound of the school bell ringing for the end of the day. maybe he should just stay home tomorrow, he thought, or for the rest of the week, or for like, forever.

a tap on your shoulder causes you to turn to the figure that stood behind you, “hey y/n,”

with a smile, you hug the baggy-clothed figure. “tom! what’s up? where’s bill?” with a heavy sigh, tom looks at the floor, licks his lips and looks back to you, “that’s exactly why i’m here. bill hasn’t come out of his room in days. he’s missed more school than i have, can you believe that?? i mean, we knew that his lazy ass would’ve loved to skip to stay home, but he never actually followed through, d’ya think you could go see him? he won’t talk to me.”

you tilt your head in confusion, “if he won’t even talk to his own brother what makes you think that he’ll talk to his neighbour?”

“i-i don’t know, out of courtesy i guess? i know he’d hate it if he were ever rude to you, considering that you’ve helped us ever since we were young.. he’s always listened to you. just, please, give it a try? his morale has been down ever since the breakup,” and you’ve definitely heard of it, who didn’t. that crazy bitch of an ex had no hesitation in streaming the whole thing for the world to see, for even his previous ex’s before him decided to also come out about the same ‘problem.’ poor bill, you thought. you made a mental note to go to his house right after school.

with a knock to his bedroom door, school had finally ended and you made your way to the kaulitz household before going back to your own home to finally talk some spirit back into bill! greeting ms.kaulitz, she eagerly let you in with a pinch of your cheek and a thanks for trying to help her son out, mentioning that she can’t keep him home for any longer before he can’t graduate highschool.

“bill? hey, it’s me. can ya let me in? i need to talk to you,” but you were met with silence.

standing in front of his door, still, you waited, and waited. five minutes passed before you finally decided to give up and think that maybe he’s finally cracked and you were no longer able to provide him the comfort you and him were always used to. that is, until, you hear the creak of a door opening, implicitly inviting you into bill’s private space. widening the gap of his door, you’re met with your best friend, sat in his bed, wearing sweatpants and a slim fit greenday tee, messy hair and without makeup.

he hasn’t been crying, but his face is visible with glum, “hi y/n..” his voice, soft and quiet. you make your way toward his bed and plop yourself beside him, awkwardly hugging him.

“tom’s told me you’ve been missing school. c’mon. you’re gonna really let her get to you that bad?”

he sits there, just listening as you begin to ramble, explaining to him how you knew she was a bad person from the start. that she only really wanted him for the fame and if he was really that bad at sex? she as a good girlfriend would look past that and just love him for him, but she didn’t. biting his nails, he chips away at the black and white polish that adorned his fingers. you notice this, and immediately grab his hands away, intertwining your fingers with his and placing both your hands in your lap.

“—stop that. but anyways, it’s unbelievable!! like, i can’t believe that despite how long you’ve dated, she has the fucking gall to go and say that. and even worse, say it in public?? like are you kidding me?? what a bitch..”

and bill almost laughs, because you never swear. not in the many years that you’ve known him, and you made a promise to yourself that you never would. but today, of all days, had just become he day you broke that promise. who knew, that even although this wasn’t your relationship, you were angry. angrier than bill, THE ex-boyfriend. smiling, he appreciated you getting angry for him.

“is that a smile i see?” you tease, “in your dreams.. but, do you think she’s right?”

“right about what?”

“about me being bad at sex,”

“o-oh, uh, i haven’t actually thought about that y’know? being friends and all it isn’t really something that’s on my mind..”

“i have.”

“you what?”

“i’ve thought about it. about you. have been. for the past days, actually,” he brings a hand to caress the backside of your neck, that soon pushes your head closer to his so he can press a kiss onto your lips. already flustered, you use an arm to gently push away his body, that only fights back to be closer to you.

“bill.. we shouldn’t, you just got out of a relationship and—”

“please, schatzi, i wanna prove it to the world.. indulge me just this once ‘kay?”

“hnn.. bill, you’re taking too long..” you wail, sopping cunt that prettily sits above the pudgy tip of bill’s cock. you straddle his lap as you try to push yourself down onto his length but he only holds your hips still. “patience, baby. tryna savour every moment that we have together, ‘m trying here y’know, holdin’ myself back to reallyyy prove that i’m as good as a fuck that she doesn’t say i am.”

seconds pass that feel like agonizing hours, bill finally slides his length into your cunt, the shape of your walls perfectly moulding to his shape. bill’s pupils dilate at the sight of how you just swallow him whole, hugging his cock as you feel every pulse of him inside of you, “can i move?”

nodding, bill guides your body up and down him, slick already leaking onto his lap as he gropes onto your tit, squeezing the flesh to his liking, a needy hum eliciting from your lips. he stared, and stared, and wholeheartedly admired at how pliable your body was within his touch, bad at sex? yeah right.

“so pretty..” a low groan escapes as he brings his mouth to your chest, tongue swirling against the hard and sensitive bud, leaving you to entangle a grip into his hair, bringing his head closer to your body than it already his. “f-fuck bill, you feel, amaz—ah—amazing..” as he looks up to you from down below, he smirks as he nips on your chest, already tainted with hickeys you didn’t even know were there in such a short amount of time.

“yeah? feelin’ good princess? we’re more compatible than you probably thought so..” he’s talking about earlier, about how you never thought that you would ever have fornication with one of your best friends, “eeeek..! t-that’s because you had a girlfriend!! it’d be wrong to..”

a conflicted hum falls onto your ears, “considering that.. isn’t it also wrong how you’re circling your hips onto mine?? wouldn’t it be wrong that you just can’t help but fuck yourself deeper onto me while also complain that we’re ‘just friends?’” and you can’t help but feel as though bill is right. you’re just as bad as he is with how you continue to bounce on his cock, tongue lolled out for him to collect all the saliva that threatens to spill out of your mouth.

tongues dancing in harmony while your hips move in sync, the both of you chase your orgasms, “h-hahh.. y/n.. s’know what? am i bad as a fuck as she thinks i am..?” and you shake your head, you shake your head as bill begins to relentlessly thrust his cock to bully your cervix and body into total and utter submission, a pulse of electric pleasure surges through your body.

and he frowns to your lack of verbal response, a shake of the head isn’t enough. why won’t you say something? he wonders and wonders, and his wondering has led him to continues thrust as you bitch and moan from pressure of his mushroom tip that abuses the sensitive cunt that’s now his to please. “answer me, liebe.”

it feels dirty, it feels wrong. but the overpowering feeling of sex overpowers such thoughts, bill kisses your sweaty forehead as he awaits your answer. and you want to, trust me! you really do want to answer his question, this was the whole reason you decided to show up to his bedroom door, isn’t it?

“shit, gonna cum bill, wait—”

“but you haven’t” thrust. “answered” thrust. “my” thrust. “question :(.”

“yes!!”

“yes what, baby?” bill goads onto you as he brings the pad of his thumb to rub circles onto your clit, “say it.”

“you are a good fuck!! oh my god—” in an attempts to speak, all you manage to squeak out a short and sweet sentence. complete bliss clouding your mind as you begin to see white. however, bill doesn’t seem completely satisfied with your answer as he curls his arms tighter around your body, the slapping sound of skin growing louder by the second, “and what else?”

“makin’ me feel s’good! ah! i’m gonna come on this cock!! this cock that’s—mmngh—making me feel like i’m in heaven! oh..! oh thank you, thank you—thank you bill..!”

“that’s right, i am a good fuck aren’t i baby?”

hai guys , i’m back :3 bee tee dubz the setting takes place in highschool but everyone is of age ^_^

will i be active?? maybe not .. i have sm reqs to do and i’ll try to get em out asap , no promises tho <3 i love you all , and i guess i’m not ready to leave yet . see you next post !

[thatfreshi]

Possible request, one evening Astarion and Tav are cuddling, Astarion laying his head on their chest as Tav gently combs their fingers through his hair when they start softly singing an old elvish lullaby. Causing old and once thought dead memories to slowly come back to Astarion as he snuggles closer to them as he reminisces his past even shedding a few tears for the life he should of had and Tav is there to hold him and comfort him through it all

Recommended Song: Come Out and Play - Billie Eilish

It's well known between you and Astarion that he does not dwell on the past. After all, what's the point in grasping at something you can barely remember? Sure, he has glimpses of people, places, things, but they don't mean anything. If he tries hard enough, there are almost words to go along with the blurry faces, but nothing worth his while. You don't ask him much about those fuzzy thoughts, only when you're really truly curious.

One night, you're lying in bed after a 'family dinner' with your old companions, a little event you liked to put together every now and then. Astarion loves the attention, but it is in fact a little draining hosting your house, especially to your friends. The two of you are exhausted, and your sweet vampire nuzzles into your chest.

"I love them, but gods are they rowdy."

The two of you chuckle lightly.

"You know, I remember I said I thought domestic life would be boring, but perhaps I was wrong. Seems much better in our little world. Much calmer."

"I'm surprised you haven't gotten us into any more trouble yet. No stray crimes I'm unaware of?"

He doesn't answer for a moment.

"No... except for that necklace I got you the other day."

You feel the muscles in his face move, assuming he has some mischievous smirk across his lips.

"Oh Aster, whatever will I do with you?"

Your hand makes its way into his hair, slowly moving through delicate curls.

"Love me for who I am and never ask me to change, ever?"

You sigh.

"I suppose."

Sugar-coated words, soft hands, empty minds. Your mind wanders, the tired feeling merciless. The cozy, exhausted feeling reminds you of a song, and you begin to sing softly. At first, it's nothing but melodic little words, until you get a little further in. Something clicks in Astarion's head, something strange.

It's sunny, he's out on the docks, sitting next to an older woman. She's humming the song, and the two of them are just staring out at the water. He's fidgeting with something in his hands, some kind of charm. The sun is beating down on the two of them, but neither seems to mind. The melody fades out, and the woman puts a hand on his shoulder.

"Come, time to go home darling."

As fast as it came, the memory is gone, and he sheds a couple silent tears. You realize his breathing has quickened.

"You alright my love?"

"What... what's that song?"

You have to think on his question, unsure really where you'd first heard it.

"I don't know. My parents knew it, and I guess I just picked it up. They'd sing it during peaceful moments. I guess I do too. Why?"

"It brought back something. I think- I think I saw my mother."

Even uttering the words makes the tears fall faster. He's never had a vision of the past like that, nothing so substantial.

"Was it nice?"

He tries to catch his breath.

"Yes. It was."

"You want to talk about it?"

The emotions are confusing. Astarion can't figure out if he's happy, sad, or just shocked.

"We were just watching the water, and then she told me it was time to go. She called me darling..."

He continues to cry into your chest, and you just hold him.

"I guess you know where you get it from now."

A small smile takes over his lips.

"You're right. I guess I do."

That smile is quickly erased by guilt.

"Do- do you think she's still out there? Wondering what happened to her son?"

You frown, knowing he wants to hear the truth, but knowing it might hurt.

"I think any good mother would still wonder. Especially with a son like you."

His grip in your side tightens, as if he's afraid of something.

"Is it bad to say it's easier to think she's already dead? That she doesn't have to wonder anymore?"

"No, not at all. You can feel however you need to about it my love. I imagine with how long elves live, it would be a long time wondering."

He lightly laughs.

"It is worse to say I think I'd be too scared to look for her?"

"No. But why would you be scared?"

"Because I wouldn't be her son anymore, not the one she knew. Just some vampiric freak."

You trail your hand softly across his back.

"You're not a freak Astarion."

"You're probably one of the only ones who'd say that my sweet."

The two of you are too exhausted at this point to have a full conversation, just sentences traded back and forth, words you don't fully remember. But you do know he thanked you the next morning, for bringing back such a pleasant memory.

[thewulf]

Always & Forever Pt. 2 || JJ Maybank

Summary: Request - i absolutely loved the one with jj and routledge!reader after jb and Sarah are presumed dead (its absolutely brilliant) and was wondering if you could do a continuation of it where reader has conflicted feelings after they return and jj comforts her and tells her that it's okay

A/N - Ugh, I just love a good JJ comfort. Thank you for the request!

Pairing: JJ Maybank x Y/N

Word Count: 3.1k+

“It’s nice to see you out of that Chateau.” Kiara rubbed your shoulders before sitting down on the bench outside next to you. The three of you had met up outside the high school after running out of class. All of you receiving the text from your apparently not so dead brother John B. Kiara texted you where to meet them. The text was simple. They’re alive and okay. In the Bahamas. Living and breathing. With a picture to prove it.

Your eyes welled up with tears as you looked at the simple text and picture. They were alive. The son of a bitch did it. You nodded looking up to your almost sister. The one you ran to when you needed advice. She wrapped you up in a swift hug seeing you on the verge of yet another breakdown. Giving you a tight squeeze, you were ever thankful for the friendship you had with her. Thankful your brother brought such incredible people into your life. You had a different set of friends, ones a few years younger. Your age. John B made you when you were younger so that you could be your own person too. In the end you preferred his friends, but you still liked your school friends. They were the ones that knew you better than yourself somehow. The ones helping you limp along through the pain.

“He’s okay. They’re alright.” She gave you another soft squeeze before letting you go. She sat down at the table next to you across from Pope.

You nodded not being sure about it all, “I just… I can’t believe it.” You felt a tear drop down your cheek as you read the message over and over again, “I thought they were dead.”

“Hey, look at me mins.” JJ stepped forward. Using the pad of his fingertips he brushed away the tears you had tried so hard to hold back but failed at miserably in doing so.

He truly couldn’t fathom how you felt. He spent the better part of four days nursing you back to health and walking you through it. You hadn’t fully accepted his death, but you were beginning to. And now this? You were thrilled but felt so…guilty? Guilty for not believing. For letting yourself wither away for no reason.

“They’re alright Y/N. They’re alright.” He gave your arms a light touch before sitting down next to you. Pope and Kiara lost in a conversation of their own.

“Thank God for that.” You mumbled before leaning into him, “How the hell are we going to get them home? The Bahamas?” Sighing you tried your best to come up with a solution but falling miserably short.

“That’s not your job to figure out. They’ll be back soon. Don’t you worry. We just got to keep you out of trouble until then.” His smile brought one out in you too. He was so confident it would be alright that it made it hard not to believe him. JJ may have been messy, but he never let you down, never lied to you. So, why would he start now?

“I’ll choose to believe you Maybank.” You leaned into him feeling the weight of the world come crashing down once more. What a strangely emotional day. You should be happier than anything. And you were. But it felt off. Felt strange. Like somebody dead was coming back to life. He was never dead though. But you grieved him. He felt dead. And you couldn’t have felt more uneasy about it all.

He grinned, wrapping his free arm around you, and pulling you close, “When have I ever let you down mins?”

You shook your head quickly, “You haven’t.”

He leaned over, whispering in your ear, “I promise, that’ll never change.”

JJ was screaming at the three of you, “Go, go, go, go, go, go!”

How in the hell did you always end up in these situations? The damn truck broke down and you were running for your life, literally.

When Kie screamed, “Guys, I think he has a gun!” You kicked it up a notch. Oh, how your body wasn’t quite ready for this, not in the slightest. JJ ran behind you, clearly not running as fast as he normally would. He had to make sure you were alright.

“Keep your heads down!” JJ shouted as he tailed you. JJ was ready to pull you in a different direction need be. He knew Kie and Pope could fend for themselves. He wasn’t so sure you were doing alright though. You were running considerably slower than you normally would.

“Fucking hell.” You cursed more to yourself than anybody else. You knew you were holding them back.

“You alright there Routledge?” JJ called out from behind you hearing you mumbling something from in front of him.

When you put your thumbs up out to side of you he knew you were fine. Winded for sure but fine. You’d never back down from a challenge. Never get caught. No that wasn’t a possibility for you.

“Down the alleyway!” Pope shouted before darting down a side. JJ caught you before throwing you forward with his momentum when you were caught off guard in a daze.

“Thought you said you were alright?” He asked, barely out of breath as you stumbled forward. If it weren’t for JJ you’d surely have been caught by now after stumbling over your very own feet.

You nodded, “Sorry, just getting a little tired.” It wasn’t a lie, no. It just wasn’t the full truth. You felt better, you looked better. But you weren’t completely better. You still got tired quicker than normal. Your body still recovering from the trauma it went through.

Before he could respond though you ran right into the back of Pope who stopped so suddenly not even JJ could react.

“What the hell Pope!” You pushed him after you bounced right off his back.

“Y/N.” The voice of your older brother snapped you out of your fit of irritation at your friend. It couldn’t be. No, it couldn’t be John B? You peered around your much taller and broader friend to spot not only John B but Sarah as well sitting on a bike and cart.

“Holy shit.” You gasped it utter shock. This was the last thing you expected.

“Come on! We gotta go!” Sarah pulled you onto the cart right onto her lap. She held you close.

You couldn’t believe it. John B and Sarah. Just fine. In fucking Charleston of all places? Who would’ve thought?

“You’re alive.” You stated more than asked as you looked up to Sarah. You’d grown close to her in the few short months she’s been around.

“Yeah. We’re alive.” She smiled down at you ignoring the antics of the pogues around you.

“And you’re okay? He’s okay?” John B was laughing at the commotion, high on life as he reconnected with the group.

“As okay as we can be kiddo.” She gave you a quick hug but left her arm wrapped around you as she cheered once the group pushed the man who had been chasing them on the ground. Off to the boat they went. Off home they went. It all felt so surreal. Like the last week of your life didn’t exist. Oh, how the universe was playing with your emotions.

Once you were on the boat you sat there smiling, listening in on the conversation between everybody. A sick feeling took over your stomach as you looked over smiling at John B for the first time in a week. He was alive. He was okay. He wasn’t dead. He didn’t get lost at sea. He was sitting five feet away from you. Your older brother was okay.

“Y/N?” He asked. Almost like he knew you were stuck in your head.

“Yeah?” You asked. He knocked you right out of your thoughts. It was a voice you really never thought you’d get to hear again. It was the weirdest feeling. You felt euphoric that you’d found them again. Guilty for thinking they were dead. Scared as hell to go home. Uneasy about the future. It was almost too much to try and comprehend. Afterall, they accused John B of killing the Sherriff, you still had to deal with that mess.

“You didn’t answer the question.” He smiled patting your knee and sitting down next to you.

A light blush crept to your face. You were doing that a lot more often than you usually did. Zoning out of the conversation completely, “Sorry, I didn’t hear it.”

“You ready to get home?” Your older brother with the curly hair and honey brown eyes asked you.

A quick nod came from you without hesitation, “Yeah, more than ready.” You might’ve been unsure of your future but you sure as hell wanted to sleep in your bed. Especially if your older brother was sleeping in the room next to yours.

“Hey kid.” John B nudged your side, “You alright? You look like hell.” He smiled with a sadness you rarely saw from him. He was always tough on you. Only going soft when he needed. But when he saw your state he couldn’t help but to feel a little guilty. When he put himself in your shoes his heart broke at the realization of how alone you must’ve felt. You’d broken down without him.

“I’m okay now.” You turned to him giving him a shallow smile, “I thought you died JB. I kind of fell apart.” You whispered and turned away from him knowing that you’d fall apart if you looked at your older brother for much longer.

“I’m so sorry bug. I felt like I didn’t have an option at the time. And we got lucky. We really did. We probably should’ve died out there. I can’t even begin to apologize. You know how much you mean to me.” He spoke to you and only you. Everybody had given the brother and sister duo the space they needed.

You looked over to him with tears in your eyes, “I know. I’m so sorry JB. I can’t believe it’s come to this.” You felt defeated. How in the hell were you guys going to unfuck this mess up? Somebody was dead. It wasn’t your guys’ fault no. But it was being pinned on your brother. He couldn’t get locked up. Not for something he’d never dream of doing.

“Hey, we’ll figure it out. We always do buggie.” He smiled trying to provide you some sort of comfort. He too had a plethora of nicknames for his younger sister. You in face hated bugs and eight-year-old John Booker Routledge thought it’d be funny to give his six-year-old sister the nickname bug. And of course, it stuck. Because why wouldn’t it? You’d secretly grown fond of the nickname over time

“I always have a solution and I don’t know the answer to this one.” You let a few tears fall. There was simply no solution. You had to let it all play out. Hide John B for as long as you could. It was going to be a task, but you guys could do it.

He rubbed your back trying his best to soothe you. You were wound up tighter than he’d ever seen. You’d clearly been through hell and back, “This isn’t all on you Y/N. We’ll figure it out as the pogues, yeah? Relax for me for a little while.”

“I’ll try.” You spoke leaning back into the seat of the boat. Giving your eyes a close trying your best to enjoy the ride back.

He hesitated. For the first time in his life, he wasn’t quite sure what to do, “I’ll leave you to it.” He spoke before getting up and finding Sarah who happened to be talking to JJ. JJ who was watching you with nothing but concern in his eyes. John B wasn’t dumb. He knew better. He saw the way his best friend was watching you. Something was very wrong, and John B didn’t have a clue what had happened.

“You should go talk to her.” John B spoke to JJ once he made his way back to Sarah, “She’s being quiet. Not like her usual self.” He frowned seeing his younger sister so out of whack. He needed you as much as you needed him. Your happy go lucky attitude got him through so much more than he’d ever admitted to you.

“Yeah sure.” JJ was quick to agree.

Sitting down next to you he gave you a moment before speaking up, “You alright there, honey?” He asked knowing that’d get a ruse out of you.

You leaned your head forward again before turning back to him, “Back to honey?”

He smirked, “Don’t wanna make you uncomfortable.”

You retuned the smile. It felt like the first genuine smile in weeks, “Aren’t you so considerate J.”

Giving you a wink, he took one of your hands in his, not really caring that your older brother was watching with an eagle eye from across the small boat, “Only for you.”

Flashing him a soft smile you didn’t hide the sigh that escaped your lips. Feeling comfortable with your lifelong friend you leaned your head onto his shoulder. Your eyes fluttered shut hearing the soft lull of the engine cutting through the water below you. It was peacefully quiet as everybody found a spot and found their solace. It was always one of your favorite parts of a road trip with the crew. There was always a comfortable silence shared amongst the group. Absolute peace with the best people you knew.

JJ leaned his head on yours. He let you relish in the silence for a moment before asking you a question he really needed to know the answer to, “Are you okay mins?”

You nodded your head subtly in his shoulder, “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“You’re awfully quiet.” He whispered back to you. His arm made its way around your torso and sat on your side securing you tightly into his side.

“And you’re being awfully chatty.” You grinned into his chest knowing he’d find mock offense to your comeback.

You were right. He pinched your side, lightly and let out a “Hey!”

Lifting your head from his soft embrace you looked him in the eyes for the first time in a while. He was so pretty. The most handsome boy you knew. And you always made sure to tell him that whenever you could.

You spotted the concern dotting his eyes as he studied your face. He knew something wasn’t right. John B knew something wasn’t right. You knew something wasn’t right. You just couldn’t place it. You were so fucking happy he was home. God, it was the absolute best scenario that could’ve played out. Why’d you feel so off? So weird? Like you were in a dream or something.

“I’m okay J. I just… I just feel weird.” You admitted to the boy who wanted nothing but answers from you. When he broke out that sad stare you couldn’t help but to spill your feelings to your concerned best friend.

His head cocked to the side as he processed what you said, “What do you mean?” He pressed, needing to know. He looked you over for any signs of injury. You weren’t shot were you? He didn’t remember the guy firing a shot but who knows, a lot was going on.

You noticed his eyes looking for anything wrong, “I’m fine JJ.” You frowned not sure how to get spit out what you meant.

“Okay.” He waited for you to go on.

You turned away before continuing, “I should be so happy they’re back. They’re alive. I just feel off. I don’t know J.”

“You’re in shock.” He said so quickly you weren’t sure if you heard him right.

You shook your head off like he was crazy, “No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are.” He rolled his eyes knowing you’d never take his word for it. You were as stubborn as your older brother.

“JJ I’m not in shock. I get what happened. I understand it…”

He interrupted you quickly, grabbing at your hand to shut you up, “You can understand it all. Still doesn’t mean you aren’t in shock mins. Two life altering events happened in your life within a week. It’s alright if you feel weird. If you feel off. It’s perfectly fine, alright?”

JJ wasn’t often one for such kind of comfort, but he knew how to when he needed to. You needed it right now. A little bit lost in a great big world.

You hummed, “If you say so.”

He smiled before gently placing your head back down on your head, “Remember what I said earlier? When have I ever let you down?”

He was right of course. JJ was always right. He had never let you down, “I love you JJ Maybank, you know that right?” You whispered once more, careful to make sure that nobody else heard. You had said it a thousand times to the blonde-haired boy before, but it meant something different this time. You loved him, you really did. And he knew it. He knew you were admitting far more than you ever dared too before.

A smile couldn’t be stopped from forming on his face as he realized the weight of your words, “I love you too. Love, love you mins.” He whispered into your ear careful to keep the moment between you and him only. JB and the crew would figure it out soon enough. He wanted to relish in the intimate moment between the girl he’d adored from afar for so long. His best friend. The girl he couldn’t stand to be around at first to the girl he couldn’t wait to see. His girl. You. Y/N. Little Routledge.

“Love, love huh?” You laughed in his chest feeling nothing but the purest form of joy rippling throughout your body.

“I love the hell out of you Y/N. John B’s going to murder me when he finds out but damn hearing you say that was everything. You’re it mins. You’re my girl. I can promise you that.” He wanted to kiss you more than anything. Especially when you looked up at him while he was cradling you in his chest shielded from your older brothers eyes. God, he wanted to kiss you so bad.

But for your sake. And his sake he decided to wait until it was just the two of you. He could wait. Instead, he brushed the hair away from your face and settled for squeezing you into him once more, “Guess what J?” You asked once he was done settling you in for the ride back.

“What’s that?”

“I love, love you too.” You grinned that beautiful smile he’d missed so badly in the last few weeks that’d ripped the life right from you. And that, that was worth everything and more to him. He couldn’t wait to spend a lifetime of drawing that beautiful smile from his ever more beautiful girl.

Always & Forever || JJ Maybank

Summary: Request - Hii. Love your work. It's so good. I'm feeling a good hurt comfort fic with the obx cast. Could I get a JJ Maybank x reader (maybe john b's younger sister?) where she's lost everything after they assume John B and Sarah are lost at sea... Read Rest Here

A/N - Ohhh this was kinda hard to write. Being sad is a bitch. Please let somebody know if you're sad/getting sad. People love you! Always remember that <3

Pairing: JJ Maybank x Y/N

Word Count: 2.3+

GIF by anakin-skywalker

TW: Talks of depression, being sad, not eating etc.

You barely heard the soft knocks on your bedroom door. Currently, you were huddled underneath the comforter of your missing older brother just hoping and praying he was okay. They’d officially called it. Lost at sea. Presumed deceased. Dead. Just like your fucking father. How was this your life? Two years ago, you had the world with the two coolest guys on the earth. And now? Now you were alone. Utterly fucking alone. It’d only been three damn days, but they gave up. There was no funding for a poor pogue boy from the wrong part of the island. Sherriff Peterman just gave you a sad look when she broke the news to you a few days prior. Or it could’ve been yesterday. Time didn’t matter anymore. Nothing really mattered anymore. You were a sixteen-year-old girl alone as fuck in this cold ass world.

“Hey little Rout.” You heard JJ’s kinder than usual voice from the other side of the door, “You need to open this door or I’m going to have to pick the lock. Need to see if you’re okay. You haven’t been at school and Mrs. Smith is getting worries, she said she’s going to report you.” You heard the soft sigh of utter defeat as he waited for a moment for you to respond. To do anything. You didn’t have the energy to respond so instead you just laid there.

“Come on kid.” You rolled your eyes at the nickname he’d long since used on you, “You need to come out. Get some fresh air. You can’t stay in there forever.”

Nothing. You just couldn’t. Depression was a hell of a thing. You just couldn’t fathom getting up and unlocking that door. Your brain knew you should. But the actual thought of moving seemed like a foreign concept you weren’t ready for sure yet.

He didn’t give you much else of a choice as you heard the lock click. You knew it wouldn’t take him much effort to get it but alas, you just couldn’t care. It didn’t seem to matter. Nothing else mattered. John B was all you had left and now you sat here empty and void.

“Oh Y/N…” His voice trailed off as he spotted you withering away underneath a mass of blankets. A blank stare on your face. You couldn’t bear to meet his eyes feeling grossly ashamed you let it get this kind of bad.

“I just…” Your voice croaked out as it hadn’t been used in while, how long you hadn’t used it you really didn’t have a clue.

He shook his head kneeling down beside your bed, “It’s alright mins.” His head was close as he smiled at you with a smile that never reached his eyes. A smile he was putting on for you. He took his hand brushing your knotted hair away from your sunken face.

Mins. You wanted to laugh. It was the first good emotion you had felt in a while. Mins was your current nickname of quite the long line of ever evolving nicknames from the blonde-haired boy. First it was mini-Routledge, then it was mini-JB, then mini and now mins. He didn’t use it all too often anymore, only when he thought you needed it. And you needed it more than ever now. All his love and everything he could give to you.

JJ knew just how much John B meant to you. He was your best friend. The two of you did everything together, practically inseparable. Even when JB met JJ they still included you in on everything. You were his shadow. That didn’t change as you got older. You just had to play it off as something different.

“I’m tired JJ.” You sighed letting your eyes close in front of him. The effort to keep them open was beginning to become too much.

He frowned deeply. This wasn’t like you. You were usually so full of life. The one who wanted to go and do things. The one who called him lame when he didn’t want to try something new with you. You were the one that kept the group going. And now it felt like everything was falling apart. The pogues were without their people and they needed you back.

This was your way of shutting down and he knew it.

“When was the last time you ate honey?” He asked while trying to brush the knots out of the hair he could get to. You were never particular about your hair, but JJ knew how badly knots hurt to get out. He remembered that one time when the both of you were younger, you crying when your dad tried to brush out some gnarly knots after JJ and JB tried to teach you how to surf one afternoon. It broke his heart even as a twelve-year-old boy. He had that same protective love that JB had over you.

You sighed trying to remember, “Before we found out he was missing I guess.”

JJ’s eyes bugged. He knew he should’ve checked in on you sooner. Damn the pogues who told him to leave you alone. That you needed space. You clearly didn’t need space. You needed help.

“That was three days ago Y/N.” His blood felt like it was running cold. How could he let you lay here for three entire days? JB would fucking murder him if he found out. Some friend he was.

You hummed in acknowledgement, “I’ve had some water though. Haven’t been hungry.” You admitted to your concerned friend. Your voice finally started sounding more like your own after the hoarseness had worked its way out.

“Well, that’s a start mins.” He sighed brushing his overgrown golden hair away from his eyes, “Can you get up for me? Get you some soup downstairs or something?”

“JJ.” You whined not feeling up to the task, “I’m too tired. I don’t feel like it.”

He took you hand in his and wanted to cry from how cold it was. You weren’t right. No, you were suffering, and they just let you. He felt nothing more than a piece of shit seeing you so broken, “I’ll carry you. I just need you to eat something honey. John B would be sick with worry if he knew you were starving away.”

“Don’t talk about him.” You turned away from JJ feeling your own blood run cold at the mention of your missing older brothers name. You couldn’t fucking believe he chose to leave you. Fuck, you couldn’t believe he’d ever put Sarah in that position either. It all felt like a fever dream you had to wake up from. But you weren’t waking up which meant this was a sick and twisted reality that you didn’t want to participate in anymore.

“Y/N…”

You shook your head on your pillow, “Please JJ. Don’t talk about him. I can’t take it. Not yet.” You felt the tears that had long since dried up come flowing back in an instant. Why in the hell did he bring out these feelings in you so effortlessly? Leave it to your older brothers cute as hell best friend that was certainly off limits. JJ would never, ever feel that way for you anyway.

“Alright honey.” Honey. That was a new one. You’d heard him use it sparingly on girls in the past, but it certainly was never used for you. But he’d used it a few times in the last few sentences sending your overly tired mind reeling in another direction. He was just being kind, that was all. After all, your older brother did just fucking vanish into thin air, “Can you please get up for me? Please mins? I need you to eat something. Whatever you what. Please?” He added one last please to let you know how dire he felt.

You rolled back over to him exerting far too much effort in doing so, “I don’t think I can.” You sounded defeated as the tears started once more, “I’m so tired J.” You whispered trying to contain the sob that wanted to escape from your throat.

“Cause you need to eat honey.” He spoke with nothing but concern on his face, “Let me take you downstairs? You need to move. Need to be somewhere new. Need to get some calories in your body.” He said so matter of factly you weren’t sure if it was JJ in front of you. But then again, for as much as a mess the boy normally was he thrived in crises situations such as these. He always seemed to know exactly what to do.

“Yeah, that’s fine JJ.” You knew he’d win eventually so it might be best to just give it up.

He let out a subtle breath of sure-fire relief as he scooped you up into his arms. You were light. Far too fucking light. God, he was such an idiot. He knew you better than any of the other pogues. Of course, you needed help.

He set you down at the messy table filled with whatever shit JB had likely left there the week prior. You grew tired of always cleaning so you just started leaving it. Your eyes scanned the table full of junk. A sad smile formed seeing his homework scattered about with an unpaid parking ticket next to it all. He’d never get to finish that homework. Never would have to lie his way out of that ticket. Why him? Why your JB?

“What do you want to eat honey?” He asking running a hand up and down your arm. Attempting any form of comfort for you. He saw the sad look in your eyes as they scanned the table. He had to get your mind off of JB in any way he could.

“Why are you calling me that?” You asked instead of answering him. It was driving you nuts, and you had to know. In your right mind you’d never

“Honey?” He asked, a bit taken aback by your sudden brazenness. The you he knew would never have asked him that. Instead, you would’ve asked JB. Something you couldn’t do anymore.

You nodded in confirmation feeling your eyes droop and your mouth open to yawn. JJ cursed internally making the decision of canned soup for you knowing you needed to eat as soon as possible. Light and easy and calories. That’s exactly what you needed.

“I don’t know mins.” He admitted while heating up your food, “It just felt, feels right. I can stop saying it if you’d like.”

“I didn’t say that.” You spoke back in almost a whisper.

“Honey it is.” He grinned while putting your warm, not overly hot, soup in a bowl. He set it down in front of you waiting for you to eat.

“I still like mins too.” You added admitting to him just how much you did like the nickname. He’d stopped using it as much now that the two of you had gotten older. You’d forgotten just how much you’d liked the nickname. Probably because it was a nickname only you could have. A special one from the boy you surely loved but vehemently denied.

“Noted, now eat mins.” He grinned pointing to the bowl.

You nodded not really sure if your hands would agree with your brain. You were so utterly fucking exhausted. Turns out you did need to eat if you wanted to be able to function. Because it felt like a task you’d never be able to start. As much as you tried your arm just wouldn’t cooperate.

“Mins?” He asked seeing you not really making a move for it.

“I can’t JJ. It’s too much.” You hated to admit how disgustingly useless you felt. Yet here you were.

He nodded in understanding, “Here, let me.” He took the spoon from the bowl and held it front of your face. For the first time in three days, you relished in the taste of food. It did taste really good. And damn, you were a lot hungrier than you realized. Before you knew it the bowl was gone, and you were entirely full.

“Thank you J.” You let your eyes close once more feeling the outright exhaustion of the situation come down over you.

“Anytime mins.” Seeing your eyes close he noted your fatigue, “Why don’t we sit on the couch and watch a movie?” He suggested hoping you’d agree.

“That sounds nice J, I may need your help again.” You let out a frustrated sigh at the state of your condition. You did start feeling a bit better but the thought of walking or even crawling made you shudder.

He shot up from his seat to get you up. He picked you up like it was nothing, “I got you hon. I always do and always will. Remember that alright?” You nodded in his chest doing your best to fight off the sleep that wanted to take you.

“Thank you J.” You whispered into his chest. He set you down right next to him, letting your head fall into his side.

He wrapped an arm around your torso letting you know you were safe and secure. He wasn’t planning on going anywhere without you anymore. Running his hand through your hair he felt a shiver knowing you liked exactly what he was doing, “Always mins. Now, let yourself sleep. We’ll deal with all this shit when you wake up. Together.”

You nodded letting the darkness take over, “Promise?”

“Always and forever.” He gave your head a soft and gentle kiss before the soft snoozes overcame you. He decided he was going to watch you sleep, for however long that was. You were his everything too. He was only just beginning to realize that now. Always and forever. It had a nice ring to it. Forever with you was a life he would dream about. Maybe one day. Maybe after he sorted you through this mess. Maybe just maybe.

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[ckret2]

At long last, we get to see: this moment.

Chapter 11 of Human Bill Being The Mystery Shack's Hella Depressed Prisoner, featuring: Mabel giving Bill a ✨beautiful makeover✨—and Stan and Ford almost dying from laughter. And thus begins Bill & Mabel's inevitable befriending. Previous chapters here!

####

Every time Mabel had to use the stairs, she paused to look at Bill sitting in his window.

He never seemed to move.

A few days ago, it was creepy. Now, it was just kind of sad.

Last year, after Mabel and Dipper's parents had heard the whole story about their summer, they'd immediately packed the twins off to therapy—which Mabel didn't think was necessary, but whatever, if it made their parents feel better. (It had taken them some time to find a therapist who would engage with their barely-averted-apocalypse story at face value rather than search for the root of these "delusions.") At their current therapist's office, before each appointment, Dipper and Mabel had to fill out checklists that they gathered were to measure whether they'd come down with a case of depression—Please read the following statements and circle the word that shows how often they happen to you. Never, sometimes, often, always.

She'd filled out these things so many times that she could practically recite the list of statements by memory. Nothing feels very fun anymore. I have problems with my appetite. I have trouble sleeping. I have no energy for things. I feel like I don't want to move. Far be it from her to try to diagnose an evil demon monster space triangle who'd tried to murder everybody she knew, but. Well. You know. Sitting curled up in a window seat, day after night after day, barely moving, barely talking, barely eating... Yikes. She could only guess how he'd answer statements like I feel empty and sad or I feel worthless.

In Mabel's mind, there was a piece of paper. On that piece of paper were the faces of everyone currently living in the shack. Herself, Dipper, Waddles, Grunkle Stan, Grunkle Ford, Soos, Abuelita, and Melody as an honorary part-time resident. Next to each of their faces, there was a sticker, reflecting their current overall mood. Right now, everyone had either a happy face or a flat-mouthed neutral face—not bad, but could be better.

As she looked at Bill, she mentally promoted him at last from "entity haunting the attic" to "temporary resident." She added his face to her imaginary paper. And she slapped a big blue crying sticker next to it.

She wouldn't stand for that. Not even from him. Not under her roof.

####

Today, Bill wasn't even in the window. He'd elected to curl up in a corner of the attic, hiding in the shadows with his stolen blanket. The window was probably too hot. Mabel typically used acrylic yarn, and she knew from experience how quickly Sweater Town could turn into Sweaty Town.

For the first time, Mabel sauntered, quite casually, across the invisible barrier separating the rest of the attic from Bill's nest. She offered her winningest smile and her cheerfullest, "Hey, Bill!"

The Thing Beneath The Blanket gave her a look that, she suspected, could probably be described as deeply suspicious. "Shooting Star."

"Yup! Haha! That's—that's me all right! You got me." Mabel laughed. (This was going great so far. This was very natural.) "So, anyway!" She grabbed one of the couch cushions Bill had been using as a bed, dragged it a little closer to the corner, and plopped down. "This is such a weird coincidence, but one time, I got gum stuck in my hair and had to shave it off! I mean, crazy, right?"

"Uh huh." Bill didn't sound impressed. "Second grade." (And Mabel was uncomfortably reminded of the first time she'd ever seen Bill. I know lots of things.) "Hey, since you brought it up, can I ask you something about that little incident?"

"Uh..." This was what you signed up for, Mabel. You volunteered for a conversation with Bill. You've gotta converse. "Sure, I guess."

He leaned forward, triangle face looming above her. "Did getting gum in your hair change your species? Did you still look like yourself when you shaved it off?" The face bobbed as he pantomiming looking her up and down. "You still look human to me! So what's your point."

Okay, so he'd immediately recognized she was trying to establish common ground, aaand he was throwing it in her face. Great start. "Jeez, don't be so mean! I'm trying to tell you I get it. Not... the species part, but the other part. I wanna help!"

Bill scoffed. "Sure you do."

"Really!"

"Why?"

"Because you're all sad and it's making me sad."

Bill, o wise and ancient being that he was, had heard of "empathy" in a conceptual sense. He was aware that it was a thing that happened to some people. He even knew that it was common among humans. But on some level he kinda sorta felt like it only really happened to mindreaders that didn't know how to establish proper psychic boundaries. He laughed in Mabel's face. "No, seriously! What are you getting out of this."

Mabel decided she had no interest in explaining compassion to an alien mass murderer. "Okay, I want Soos's blanket back. I gave it to him, not you."

"Fine. If you want his blanket back, make me one."

"What? No! Those are our Team Zodiac-That-Defeated-You blankets, you don't get one."

"Didn't you make one for everybody else on the wheel? I'm on the wheel, aren't I?" He pointed at his face. "Bam! There I am, right in the middle! Star of the show! If everyone else deserves a blanket, so do I."

"Why do you even want one? It's a symbol to kill you."

"It's got my face on it! It's not that deep." He crossed his legs and propped his chin in his hand, getting more comfortable. "So do I get to pick the colors? I'll take yellow if that's all you got, but if you get me metallic gold I think I can swing you a favor."

"I'm not making you a blanket," Mable said. "I was thinking maybe a wig?"

Bill shuddered. "Pass."

"Aw, come on! I bet I could find you a really cute wig. Summerween's coming up, I could go to the costume store—"

"Don't even think about it." Bill leaned away from Mabel, back into his corner. She was losing him. "Listen. Kid. Do you think I did this by accident?" He pointed vaguely toward his scalp. "Being stuck in a human body? Disgusting. Being a human and secreting fifteen miles of hair out of a hundred thousand of pores? Infinitely worse."

"Wait, wait, fifteen miles?" Mabel had never considered how long a full head of hair laid out end-to-end would be. "How much hair do I have?"

"Huh." Bill tilted his head consideringly. "How dense is your hair?"

"Super dense. I've broken multiple brushes."

"Could be up to fifty miles."

Mabel's eyes widened. "Whoa."

"And you've got fifty thousand miles of blood vessels," Bill added cheerfully. "Anyway, if you want this blanket back? You won't get it with a wig. All I want is to look..." he formed his fingers into a triangle, thumb to thumb and forefinger to forefinger, and held it over the face on the blanket, "... like this. Now, if you're offering to help me get my real body back—"

"Never in a million years."

"Didn't think so!" Bill retreated fully into his corner again, knees pulled back up under the blanket, like an eel hiding in a hole to await its next prey. "But hey, if you've got an offer that's a step up from the blanket, I'm willing to negotiate."

"Huh." Mabel frowned thoughtfully. Something triangly. Something triangly that was better than a blanket, without helping Bill return to full power.

She got to her feet. "Let's put a pin in this conversation and circle back to it later. I'll come back with some proposals for you to review."

Bill laughed. "Okay, business girl! Have your people call my people. You know where to find me."

Mabel leaped down the stairs three at a time, ideas already forming in her head.

####

"Hey, Grunkle Ford!"

Ford was sitting at the former controls of the interdimensional portal, studying some radar readings; but he glanced up with a smile when Mabel ran out of the elevator. "Mabel. What brings you down here?"

She dragged an office chair up beside Ford, plopped down in it, and spun a couple of times. "I need to ask some questions about Bill!"

Ford's smile faltered. "Ah."

"Last summer, when we were burning all your art of him—"

(Ford winced in embarrassment.)

"—you said he could do some kind of magic with pictures of his face? What's all that about?" She stopped spinning. "Do they give him more power? Can he fire lasers out of them, or...?"

"No, nothing like that, thank goodness. Depictions of his face granted him a different kind of power: the power of knowledge. When he was trapped in the Nightmare Realm, he could tap into our world's collective mindscape and see through drawings of himself as if they were cameras. Ironically, plastering images of his face everywhere to symbolically represent an 'all-seeing eye' is what made him so all-seeing in the first place."

Mabel nodded thoughtfully. "Did you know you talk like one of those experts they hire to explain things in history documentaries?" she asked. "You should be on TV. You'd be good at it."

Ford gave her a confused smile. "Er—thank you."

"So, if Bill's already here, making new pictures of his face doesn't do anything?"

He supposed she was wondering about the zodiac blankets she'd spread around town. "Probably not. At a minimum, he'd have to be in the mindscape to be at the right 'angle' to see through the eyes. As he is now, trapped in a human form?" Ford let out a slow, thoughtful sigh. "It's hard to say for sure, without knowing how he got to be this way or what kinds of powers he's still hiding... but based on everything I've seen so far, I doubt they do anything for him."

"And if somebody put a picture of him on his face, it wouldn't do anything at all! Because that's like, his face. He already has eyes there."

Ford chuckled. "I suppose that's true. It would be like he'd grown a third eyeball, that's all." He paused. Put a picture of him on his face? "Why do you ask?"

Too late; she was halfway to the elevator. "Thanks, Grunkle Ford! I'll see you at dinner!" And she was gone.

####

"What's all this?" Bartholomew asked.

Mabel was dumping a bag of costume makeup and cheap convenience store makeup palettes onto her bed. They sparkled in varying hues of tacky gold glitter. "Art project!" She scooped Bartholomew out of his cradle by Dipper's bed, climbed the rickety ladder to the storage loft over their bedroom, and set him down leaning against a box. "You're on guard duty. Stay quiet and if anything goes wrong, get Dipper."

"How do you expect me to get Dipper? I'm a doll. I can't move."

"Come on, Mew-Mew. You think we haven't noticed that you teleport when nobody's looking?"

Bartholomew paused. "Touché."

Mabel rummaged through her art supplies; put tape, glue, and a couple of flattened cardboard boxes on the bed; added all the yellow crayons, markers, and paints she could find; and finally, satisfied, she ran out of the room. "Bill!"

"Still here."

"I've got the perfect solution. I'm giving you..." Mabel posed, hands on her hips. "A makeover!"

Bill waited for the follow up. There was no follow up. "Heh."

"Laugh now, but before I'm finished, I'm gonna make you more beautiful than your wildest dreams!"

"Kid, with all due respect, your idea of 'wild' taps out where my dreams are just getting started."

"Then I'll just have to up my game, won't I?" Mabel held out her hand. "Just give me that blanket, show me that weird bald head of yours, and let me make it into a canvas for high art! Trust me!"

Bill contemplated her extended hand. Did he trust her? In most situations, he considered trust irrelevant. He expected most people to do whatever they thought would benefit themselves the most; sometimes that meant keeping their word, and sometimes it didn't.

On the other hand. Was he really curious to find out where she was going with this? Yes. And the worst thing she could possibly do to him was make him very slightly more ugly than he already was. And playing along would fill his empty afternoon.

"Okay, kid." He reluctantly handed the blanket over. "You haven't given me a bad makeover so far." (He hadn't actually seen her marker mask, but it never hurt to flatter the person about to paint all over you.) He stood and stretched. "Show me what you've got. But if I don't like it, you owe me a blanket."

"Yes!" She grabbed his hand—his whole arm immediately went stiff—and dragged him toward the bedroom. "Welcome to my salon!"

####

Sure enough, just like Ford had said—when Stan checked Bill's attic nest, there was no sign of him.

Stan didn't like that one bit. Where the hell had their prisoner gotten off to?

As Stan approached the attic bedroom, he could hear Mabel talking: "More glitter?! That's crazay! Okay, here goes! I bet you could pull off such a glam rock look." (That explained where the kids were. He'd been starting to wonder.) "Hold still, I'm gonna try something I saw on a Russian supermodel—"

"Kids," Stan called, "do you know where the demon went?" He opened the door. "Poindexter says he can't find him anywhere, and—"

Mabel was kneeling on the floor, surrounded by the widest variety of makeup brushes and palettes Stan had ever seen. Her fingers and sleeve cuffs were coated in gold glitter and paint.

Kneeling in front of her, with his legs splayed awkwardly and his hands on the floor like he wasn't sure how to lower this body down to Mabel's height, was Bill. His face was liberally coated in acrylic gold paint and amateurishly contoured with a mix of craft glitter and golden eyeshadow. One eye was shut—the eyelashes delicately dusted with more gold eyeshadow to help it blend in—while the other was coated in a layer of mascara so thick it was a miracle his lashes didn't glue shut when he blinked.

And to cap off the gilded absurdity, his face was sticking through a hole in the middle of a cardboard triangle helmet, painted sunflower yellow with bricks shakily traced on in marker. Bill looked like the poor kid assigned the part of "the pyramid" in a fourth grade class play about ancient Egypt.

Mabel and Bill stared at Stan.

Stan stared back.

He covered a snort with a cough. "I'll—I'll tell Ford you've got it handled." He slammed the door.

He let out a bellow of laughter.

Mabel put a hand on Bill's shoulder. "He doesn't understand avant-garde fashion. You look like a million dollars."

"I know," Bill said. "All the same—maybe a hat would class things up a little?"

Mabel reached for a sheet of black construction paper. "You're so right."

####

"Well?" Mabel leaned around Bill, trying to see what he looked like in the full-length mirror. "What do you think?"

Bill stared in the mirror. A horrific abomination of flaking paint, cakey makeup, and taped-up cardboard stared back.

He grinned so wide it cracked his face paint. "I think that's the hottest human being in history."

"Yes!" Mabel pumped a fist into the air.

####

Ford said, "Stanley, what is it?"

Stan wheezed until his lungs ran out of air.

Concerned, Ford leaned across the kitchen table, lacing his hands together. "Did you find Bill?"

"M—Mhmm."

"He hasn't hurt Mabel, has he?" Ford asked, flashing back to their conversation earlier. "Or—or Dipper? Anyone?"

Stan bit his lip and shook his head. Tears of laughter pricked the corners of his eyes.

"Did he... put some kind of laughing curse on you?"

Stan shook his head more emphatically. "H—" He couldn't get one syllable out before he had to choke back his laughter again. He pounded on the table.

Grasping at straws and defaulting to the first worst case scenario he could think of, Ford said, "He hasn't found a way back to his true form, has he?"

Stan let out a noise like a balloon that had been untied and unleashed to fly around the room. "I MEAN—"

"Gooood afternoon, gentlemen!" Beaming brightly enough to rival the sun, twirling an umbrella like a cane, Bill strutted in.

Ford clapped one hand on Stan's shoulder, clapped the other over his mouth, and turned away, shoulders shaking. Stan smacked Ford's arm in sympathetic hysteria.

"I see we're all in high spirits today!" With the brazen confidence of an illegitimate prince marching into a throne room to demand his crown, Bill strolled through the kitchen, barely sparing the Stan twins a glance. Mabel followed behind him, grinning from ear to ear. "I wouldn't mind some spirits, myself." He paused in front of the fridge. "Could someone—?"

As the closest person to the fridge, Ford pulled it open, then turned to watch so he could make sure Bill didn't do anything he shouldn't with the food. This required him to look in Bill's direction. He curled his lips into his mouth and bit down. His eyes watered.

"Finally." Bill hungrily surveyed the inner contents of the fridge, grabbed an armload of condiments, a jar of pickles, and a tub of leftover chicken nuggets, and dumped them on the nearest counter. He tried to reach for a bottle of spoiled corn syrup toward the back of the fridge, banged the sides of his cardboard helmet on the fridge's doorframe, and quickly backed off and felt the corners to make sure they weren't too damaged. He had to turn sideways to reach the bottle without hitting the edges of the fridge. One corner of his mask tipped over a bottle of apple juice. Watching this performance very nearly killed the Stans.

"There." Bill triumphantly set the bottle on the counter, grabbed a can of alphabet spaghetti off an open shelf, and asked, "Where do you have the bowls hidden?" He rapped on one of the cabinet doors with his umbrella.

The sight of the umbrella knocked Ford out of some of his hysteria. "Where did you—?" He snatched the umbrella out of Bill's hands. "No weapons."

Bill gave Ford a withering one-eyed look (Ford suspected his other eye was glued shut with paint), then elected to ignore him. "Shooting Star?"

"They're down here!" Mabel opened one of the base cabinets. Bill retrieved a bowl and started filled it with his condiment haul.

"Okay," Stan said, voice strained with suppressed laughter. "Okay, what—what are we looking at?"

"A masterpiece of cosmetic art," Bill said. Mabel's grin widened.

Ford elbowed Stan across the table. "Do you remember the 'living statue' performers on the Glass Shard Beach boardwalk?" he asked. "The ones who'd paint all their skin and clothes gold—?"

"Oh yeah!" Stan let out a bark of laughter. "That's exactly what he looks like!"

In his bowl, Bill had layered mayonnaise, Tabasco sauce, mustard, sour cream, and maple syrup, and carefully stuck in as many chicken nuggets as he could without the mix slopping over the edges. He got Mabel's help to stick it in the microwave, then turned toward the Stans with a smug grin. "So you agree that I look like a work of art."

"No," Stan said, "they looked like idiots, and so do you."

Bill scoffed. "You don't know anything! You look at a human body, and all you see is a human with things stuck on it. I can look at a human body and see a canvas. I've stripped this vessel of its association with humanity and transformed it into an idol of myself."

Mabel loudly cleared her throat.

"Okay, she did most of the work."

Ford seriously considered the artistic merit of Bill's proposed "human body sans humanity as art material" paradigm. After a moment of deliberation, he said, "You have cardboard taped to your face."

Stan slapped the table. "HA!"

Bill opened a can of alphabet spaghetti, slopped half into a glass, filled the rest with incredibly spoiled corn syrup, and then filled the can with corn syrup as well. The mixes bubbled threateningly. The absolute picture of good cheer, Bill announced, "I'm the most beautiful thing any of you have ever seen. It's just too bad your closed little minds can't enjoy the marvel in front of you." He stirred his toxic alphabet spaghetti concoction with a pickle spear.

Stan watched Bill mix his drink in mild alarm. "What in the world are you making?"

Bill held his wrist over the glass and a knife to his wrist. "A Bloody Mary."

Stan's alarm increased. "No you aren't."

"That's your opinion." 

"Where did you get—!" Ford leaned over to snatch the knife out of Bill's hand.

"It was in the fridge, it was sticking out of the leftover casserole!" Bill rolled his eye. "Re-lax! I wasn't pointing it at you." He lifted his drink, nearly poured it into his eye, caught himself at Mabel's shout of alarm, took a sip through the correct hole, then inspected the thick gold lip stain left on the rim. "Huh." He looked at Mabel.

She shrugged. "I could have set the makeup with baby powder, but I thought it might dim some of the sparkle."

"You chose form over function. I respect that." He sipped his drink more carefully.

The microwave went off, Mabel opened the door, and Bill scooped up his condiment-and-nugget stew and both alleged Bloody Marys. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go be handsome somewhere else—"

The corner of his cardboard helmet banged into the kitchen doorway. He dropped one of his drinks, stumbled against the wall, and looked in dismay at his syrup-and-spaghetti-sauce-soaked skirt. He turned to Mabel. "How's my head?"

She grimaced. "We... can fix that with tape."

Bill sighed. "Come on, let's do it before my nuggets get cold."

"Now hold on!" Ford stood up. "Are you going to clean this mess up?"

"No!" Bill was out of the room. Ford could already hear him tripping on the stairs. "You don't trust me with a mop!"

Well. It was true, they didn't trust him with a mop. Sighing, Ford trudged across the room. "I'll get it."

Stan said, "You know, I think I'm glad he looks like an idiot. He's been so mopey the last couple of days, I was almost starting to feel bad for him."

"Thank goodness, you too," Ford muttered. "I was afraid I was going soft."

"Nah, he really was that pathetic," Stan said. "Like a sad show poodle that doesn't understand why it's been shaved in weird shapes."

Ford barked a laugh.

Once the floor was clean, Ford confessed, "I've—actually really worried about that. Going soft, I mean. I'm... afraid that Bill could find a way back into my head."

"Literally or emotionally?"

"Emotionally." Ford paused. "Both, actually—but this time I mean emotionally. The night he burned his hair off, I..." He winced at himself; but he needed to tell Stan. There was no one else he trusted to give him a reality check. Maybe Fiddleford, but... Ford hadn't figured out how to approach him about all this yet.

He put back the mop, to have an excuse to pause and gather his words. "I... brought him something to eat," Ford mumbled. "And, told him I knew what it was like to be trapped in an alien universe, and—that he should take better care of himself, for his own sake—and I don't know why I said that, anything good he does for himself just makes things harder for us, it's not as though I forgot that, but—What? Stanley, why is this funny."

Stan had started laughing; but he cut it off a cough. "Sorry. It's just—do you remember how Mom would go 'Well, I can tell you two are related' any time we did something particularly—you know—twinnish?"

"Don't tell me you've been making sandwiches for Bill."

"Ha! No, but I've given my arch nemesis a pep talk when he was having a mental breakdown. I felt bad for him!"

Ford chuckled. "Really?" He dropped back into his seat. "I didn't know you have an arch nemesis, who's that?"

Stan considered Ford's reaction if he admitted that his nemesis was that ten-year-old with a crush on Mabel, and said, "Ah, he's been out of my hair for ages. So what, is that all you talked about?"

"Somehow it turned into him trying to convince me he'd been planning a welcome party when I fell through the portal."

"Ha! And did you believe him?"

"Absolutely not." Ford paused thoughtfully. "But—part of me wonders whether he believes it himself."

"He seems like the kind of guy to buy his own bull." Stan shrugged. "I don't think you have to worry about him getting in your head. Just don't let him fast-talk you into any decisions and don't buy anything he's selling without telling him you'll think it over for twenty-four hours. And the more he says decide now, the harder you say no. That's how the pros get you, they don't give you room to breathe, let alone think."

Ford was pretty sure Stan was just describing the Mystery Shack's souvenir sales strategy; but he nodded slowly. "I know exactly what you're talking about. When I gave him permission to pilot my body, between the first time he mentioned it was an option and the moment I agreed to it... well, I was asleep at the time, so I can't be sure how long it took—but I'd guess it was less than fifteen minutes. In retrospect, I couldn't believe that I'd agreed so thoughtlessly. But I suppose that's exactly what he wanted." No room to breathe was a good way to describe it. Never mind being nose-to-nose with somebody trying to pressure you into a sale—how do you take a step back to get a little space from somebody who's already inside your head?

"Did he make it sound like a limited-time-only deal? You know—'buy now while the price is low, you'll regret missing this offer'? But with more mystical woo-woo phrasing, I mean."

"Not exactly, but..." Ford tried to remember back that far, grasping for the details of the conversation—the real conversation, not the heady, excited version he'd summarized in his journal. "At the time, I'd been worried about falling behind schedule on the portal's construction. He wouldn't have had to introduce an element of tension—it was already there. All he had to do was exploit it." He shook his head. Falling behind schedule. What schedule—the one he, himself had made? He was sure Bill had encouraged him to finish as fast as possible, too.

"There, you see? You got swindled by a professional swindler," Stan said. "What's important is that you know what he is now, and you know his tricks. He won't get you the same way twice. I'm not worried about you."

There were a couple of odd thuds from upstairs, accompanied by a yelp from Bill. That wasn't odd; he'd proven to be remarkably clumsy in a human body. At any given time it was possible to tell where he was by the random bangs, and if he hadn't made a noise in the last five minutes it meant he was curled up safely in his window seat.

What was odd was hearing Mabel's voice: "Careful, careful—! Augh. ... I'll get another sheet of cardboard, we'll replace that!"

Stan and Ford looked warily toward the stairs. Stan muttered, "Mabel, on the other hand..."

Ford nodded. "I'll keep an eye on her."

####

(If you've read this far, I'd really appreciate hearing from you! Things you liked, things you're looking forward to, jokes, thoughts, even typo corrections. Thanks!)

[circle-with-me]

tangled up in morning white

pairing: jolly karlsson x female ofc (violet)

content warning: 18+MDNI! unprotected sex, fingering (female receiving), very soft intimacy, so much fluff, these two clowns are so in love.

word count: 1.4k

tag list: @deathblacksmoke @darksigns-exe @malice-ov-mercy @sitkowski @somebodyels3 @baddestomens @cncohshit @cookiesupplier @collective-heartbreak @tearfallpixie @broken0mens @collapsedglasshouses @lma1986 @lacktoesandtoddlerants @catharsis-in-darkness @shilohrosechicken @sprokat

author’s note: surprise addition to the jolly and violet verse! this stemmed from a soft boy hours post @darksigns-exe (read it here!!) made that absolutely blew my mind. i hope i did it justice 🩷

It’s hard for Jolly to believe that there was ever a time before Violet. Sure, it existed—but his life changed for the better when she came along. They clicked instantly and became fast friends; it was hard not to with so many shared interests. Things were easy with Violet. Not only was she a blast to be around but she knew how to handle the messes he could make—both in his personal life and in his head. He would show up at her house at all hours and she would gather up his troubles, find the missing pieces, and fix them all by dawn. Somehow she managed this all with a cup of coffee and a pencil shoved in her bun to keep her hair out of her face while she thought. Jolly had no idea how she did it, but he was sure she was heaven sent. He always hoped he provided her with half of the same moral support she had given him. 

Now, years later, he has the privilege of waking up next to her each morning. It’s a feeling that he’ll never get used to, Jolly thinks. At least he hopes he doesn’t. The conscious awareness of her weight next to him provides him a sense of security. As long as she’s near him, he knows she’s safe. 

Jolly lies on his side watching her chest rise and fall slowly—her breathing acting as a calming agent. Violet’s pulse beats steadily in her neck. He could so easily lean over and press a kiss there but he can’t bring himself to disturb her. He gently pushes a strand of hair out of her face, admiring the way she smiles at his touch. Every attempt he makes at memorizing her features ends with him discovering something new and even more remarkable about her. 

She stirs under his touch. Her head turns to place kisses to his palm before her eyes even begin to open. Watching her sleep was incomparable to the breathtaking experience of seeing her wake. She extends her arm around his waist, fingers dancing along the warm skin. 

“Good morning, my flower.”

“Mmm. Hi.” Violet whispers drowsily as she shifts into his arms, tangling their legs together. Jolly buries his face in her hair inhaling the scent of her shampoo. She makes a content sound settling into his chest, undoubtedly enjoying the warmth that has developed between them. 

It’s calming—the two of them basking in the quiet early morning hours. He craves these innocent moments with her—needs them in ways he doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to describe. It’s these moments that he desperately misses when he’s on tour. He tries to take advantage of them as much as possible when he’s home. Having her this close is equally a blessing and a curse. This morning, he needs something more, and when her knee slots between his thighs just so, it’s impossible for him to hide it any longer. She shifts in his arms and he’s met with green eyes peering up at him.

“Honey,” Violet sighs. “Why didn’t you say anything?” She trails featherlight kisses across his chest. Her fingernails scratch at the skin under the waistband of his boxers. The contact makes him shudder and he can’t resist pressing into her more. 

“I didn’t want to wake you,” He responds, his voice giving away just how worked up he is. “Also, we were having such a nice moment—I was trying not to ruin it.” 

Violet looks up at him with a sinful smile. She pushes her hand past his waistband, wrapping her fingers around his erection. Jolly’s eyes roll back into his head at her touch. He feels her smile against his lips, all hope of returning any attention back to her lips is completely lost in the grip she has on him. 

“Who says this can’t be a part of our nice moment together?” 

Jolly lets his hands respond for him—hiking her leg on top of his thigh. His hands snake their way up her oversized t-shirt and push it over her head. He makes quick work of his boxers but he’s unwilling to part ways with her for long, tugging her close once again. Her bare body connecting with him sets him on fire when he feels how affected she is already. 

A gasp leaves her parted lips when he sneaks a hand between her legs, fingering through her folds. It’s dizzying how tight she feels around a single finger when he slips it inside her. There’s no protest when he works a second in soon after. Her fingers dig into his chest and shoulders as she searches for purchase. His head sinks below to capture her breast in his mouth, licking and sucking at her nipple. He craves her warmth around his length but doesn’t dare take her pleasure away from her. She’s so close and he can feel it. It isn’t much longer until she falls apart for him.

Breathless, she crawls on top of him. Her lips attach to his chest and she leaves gentle bites along the skin. When she sits up, Jolly is left speechless. The sun has come up and peeks through the crack of the window. It shines beautifully onto Violet’s body, highlighting her gorgeous form. The green in her eyes beam with such magnificence that it would make the most beautiful emerald look dull. 

She seems just as mesmerized by him in the warm light, unhurriedly running her palms down his chest and stomach repeatedly. The two of them admire each other for what seems like hours. Jolly would happily burn the image of her on top of him into his eyelids if he could. 

“You’re shaking.” Violet observes. Her hand still steadily moves up and down his torso. She doesn’t seem to realize that she’s also shaking. Jolly gently takes her hand. Violet laces their fingers together and brings them to her lips. 

“Vi,” He breathes. “I need you.”

Violet lifts her hips and sinks down onto him with practiced ease. He grabs her waist moving her to set the pace but she pushes them away choosing to set her own torturously slow rhythm instead. While he thinks he may go mad from the unhurried pace, the pleasure is immeasurable and Jolly can feel himself burning from the inside out. 

He grabs fistfuls of the sheets beneath him—anything to keep his hands busy. The longing to close the proximity between them is profound. As he watches her move he dreams about wrapping his hand around her throat, not to choke, but bring her down to him—crush their lips together and intensify the moment even more. The desire to touch her grows too strong. He places a large palm on Violet’s chest, allowing her pulse to settle the frenzied thoughts in his brain.

The slow drag of her hips sets him alight with pleasure but his body relaxes with every roll, every sigh from her lips, every flutter of her eyelashes. He feels her walls squeeze around him—her legs begin to shake and the rest of her body follows soon after. The way she moans his name, Joakim, has always been unlike any other but this time feels different. Her voice raises an octave as a gasp forms around the end of his name. The glow of the morning light radiates around her and he feels unworthy of bearing witness to this moment. But it’s their moment. It belongs to them.

When Violet collapses over him— shuddering but otherwise still—he feels her fingers run through his brown locks that have spread out over the pillow. The pressure of her on his chest is blissfully suffocating. She kisses him in such a way that what little oxygen is left is pulled straight from his lungs. The feeling consumes him and he spills into her without warning. Each muscle in his body goes taut. Every one of his senses implode as she begins rocking on top of him again to prolong his climax. 

Jolly tries to see her again, to bask in her glow once more as he comes back down, but all he sees is Violet’s silhouette with a faint orange hue surrounding it. Her lips press against his forehead—the hands that were once in his hair cup his face, her thumbs delicately graze along his cheekbones. Violet’s soft murmurs of praise barely register in his ears from the blood still rushing through them. His arms wrap around her, somehow pulling her in closer than before. He’ll selfishly hold her here until she insists on getting out of bed. 

[maxislvt]

Have A Merry Little Christmas

Request: WandaNat and reader cuddling and watching holiday movies on Christmas eve night. An extensive kissing scene comes on and the reader starts to squirm, which gets the attention of wandanat.

Warnings: Smut, Mommy Kink, Daddy Kink, Threesomes, penises, pregnancy

A/N: This basically solidifies that every fic in this event is either pure filth or the cutest thing you'll ever read on my blog and that's just so me!

Event Masterlist

❃❃❃❃❃❃❃❃

As much as the three of you loved going big for the holidays, there were times when you and your lovers simply wanted peace. Sure, dressing up and getting wasted at one of Tony's parties was fun, but nothing could beat being wrapped up in the arms of two beautiful women and being treated like the most precious thing in the whole galaxy. Wanda on your left and Natasha on your right, the usual setup for a movie night. They had already gone through the trouble of getting snacks and picking out all the movies you'd be watching that might. You were practically reduced to a human teddy bear for the night.

Not that you were complaining. Wanda and Natasha had always made a big show of spoiling you any way they could. All throughout the night, you were kissed and praised for the slightest thing. It made your heart warm. The warmth of your heart seemed to spread to the heat of cunt a lot faster than you'd like to admit. With Wanda's choice of a rather explicit Christmas movie and the constant touch, if it was no surprise you'd get wet. You didn't want to ruin the holiday cheer and just kept it to yourself.

Your lovers knew you too well. It was part of their plan, to begin with, but you could never hide your neediness from them. One low whimper from your mouth and they'd be on you in seconds.

"Oh Wanda, I think someone's really enjoying the movie," Nat chuckled before placing a kiss again. "It's pretty late, I think it's time to give them that gift we made." Her words were punctuated with more kisses along your neck and jawline. A familiar hardness began forming in her pants as she rubbed against you. "I think you're gonna love it, malysh. It's something you've always wanted." Natasha's hands grew bolder as they explored your body.

Wanda hummed in agreement as she rubbed her crotch against your thigh. "I think you're right, our little puppy has been so good this year. One early present won't hurt." Wanda took the job of kissing the other side of your face and neck. Hers were much softer than Natasha's. More focused on getting you to relax than marking you up. "Isn't that fair, puppy? Just one gift before Christmas morning. We promise you'll like it," She said in a mocking tone.

You helplessly tried to squirm away from the strong hands grabbing at your body. "N-no, I'm fine! We can keep watching the —" Any attempts to argue were immediately stifled by the searing kiss Wanda pulled you into. Wanda's heavy tongue invaded your mouth while Nat began trailing kisses down your stomach. All the strength in your body was needed to pull away from Wanda just for a second. "I wasn't being needy, I promise!"

Wanda raised her eyebrows in shock. "Oh, really? Why don't we check?" She held up one of your legs, exposing your cloth-covered heat. "Let daddy touch you and we'll find out fair and square." Her nails dig into your skin to keep you from closing your legs. "You're getting your gift either way, but you know how we feel about liars."

Natasha shook her head. Even with the barrier of her fingers, your cunt had practically covered her fingers in slick. "Oh, baby you're soaking. There's no need to hide it." She kissed your pussy over your underwear before pulling them off. Two of her fingers slipped inside you with ease. "There's nothing wrong with being needy, that's what we're here for baby."

Wanda's other hand snaked down to play with your clit. Rubbing it in slow, tight circles just to hear you whine and beg for more. "That's right, just let us make it better. We just want you extra happy for Christmas." Her lips went back to attacking your neck "Just keep being good and everything will feel so good!"

You could only whimper and nod along. Unable to think for yourself, just letting yourself be marked and stretched. "Wanna…wanna cum," You said, barely stringing the words together in a comprehensive sentence. The feeling of two more of Natasha's fingers stretching your sopping wet cunt nearly sent you into orgasm. Your hand clamped over your mouth to prevent any more obscene noises from coming from your body, only to be snatched away by Natasha.

"Nope, none of that. Mommy and Daddy won't know they're doing a good job if you hold back." Natasha curled her fingers against your g spot, finally letting you fall into the ocean of pure bliss. She wanted you to drown in it. No matter how many times you tried squirming away from her fingers or tugging at her shirt, her fingers never stopped. "I know it's a lot but you're gonna need to be extra wet for our gift, puppy."

It was only by the grace of Wanda's lust that you were freed from Natasha's torture. "Let mommy have a turn and then you'll get your gift. I promise!" In one swift motion, Wanda turned you around to face her. "Just one taste." Greed had clearly over the plan the two originally played out as Wanda spent what felt like hours eating you out. The nerve endings on your clit were assaulted by both her tongue and fingers.

Wanda's tongue easily forced out two orgasms before she was done eating you out. You were thankful for the few minutes you were given to recover. "Thank you, momma. Thank you, daddy." Words were barely above a whisper but it was all you could get out before your brain short-circuited. You could only make a confused face and let out a "Hm?" When Wanda pulled you into her lap.

"It's time for our special puppy to get their little gift!" Wanda smiled before peppering your confused face with kisses. Her hand reached in between your bodies and guided the tip of her dick around your clit. "I know you're still sensitive, but you're a good puppy. Mommy knows you can take it." Wanda slid inside of your cunt and bottomed out in almost record time.

Natasha pushed you forward a bit. "And now you get the extra fun part." She peppered your cheek with kisses before slipping her dick inside of you. A deep groan came from her as she pushed as far in as she could. "God, this little hole was made for having babies." Her hips slowly began to thrust in sync with Wanda's and she grinned.

If you weren't so cock-drunk and full, you would've noticed the way Wanda slapped Nat's arm and reprimed her for almost ruining your surprise. Instead, you enjoyed the feeling of being stuffed and stretched out. Mindlessly bouncing on your lovers' dicks with much concern for how late it was becoming. "Fuck, I'm gonna cum again!"

Wanda smiled. "Go ahead, make a big mess for your mommy and daddy! You're gonna make us so proud!" She groped your hips and pulled you closer to her. Having you sandwich between her and Natasha was forever a blissful experience, but not one of them would ever compare to how important this instance would be. "You better hope your daddy can hold it for three more minutes or she'll ruin the gift. Then the two of us will have to punish her, won't we?"

It seemed you liked the idea of a little revenge because your walls tightened unreasonably around your partners. "Fuck, I don't think either of us are gonna last if they keep pulling shit like that." Nat was practically rutting into you at that point. Her stamina was at its peak and not even the threat of Wanda's punishment could break her need to cum. "Be easy on me, just 2 more minutes."

Your brain barely processed Wanda's threats. Her words were far too big and long for your fluffy little head to understand. "No punishment…just wanna be full." You grabbed both of your partners' hands and signaled them to press down on the bulge in your stomach. The second your lovers fulfilled your wish, you came for the fifth time that night.

The rapid clenching and fluttering of your walls sent both of your lovers into orgasms of their own. They coated your insides with sticky white cum they'd been holding in for days. Their bodies moved as one in an attempt to prolong the bliss you three were captured in. Natasha was the first to collapse and Wanda didn't follow much longer after.

"Merry Christmas, malysh."

"We're gonna be a family."

[kpop---scenarios]

Cravings (2)

Pairing: Vampire! Baekhyun x Reader

Warnings: Stalking, Launuage etc

Word Count: 5.3k

"Who the fuck brought a human home?"

You sat there, your stomach twisting as nerves filled your body. You couldn't help but twiddle your fingers as you stared at these men who had such disgust on their faces. You subtly glanced at the men, taking in the features of each one. They were exactly like Baekhyun, stone cold faces, pale but extremely handsome.

Seconds later it hit you. Human? Why did they ask who brought a human home? Weren't you all humans? What was he talking about?

You looked back at the one who asked the question. You opened your mouth, ready to question his question but before you were able to speak, the bedroom door swung open, and in walks Baekhyun. He looks around the room, glaring at the men who surrounded you.

"What the hell are you guys doing in here?" He asks, walking towards the bed, where you were huddled up.

"Ah, Baekhyun, well then that makes sense." One of them says, The rest all nodded their heads.

"What?" Baekhyun asks.

"Why is she here?" A man asks, looking at Baekhyun with a pissed off face.

"She was in trouble when I was dropping her off. She needed somewhere to go, Suho, she doesn't know anything.” Baekhyun tells him.

What was he talking about?

“What is it that I don't know?” you ask.

“Get her the fuck out of here. You know the rules, Baekhyun.” Suho yells, walking out of the room with the rest of the men following closely behind him.

“Get dressed, we gotta go.” Baekhyun says, turning around to walk out the door, closing it behind him. You quickly scramble out of the bed, slipping on your pants and your shoes before walking towards the door at a quick pace. When you open it, Baekhyun is standing there. He doesn't say a word to you but instead grabs your wrist, pulling you towards the large staircase. His hand feels like ice on your wrist.

You tried to question him as the two of you descended down the stairs, but ignored you, he was in a rush to get you out of the house. You didn't know what you did to whoever that was in your room this morning, but it was very clear that you were not welcomed in this house.

“Baekhyun.” You call out as the two of you walk out the front door. He still doesn't acknowledge you as he slides himself into the driver's seat of his car. You get into the passenger seat, crossing your arms, annoyed at the lack of communication skills he apparently didn't have.

“Are you not going to answer me?” you ask, turning to look at him while he focuses on the road. He doesn’t say anything for the remainder of the drive with you, you guys sat in complete silence.

Baekhyun pulls into the parking lot at your apartment, he parks, turns off the engine and turns to face you. His eyes stare deeply into yours, making your heart flutter. He starts leaning in closely to you, you lean into him. He raises his hand, placing it on your cheek, the coldness sends a shiver down your spine. He moves in closer until finally,he presses his lips to yours, and you feel fireworks. Baekhyun begins to deepen the kiss, slipping his tongue into your mouth as you melt into the kiss. He begins to pull back, his teeth gently biting your bottom lip, he pricks your lip before swiping his tongue over the small cut, healing it without you knowing. Now that he’s tasted your blood, he knows no other males can take you. It gives him a little bit of comfort before he says what he’s going to say to you.

“That was.. Wow.” you exclaim. It was like something out of a book, a kiss like you’d never had before.

“I’m sorry, Y/N.” He says quietly, almost in a whisper, as “’I shouldn't have kissed you, or gotten involved with you. I knew better than to do that. You just..” he pauses, “You need to pretend I don't exist. Forget you ever met me.” He finishes.

He turns to look at you. He hates seeing the pain and confusion in your face. He more so hates that he’s the one that's causing it, mates are supposed to make things better, heal and protect you, while loving you unconditionally, but he was doing the complete opposite. He wished he could explain it to you, he wished he could stop your pain, it would be easy for him but he couldn’t risk exposing himself and the others. He wished he was able to take your memories of him, but he can't, mates can't manipulate mates.

Baekhyun puts the car in park, turning to look at you. He can’t fully read your face. It's a mixture of anger, sadness and confusion. And he understood that. “Why?” you ask. “I’ve felt a very strong pull to you and I know you’ve felt it too, so I'm confused on why you're suddenly trying to leave me.”

Baekhyun felt a pang in his heart, one that he hadn’t ever felt before. He didn’t want to leave you, but he couldn't tell you that. He couldn't say anything to you that would make you think there was a chance he didn't mean what he was saying. You needed to believe that he didn't want you.

“Nothing is going to happen between us, understand? There was nothing between us anyways.” he says.

You turn your head, you can see the window to your apartment, your curtain drawn, and suddenly it moves. You can see someone peeking behind the curtains. You immediately know it's Chad.

“Do you want me to handle him?” Baekhyun asks.

You shift in your seat, unsure of whether you say yes or no to his offer. You didn't want to feel like a burden, especially to have someone protect you that doesn't want to do it.

“No” you whisper, moving your body away from him. “Thanks for the ride.” you say, getting out of the car and walking away from him.

Once you’re back in your apartment, a crying Chad stands in your kitchen, with his head hanging down. “Why are you still here?” You sigh, placing your purse on the table.

“I truly feel awful for hurting you like that. I was not in my right mind, and I'm so sorry. I love you, Y/N, please forgive me?” he asks.

“Chad.” you begin. “I forgive you but I do not want to be with you. This is a one sided relationship and you have anger issues that you need to deal with. You need to leave and you need to leave me alone now. We're done. I’m going for coffee, you have an hour to grab your stuff and go, whatever you leave is going to donations.” you finish. You walk out the door and head outside, heading towards the coffee shop near your house. You sat with your drink, thinking about what Baekhyun had said to you. You had heard him loud and clear and that he didn’t want you but you didn’t believe it.

An hour later you wander back to your apartment, walking in immediately you notice a lot of your things on the floor, along with broken plates and glasses. You look around some more, seeing your clothes thrown all around your room, some of your shirts and pants are ripped, your bed is messed up, your pillow is cut open with feathers laying all over your bed and floor. You go to the living room and your TV has been pushed over, and your gaming console is gone.

“Fucking Chad!” you scream. You fall to the floor crying, not over the broken things or the torn up clothes, not even over your console. Your heart hurts so bad from Baekhyun’s words. There was something between the two of you, you knew it and so did he, even if he didn't want to admit it.

You let yourself be sad for a little bit before you decided to get back at CHad. he was the one who fucked up but hes taking it out on you? Real mature. You take pictures of all your broken things, your clothes, your bedding, your tv and your lack of console and march over to the police station to press charges. If he wanted to be petty, you could be petty right fucking back. When you were done at the police station you went to the bar, you really hoped he would be working today but unfortunately he wasn't there but one of the men who stood in the room to intimidate you was behind the bar.

The handsome man stared at you as you walked up to the bar. “Good afternoon.” He says, his voice is deep. “What can I get for you?” he asks.

“Double vodka and cran, please.” You say. You sounded so sad and monotone.

“Are you okay?” He asks, smiley widely. He stares into your eyes as you look at him while he smiles, he's waiting for you to get into the daze, where you'll do whatever he asks of you, but it never comes. He hands you your drink, frowning at you. “What's with that expression? You were very pissed off early this morning.” You say, taking a big gulp.

“I thought that was you.” He says clearing his throat. “My apologies for that.”

“It's fine.” You sigh. He continues to stare at you, confusion plastered on his face while he thinks, and then it hits him.

“Oh fuck no.” He mutters. “I'll be right back.” He says to you before disappearing into the back.

Seconds later you feel a presence beside you. You look over and there's another handsome, pale, dark haired man sitting beside you, but this one you did not recognize.

“Where did the bartender go?” He asks. You shrug your shoulders.

“Into the back, I think, he looked mad.” You say, finishing your drink. “He needs to hurry up though, I need another one.” You sigh.

“Bad day?” He asks, your mind flashes back to the night you met Baekhyun and he had asked you the same thing.

“You could say that.” You reply. “What about you? Why are you drinking at 3pm?” you ask.

“Bad day.” He says. “Lady problems.”

“You can vent to me if you want, I'd love something to take my mind off today.” You suggest. “I'm Y/N by the way.” You half smile. He turns to look at you, a smile plastered over his face. “I'm Jaehyun.” He responds. “It all started two weeks ago..”

**

In the back, Chanyeol angrily pulled out his phone. He quickly dialed Baekhyun's number, anger flowing through him.

“Hello?” Baekhyun answers.

“Please tell me you're not a huge fucking moron? Please say you didn't do what I think you did.” Chanyeol begs.

“I.. didn't do it? I don't know what you're talking about dude.” Baekhyun says.

“Did you fucking mark her? Did you mark Y/N? Because she's sitting at the bar, completely unbothered by me.” Chanyeol yells.

“She's there?” Baekhyun asks. “I'm coming.”

“No. Suho said you can't see her anymore, remember? And if he finds out you marked her.. it's going to be bad.” Chanyeol says.

“Yeah I know but fuck I need to see her, please man.” Baekhyun begs.

“I'll keep an eye on her.” Chanyeol says. “Stay away. Besides, Jaehyun is here talking to her already. Don't ruin your plan.” Chanyeol finishes before hanging up. He takes a deep breath before heading back out to serve customers.

**

You and Jaehyun talked for hours. You sat at the bar, drinking, chatting about life.

“I told you my history.” Jaehyun smiles. “Now it’s your turn.”

“Are you sure you want to hear this?” you chuckle.

He nods his head yes.

“Alright then, buckle up.” you giggle. “I was dating this guy named Chad”.” you began. Jaehyun stopped you there, immediately.

“That's your first mistake. Chad?” he says, cringing.

“Just wait.” you laugh. “We dated for over a year, and he did absolutely nothing. He never planned anything, he never went out of his way to do something nice for me but expected me to do anything for him at the drop of a hat. One day, he brought his clothes over in a garbage bag and then he kinda just like never left.” you shrugged

“And you accepted that?” Jaehyun asks.

You nod your head. “I didn't think I could do any better, but don’t worry, it gets worse.” you tell him. “He didn't help with any of the bills. He never bought groceries, he spent all his money on himself and his boys, Brad and Connor. They even showed up to our valentine's day date and then left in the middle of it, Chad included and left me to pay the entire bill.”

“Wait, hold on a second. Chad, Brad and Connor?” he asks.

“The three musketeers.” you laugh.

“Is there more?” he asks, hesitantly.

“There's a lot more.” you sigh. “So one night I'm stressed out trying to figure out how to pay my bills, if there's a bill I can skip paying, whatever. So Chad calls me over, he’s playing on my console again, and asks me to get him snacks. I asked him if he was going to pay for said snacks and he said he didn't have any money.” you say rolling your eyes. “So I lost it. And I mean lost it on him. I unplugged my console and i told him to get the fuck out of my apartment. I left and wandered for a while, and I ended up here.” you say, your voice going a little quieter. “That night I met Baekhyun, and seeing him for the first time felt like home.” you explain. “I know that sounds cheesy or whatever, but I had never felt so comfortable and safe around a person before.”

Jaehyun just nods his head as he continues listening.

“I ended up getting really drunk, he and I talked for hours before I had to go home. So I left, Chad was still there but I just needed to go to bed. I woke up in the morning, called in sick to work and Chad was still gaming.” you sigh. “But oh i forgot, Brad had brought him snacks because i was throwing a temper tantrum and he wanted me to venmo Brad for the snacks.”

“Please tell me you kicked his ass out?” Jaehyun asks.

“I did, and he left. But there’s more. I took the weekend and ate junk and did whatever, then on Monday evening I came back to the bar, and Baekhyun and I talked some more, and he was proud of me for kicking out Chad. but then he texted me, asking to talk.” you sigh.

“Oh no. Please don’t tell me..” Jaehyun cringes.

“He sucked me back in, promising to change and blah blah. There wasn't even a second that he tried to change. But I just accepted the fact that this was going to be my life, and I would be stuck with a man like Chad or just Chad for the rest of my life. But I was barely home, and he didn't notice. I spent my time here if i wasnt working and Baekhyun and I got really close. Honestly he knew me better then Chad knew me. And then one night, Baekhyun cut me off. He told me that I needed to go home because there was a storm coming. I told him I would just get a room at the motel across the street but he heavily objected to that.” you laugh.

“Good, that place is infested with roaches and rats.” Jaehyun says.

“He brought me home himself. We opened the door to a surprise party for me, for my birthday.” you tell him.

“Was it your birthday?” he asks you.

“Nope.” you giggle. “Anyways, Chad was mad that i didn't appreciate his effort of inviting 2 people i know, which are his best friends and the rest being only people they knew. He was also very whiskey drunk, he grabbed me, Baekhyun intervened and took me back to his house.” you continue. “ I slept there, woke up to seven men standing around the bed, I got kicked out, Baekhyun drove me home, he kissed me.” you sigh. “He kissed me and then told me to forget about him and that there's nothing between us.” you weep. You didnt want to cry but fuck your heart hurt. You sniffle and take a big breath. “ I went back to my apartment and Chad was still there. He was crying and saying sorry. I told him to get his stuff and leave. So I went for coffee and when I got back he had trashed the place and stolen my console.” you smile, chugging your drink before waving it at Chanyeol, who comes over with another one.

“And I thought I had problems.” Jaehyun says. He was absolutely flabbergasted. “This is some of the craziest shit I've ever heard. Your life is like a movie, holy shit.” Jaehyun says. You laugh at his comment and take another sip of your new drink. It’s quiet now, only the whispers of others at tables, the soft beating of the music above.

You turn your head to look at Jaehyun, but he’s already looking at you. He leans in closely, staring at you with a dazzling smile but while you're looking at him you feel nothing. He was nice, and you wanted to be his friend but that was it. There was no attraction to him. He places his hand on your thigh and moves in closer. “You’re beautiful,” he whispers.

“You’re more beautifuler.” you hiccup, trying to focus on him, focus on his hand on your thigh, but you feel nothing. There’s no butterflies, there is no nervousness. You felt nothing when he touched you. Jaehyun continues to stare at you, confused, as you begin to slide off the stool. You continued to look at him, the thought finally donning on you. You felt nothing for him.

“Huh.” you whisper, looking at him. “Absolutely nothing.” you shake your head at the thought. “Barkeeper!” you yell. “What do I owe you?” you ask.

Chanyeol nods his head towards Jaehyun and says “he took care of your tab for you already.” you turn towards Jaehyun again and thank him before stumbling your way out of the bar.

Behind you chanyeol looks at Jaehyun and gestures towards you. Jaehyun understands, and he’ll make sure you get home safe.

You walk along the sidewalk, stumbling here and there but you're okay. You can hear people talking behind you so you feel better knowing that you're not alone, until you really focus on what they're saying.

“She's really drunk, she'd probably be easy.” One man says.

“Doesn't she know how easy it would be to throw her in the back alley and do whatever we wanted?” Another laughs. You felt like you recognized the voices, but they were also deeper than anyone you knew. You were anxious and you did your best to pick up your pace and get home quickly. As you turned a corner the men continued on going straight. You felt some relief as you finished the last block to your apartment. You ran inside the building and quickly made your way up to your floor. You unlocked your door, slamming it closed behind you before locking the deadbolt. You put your keys and purse on the table, but couldn't help but feel like something was off. You quietly tiptoed around the house looking around, but you didn't see anything. You shook it off as paranoia and got ready for bed. You slept decently that night, but dreamt of Baekhyun the whole time. You missed him.

**

For the next few weeks your days remained the same, you woke up and felt like something wasn’t right. The few weeks that you felt were off, you were never able to place what was making you feeling off, you shook it off to still get over everything you had gone through with Chad and Baekhyun. You went to work, barely survived the day before going home and making your way to the bar, and 9/10 times Jaehyun was sitting at the bar, your drink set down next to him in a spot that he declared as yours. Though, on the off chance Jaehyun hadn't shown up at the bar, you had become pretty good friends with the two bartender’s that alternated nights. Chanyeol and Jongdae, they were both chipper, goofy and extremely good listeners, but they were also good at keeping their mouths shut, especially whenever you asked about Baekhyun, and you asked at least twice a night. One night after drinking a little too much, you had told Chanyeol that you were going to try to drive out to the house to see Baekhyun.

The once smiling man’s face turned stone cold. “Don’t you ever try to go out there by yourself, ever.” he snaps. You stay quiet and nod your head every so slightly as his eyes stay trained on you. “Do you understand?” he asks.

You nod your head again.

“I need to hear it Y/N. Do you understand?” he asks again.

“Yes.. yes i understand.”

You just wanted to know that he was okay, to see him, or really find out why he couldn’t talk to you. No one would tell you anything, not even Jaehyun, being left to your own imagination was almost torture. Even though Jaehyun wouldn’t tell you shit about Baekhyun, he had honestly become a very good friend to you. He fixed your shower when you needed help, he helped move in a new mattress to your place, the two of you went for coffee or dinner, if you weren’t at the bar, you were very good friends, and to your surprise that was honestly all it was. You had no sexual desire towards Jaehyun in the slightest which seemed weird to you. Clearly he was just your type but you wanted nothing but a platonic friendship from him.

You missed Baekhyun. Even though you knew better than him showing up to work at the bar, you still hoped you might catch a glimpse of him, but in the weeks that it’s been, you hadn't given up hope.

That night you said goodbye to Chaneyol and caught a cab home, you fell asleep pretty quickly and dreamt of nothing that night. In the morning you crawled out of your bed and shuffled to the kitchen to make yourself some coffee. You glanced down at your kitchen table as you passed it and something made you halt. You looked down and there laid out on the table was a picture of you, sleeping. and it was from last night. You quickly went around, making sure all your windows were shut and locked, and you looked at your front door, it was still locked. So how did someone get inside?

At that point you had completely forgotten about making your coffee and headed towards the bathroom to hop into the shower before you had to go to work, trying to shake off the uneasy feeling you had. As you wash your body, you’re startled by the sound of something breaking. You rinse your body quickly and turn the shower off, wrapping yourself in a towel, and you walk carefully to the kitchen. You see a glass shattered on the floor, you look around and everything is still where you had left it, the door was still locked as were the windows. You tried your best to shake that off as well, but you couldn't stop thinking about either of it. It was still on your mind when you walked into work that day, heading towards your cubicle, and you see a vase of dead roses placed nicely on your desk.

You were beginning to get thoroughly creeped out now and you weren’t sure who could be doing this. You went through your day with a terrible feeling in your stomach. As much as you tried to tell yourself it was okay, it wasn't and you were scared. That evening you didn't even bother to go home. You went straight to the bar, where Jaehyun just happened to be sitting.

“Hey stranger.” he smiles. “Double vodka and cran for her please.” he says to the bartender.

“Hi.” you say quietly.

“What's up? You okay?” he asks, seeming concerned.

“Some weird things happened today. I'm a little shaken up about it.” you admit.

“Like what?” he asks, adjusting his position.

“First I woke up to a picture of me sleeping on my table, then I was in the shower and a glass broke, and I went to work and there were a dozen dead roses on my desk.” you sigh, taking a big gulp of your drink. Jaehyun looks at you worriedly, but you wave him off.

“I'm sure it's just someone trying to be funny. Probably just a one time thing” you smile. “How was your day?” you ask.

“I really didn’t do much.” he sighs. “I ran a few errands, did a little bit of work and that was pretty much the most exciting thing,” he says. He still looks at you concerned, you roll your eyes at him.

“Everything is just fine.” you tell him. “I’m going to the bathroom, will you please stop worrying.” you laugh, trying to seem nonchalant about it. As soon as you were out of ear shot, Jaehyun pulls out his phone, dialing a very familiar number.

“Baekhyun, there’s something weird going on.” Jaehyun explains. “Someone is messing with her. Whoever it is has been in her apartment, and she’s acting like it’s nothing but I don’t think it is.”

“Do whatever you need to do to figure it out, Jaehyun, you need to keep her safe. Nothing fucking happens to her.” Baekhyun says before hanging up the phone.

Jaehyun hoped for the person’s sake, it was a one time thing.

It wasn’t a one time thing.

Unfortunately for the next few weeks, at least 4 times a week, something different happened. You swore you felt like you were losing your mind. You would wake up in the morning, go and turn on your coffee pot that always sat on your kitchen counter and then make your way to the bathroom while it brewed. When you would get out of the bathroom, you’d go back into the kitchen and your coffee pot would be on your island plugged into the outlet on the island and the pot was full of coffee.

You would buy groceries, put them away in their designated spots, and the next time you would go get said snack, it wouldn't be where you left it. In the mornings when you’d get into your car to go to work, you’d notice your rearview mirror would be adjusted into a different spot, and you tried to think if there was ever a time that you had actually adjusted it. When you would come home from work, to set your stuff down to get ready to walk to the bar, you would notice a dead rose laying in the middle of the floor of your bedroom. You would open the fridge, you’d see a wilted rose petal on the shelf. In the following days you had also found one in your bed, on your couch, in the bathroom, and in your car, along with your rearview mirror having been adjusted each time.

But tonight was the icing on the cake. You had gotten home from work, unlocked your door and entered your apartment. You walk in, placing your keys on the kitchen table when you hear a faint hissing. Your stomach drops as you look around. You look towards your bedroom and see nothing, but as you turn your head to look at the living room, you see the biggest snake you’ve ever seen, hissing and slithering quickly towards you. You never thought you could move so fast, being so scared. You let out the loudest shriek, before fumbling to get to the door, you needed to get out.

Now, you were extremely scared. You hadn’t told Jaehyun about any of the other things that were happening because you didn’t want him to worry about you, but now you were panicking that you weren’t going to be able to take care of yourself. On your way down the hallway, you run into movers bringing things into the vacant apartment that was two doors down from you. As you’re fast walking past the open door, a woman steps out into the hallway, trying to block your way. “Hi.” She says, but you’re not focused on her. You needed to get out of there, and find someone to help you, and you knew exactly who to find.

You ran into the bar and disappointment filled you, as you see Jaehyun’s usual seat is empty. You sit down next to it, pulling out your phone to call him as your usual drink is set down in front of you. Your call rings, but goes to voicemail after three rings. You decide to try again, but again it goes to voicemail and this time you leave one.

“Hey, it’s me.” you sigh. “I was really hoping you would be here tonight, some fucking weird stuff has been happening and i’m really scared. There was a goddamn snake in my apartment, and Jae, I don't know what to do. Please call me as soon as you get this.” you sigh. You hang up, and set your phone down on the bar and take a long sip of your drink to try and settle your shaking hand. You take a few deep breaths before your phone begins to ring. Quickly, you answer it, hoping it’s Jaehyun.

“Hello?” you ask.

No reply.

“Hello?” you say again, noticing an echo of your voice through the phone. You take the phone from your ear and look around, but there is barely anyone in the bar. “Who is this?” you ask, and again no response, just your voice faintly coming through, with the same song playing on both ends.

You end the call, and stand up. Something didn’t feel right. Your whole body was panicked, and your face must have showed it. You slapped a couple bills on the bar, not bothering to count it before you left. Just as you began heading for the door, Chanyeol stepped out from the back. He noticed your worried face, and scared body language. He tried to call out for you but you didn’t hear him. He pulls out his phone to call Baekhyun, he could feel something wasn’t right.

“She just left the bar. She didn’t look right, she looked scared, Baek. Jaehyun isn’t here, I don't know where he is but something’s not right.” Chanyeol says. Baekhyun doesn't reply, he hangs up the phone and Chanyeol questions himself, whether or not he did the right thing.

As you’re walking, tingles of hyper-awareness have all muscles in your body, twitching at every noise. You picked up the pace of your steps, your eyes looking all around you. As you begin to pass an alley on your left, you see a darker shadow. Before you can breathe out a scream, your arm and collar are pulled into the darkness. A hand covers your mouth as you try to fight off whoever had you… You weren't going to let anyone take you.

[moonlightspencie]

locked it down

part 12 of ‘the sweetest con’

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x fem!Reader

Word Count: 1.2k

A/N: the last part before the epilogue!

Six months.

Six months of being together. Laughing together. Being happy together.

Six months that signified something: I had to report our relationship to the bureau.

It was a terrifying ordeal, to put it lightly. I didn’t get fired, which had me thankful beyond belief, but I did get a scolding and a temporary suspension for not notifying them of such sooner. And a threat that she might have to move to a new unit. But, after much convincing from her, we decided that anything was worth it if we were together.

And it was so worth it.

Half a year doesn’t feel like a lot in the grand scheme of things, but it felt like everything with her. Plus, we finally got to officially tell the entire team, and of course, they were thrilled beyond belief.

Dave insisted that we all go to his house for dinner to celebrate our milestone, and despite my protests, she gave an emphatic ‘yes’ for both of us. We sat around the dining room table, talking about anything and everything that didn’t have to do with work. It felt like one of those times I knew I was in trouble with her in the beginning. But this time, I didn’t have to pretend that I wasn’t hopelessly head-over-heels for her. Cheers erupted from the team anytime we showed any affection towards each other, much to her delight. She adored the sweet attention we were getting from our friends, and part of me couldn’t help but smile along with her every time she brightened up at their comments.

“Told you this would work out fine,” she whispered to me at the table, glancing around at everyone.

They were currently preoccupied with the news of Reid taking somebody on a date, taking the pressure and attention off of the two of us. I smiled down at her, not bothering to hide it.

“You’ve proved me wrong once again,” I say, huffing a dramatic sigh playfully. “You’ve got to stop being right about everything. It’s not fair.”

“I was born to be a genius, what can I say?” she said with a cheeky smile. “You love it anyways.”

“Mm. I don’t know about that,” I start with a quirked brow. “But I do love you.”

“Even better,” she whispered, leaning into me.

I couldn’t help but smile as she kissed me softly, letting it linger a bit longer than she had the rest of the night considering nobody was looking at us. Or so we thought.

“You two are so sweet,” Penelope gushed, trying to keep her voice down as she grinned at us. “I’m so happy you’re together. I’ve never seen either of you look so happy.”

I saw her smile at Garcia’s words, leaning her head against my shoulder.

I hummed. “I got very lucky.”

We finished dinner a couple of hours later, and of course, Dave had to make a point to pull out some expensive bottle of wine as we sat in the living room.

He held up his glass. “To our two favorite lovebirds. Now, we don’t all have to pretend we don’t see them staring at each other like they want rip one another's clothes off.”

She snorted a laugh next to me. “Oh, please. At work? I’d never.”

We all laughed at her comment, my cheeks flushing a little, and then drank to our apparent good fortune. I listened in as the team chatted for another couple of hours, content to only sprinkle in a comment here or there.

She leaned into me eventually. “Did you ever think we’d be here a few years ago?”

I laughed. “No. I didn’t think we’d be here this time last year. I’m still trying to figure out why you fell for me, of all people.”

She fell quiet, merely smiling at me for a few moments, staring at me with those pretty, sparkling eyes of hers. I couldn’t help but smile back.

“You don’t give yourself enough credit,” she said at last, voice quiet. “I couldn’t imagine not falling for you. I’m just happy you felt the same way.”

I hummed another small laugh, kissing her. I couldn’t hold back anymore. We only broke apart when she started laughing at the cheers that once again erupted from the group.

We went back to my apartment that night, hand in hand as we walked up the stairs together.

“I’m so happy we finally told them,” she said as I pulled my keys out.

I got the key in the door, opening it for her and disarming the alarm. I tossed down my keys and jacket.

“Yeah. So glad they get to relentlessly make fun of us,” I replied.

She laugh, walking up to me and putting her arms around my neck.

“You love it and you know it,” she said, a soft kiss on my lips between words. “They make fun because they care. And you adore all of them for it. You can’t hide that from me.”

I shook my head with a lovesick smile, leaning in to kiss her once again, then took her hand to lead her to the couch.

“I wanted to talk to you about something.”

She raised her brows, sitting next to me. “Uh oh.”

“Stop it,” I said softly with a smile. “I… Well, we’ve been together for a while. I love you, you know that. And I love spending all my time with you, but sometimes that’s hard when we live so far apart.”

“My apartment is like fifteen minutes away on a busy day,” she laughed.

“Too far,” I deadpanned. “I just— If I asked you to move in with me, would you think I was totally insane?”

Her small grin turned into a full smile. “Yeah?”

I smiled back, nodding. “Yeah. I get more time with you, and… Honestly, I’ve already mentioned it to Jack and he loves the idea of having more sleepovers with you. Don’t want to disappoint him, now, do we?”

“Oh, definitely not,” she shook her head seriously, hiding a smile. “I almost have to now, don’t I? If Jack says I should.”

“Yes. Exactly.”

She smiled again, tackling me onto the couch cushions with a tight hug. I laugh as she started pressing soft kisses all over my face.

“I love you. You know that?” she asked.

I nodded. “I know.”

She stared at me for another moment, then kissed me once more for good measure.

“I’m serious, though, Jack is expected a sleepover every night that he’s home with us.”

She raised a brow. “Guess I should move in pretty fast then, huh?”

“If we don't want to face his wrath, yes. I’d recommend it.”

“It’s a good thing we have the day off tomorrow, then, isn’t it?”

I smiled. “Yeah. Great coincidence.”

She narrowed her eyes playfully. “What if I had said no?”

“I knew you’d say yes.”

“How?”

I smirked at her, quiet for a moment before I reigned in the smile to look at her seriously.

“I’m a really great profiler.”

[justatasteofyourpoison]

Tea for two…

(A Hazbin Hotel/Alastor x Fem reader fan fiction)

Part 6

This instalment finally includes some more smut. Enjoy. :D I’m sure this seems quite dragged out but honestly writing this is so good for my soul and I’m having so much fun. ♥️

Pairing: Alastor x Fem Reader

Warnings: 18+, smut, swearing, adult themes, sexual content, p in v, she doms, fluff, not the best grammar.

Word count: 1.5K

____________________________________________

You hadn’t seen Alastor in three days and that familiar static was in the air, more intense than ever. You knew that you would have left him yearning for you, but you didn’t want to face him until you had completely sobered up and figured out what you were going to say to the Radio Demon. He wouldn’t punish you for your negligence would he? You were dear to him, right?

After grabbing a bite to eat from the kitchen you made you way through the lobby to the large looming staircase. You could see everyone (except Alastor of course) were gathered around the old TV for a movie night. Charlie of course caught you trying to avoid the evening’s activities…

“Oh Y/N!” Charlie shouted waving her arms frantically. “Tonight we’re going to watch a movie! Then tomorrow we’re going to discuss it to understand other people’s views and perspectives on things!” She said her eyes growing wide with excitement.

“I’m sorry not tonight, I’m feeling really sick. Think I ate something dodgy…” you lied trying to sound as ill as possible. You could see both Angel and Husk grinning from ear to ear as they just knew where you were going. “Ok…” Charlie said disheartened “Go rest and feel better and you can always watch the film before our session tomorrow to catch up!” She said with a thumbs up. She just never quits…

“Sounds good” you mumbled as you began walking up the stairs.

“Where’s Alastor too?” You overheard Vaggie say as you made it to the top of stairs.

You paused in front of the Alastor’s door and took a deep breath. “You can do this. Now I know it.” You whispered to yourself as you tapped on the door lightly before twisting the door handle and entering the Demon’s Lair…. It was quiet and warmly lit, as it always was. Nothing had changed since you last spent a passionate night within the four walls.

Alastor was sat at the round table with a pot of tea, as soon as he heard you enter you could see his ears twist round in your direction. “Nice of you to join me tonight my dear.” He said cheerfully. “I was beginning to think that you had grown tired of me.” He stood up and slowly walked towards you, hands behind his back. Despite your doubts he still was still as handsome to you as ever.

“I’m sorry Alastor…” you said quietly, struggling to hold eye contact. “We had quite the night out and I didn’t want you seeing me looking worse for wear.” As you finished your sentence Alastor leaned in and gave you a peck on the lips. It was enough to send a jolt of fire down your body. “That’s fine my dear! I’ve had my fair share of awful hangovers in the past.” He said with a smile. “However, I sense that something is troubling you.” He said putting his hands on your shoulders. “Do tell” he said cocking his head.

Your eyes instantly shot to the floor and your face felt warm. Why was it so hard to ask him about his past? You knew he was powerful but you’d also seen the relaxed side of him, surely opening up to him wouldn’t put you in any danger? “So…” you began. “Angel and Husker mentioned they had never heard of you rutting before, or seeing anyone else…” you said finally meeting his gaze. “So I was just wondering about your past ruts… What did you do Alastor? Were there beings before me that y’know…?” You trailed off feeling embarrassed.

The Radio Demons hands dropped from your sides and his grin grew wider. “Well to be frank my dear, those two know very little about me! But I understand they’re your friends and just want what’s best for you… Of course I will tell you all you want to know Mon Cheri… But first, tea!” He said gesturing you towards the table. “Ok Alastor” you couldn’t help but smile at his formal nature. You sat down in the seat opposite him and he began pouring two cups in lovely old china. “Do you take sugar?” He chimed looking lovingly at the tea he was pouring. “Two cubes please” you said smiling at the gentle way held the dainty teapot in his large clawed hands.

“So you want to know about my past hmm?” Alastor began, taking a sip of his tea. “I can assure you my dear, you probably won’t like the things I’ve done.” He said gazing into your eyes. “But despite what I am and what I have done I…” He paused to reach out and take your hands in his. “I would never see harm come to you Y/N.” Your heart pounded in your chest at his words. “I never thought I would become fond of anyone, but when you arrived here I saw something in you that I haven’t seen in any beings in hell… And of course I am sorry things have started out in such a sexually charged way… But I assure you once the rut is over I will still want you. You’re so damn beautiful… And fiery..” Alastor purred looking you up and down before starting to look flustered.

“I have a deal for you my dear. I will tell you my history but first you have to do one thing for me Y/N” he said.

“What Alastor?” You said curiously.

“Please relieve me” the Radio Demon begged. “The rut is almost over and I cannot tell you how much I’ve missed you these past few days…” He whispered honestly, a seductive look in his eyes.

Your earlier suspicions were correct, he had been yearning for you, and you knew you wanted him as just as much. You longed for a history lesson but at the same time you were also begging to be entwined with the Radio Demon. He had admitted his fondness for you and that your safety was guaranteed. The past could wait for now, you needed to enjoy the present…

You slowly stood up and walked around the table to him, he pushed himself away from the table and you straddled him, kissing him hard on the lips. His mouth moved with yours in unison sending electricity to your very core. You could feel him hot and hard underneath you as you slipped your t shirt over your head with hast before unbuttoning his shirt. You buried your face into the Demon’s neck and inhaled his warm woody musk before peppering his skin with kisses and bites. His scent drove you feral. Alastor groaned with pleasure as you worked your way down his neck, which aroused you even more.

“Get those fucking clothes off” you commanded before hoping off his lap and removing the rest of yours. You shocked yourself with your assertiveness, but after tonight’s revelations you felt more relaxed in the presence of the Radio Demon. Besides, he said he loved your fiery nature. “You don’t have to tell me twice” he grinned before standing up hastily and undressing.

He reclined back in the seat, his cock ready and yearning for you. You sat down onto him, gently easing him inside you. As he entered your body you moaned loudly, God you had missed this. His hands instinctively gripped your hips and moved you up and down on him, your clit rubbing against his groin. “Oh Y/N. You drive me insane” he groaned before biting your neck. “Good boy” you whispered driving your hips to move faster in a circular motion. You weren’t that bothered about coming tonight, it was pleasure enough to be with him, you wanted to give Alastor what he so desired. “Come for me Alastor” you commanded, pushing him away from your neck and looking deep into his eyes. He grinned “Oh yes mam” he said shortly before moaning uncontrollably at your rough riding. You could feel him throbbing inside you as he came and you gently ceased moving. You both sat there, locked in a tight embrace for a moment. “Y/N” he whispered in your ear. “Yes?” you panted.

“You really are the greatest being to ever grace this hotel. Tomorrow I’ll tell you everything.”

“Thank you Alastor” you said giving him a gentle kiss on the forehead.

You gently removed yourself from his lap and reached for your clothes that were scattered about the floor. “I’d better get an early night, I’ve got a long film to watch before Charlie’s activity in the morning.” You groaned letting out a yawn. “Oh you are good indulging her like that!” Alastor laughed. “But yes, I am rather weary now so I think I’ll give in to the Sandman too. Good night Y/N” he said kissing you softly “I’ll take you somewhere nice tomorrow my Deer.”

“Goodnight Alastor” you said softly heading towards the door. Now you knew you were safe with the Demon you could rest easy. But you couldn’t wait to learn about his mysterious past…

All instalments:

[fyonahmacnally]

Hands On Experience (Kara's First Job)

Based on a tumblr post - read here.

It’s been a long week for all of them, even longer since they’ve all had a chance to unwind and relax in general, much less as a group. Between their regular jobs, their vigilante shifts, and just life in general, months have passed since their last girl’s night. Fortunately, tonight is the remedy to that problem. 

They’re all sitting around Lena’s living room, snacks, wine, and other spirits spread across the coffee table in front of them. Kelly, Alex, Nia, Sam, Andrea, Lena, and Kara are regaling each other with stories of their youth and the trouble they managed to get into. Hearing some of the stories from Andrea about a teenage Lena has everyone laughing and somewhat surprised. The normally straight-laced and stoic CEO was quite rebellious in her teen years. Who knew? Kara sure as hell didn’t. 

As the night continues, the alcohol flows freely and the conversations ebb and flow into different topics. Kara thinks they’ve finally ventured away from the stories of their younger years and she breathes a sigh of relief. She never really did anything rebellious, she has always been more of a good girl, a rule follower. She couldn’t really get into trouble while trying to hide her identity. The two weren’t compatible.

But…not many people know about her first job. The one she got right after graduating college to pay for her first apartment in National City. It’s not something she tells many people. Especially since it came about by accident. She’s not ashamed of it, she’s just not sure how people will react to it. The times it has come out in conversations, reactions have been mixed. Plus, she sighs internally, if Alex is around, she always pushes her to tell The Story™ about the break-in. It isn’t something she likes to share.

Again, not because she is ashamed, it’s just that the way she got the job comes up and okay, that part is embarrassing. People usually laugh, tease her about it. And okay, she can see how it might be objectively funny, but she just…whatever. She’s a grown ass woman now. 

Still, she doesn’t want to tell The Story™ in front of Sam, Andrea, and Lena. She already gets teased by Alex about it and she knows Sam and Andrea won’t let her live it down. And Lena, Rao. They’ve been dating for a few months now and have had sex so they’ve discussed things. Kara knows Lena was a little surprised when she brought so much knowledge to those conversations, but she’s never asked about it.

In fact, of all the people currently sitting in this room, Alex is the only one who knows The Story™. Maybe Kelly because they talk about everything, but yeah. It’s not a story anyone else in the room knows and Kara wants to keep it that way. She’s managed it for years, maybe her luck will continue.

Just as she begins to relax, thinking she has managed to dodge the story and keep her secret for another day, she hears her name. When she shakes herself from her inner dialogue, six pairs of eyes are on her. 

“What?” Kara asks, looking from face to face before her eyes land on her sister. Her shoulders sink. She knows that look, that’s The Story™ look. Fuck. She is not going to be able to escape it, but she has to try. “Did I miss something?” 

Alex grins, a mischievous glint in her brown eyes. “We were just talking about our first full-time jobs. Andrea was under the impression that working for CatCo is the only full-time job you’ve ever had.” She tilts her head and smirks at her now nervous sister. “I corrected her, but that story is so much better when it comes from you. Care to share, Kara?” 

She sighs and drops her chin to her chest, this isn’t what she had in mind when she requested a Girl’s Night with her friends. Not even close. To be fair, she’s a little shocked Alex hasn’t somehow forced this story out before now. She is also definitely not drunk enough for this conversation either, so she makes a decision.

Kara bolts up from her seat, glass in hand. “If I am telling The Story™ I need more alcohol.” She sends pleading eyes to her girlfriend before turning to make a quick exit to the kitchen, Lena following close behind.

“Hey.” Lena’s soft voice, full of concern, breaks the silence. She walks around the island to stand next to her unusually quiet girlfriend. “Are you okay, Darling? If you want me to kick everyone out for the evening, I will. I can have Frank take everyone home.” She smoothes the now prominent crinkle between the blonde’s eyes, waiting for a response.

“No, it’s fine. This was bound to come up in conversation eventually. Honestly, I just hoped it wouldn’t be tonight.” She lets out a long sigh before burying her head into Lena’s neck, breathing in her comforting lavender scent.

Lena wraps her arms around her favorite person, placing a soft kiss to her temple before pulling her close. “You know, I always assumed CatCo was your first job too. We’ve never really talked about it.” She feels Kara pull away with a slight grimace on her face. Their eyes meet and Lena raises a brow at the Kryptonian.

Kara shrugs. “It’s what most people assume. I just don’t correct them.” She chuckles as she pulls the Aldebaran rum from the cabinet and pours a very full glass. Taking a big gulp, she winces at the slow burn moving down her throat. “I suppose I should get this over with, huh? Let everyone get their laughter and teasing quota in for the evening.”

Green eyes watch her curiously, taking in this peculiar behavior from the blonde. She’s seen Kara wary of things, but she’s not sure she’s ever seen her like this. It isn’t apprehension, it seems to be more like resignation, but she’s not sure what to make of it. 

“Kara, you don’t have to tell anyone anything. If this makes you uncomfortable, we can put a stop to it. Just say the word.” Lena says, a fiery determination on her face. 

A warm bubble of affection bursts in Kara’s chest before genuine laughter escapes her mouth. She smiles and kisses the dark-haired woman right on the enticing pout in front of her. “No, no. It’s fine. It’s an objectively funny story, just a little embarrassing. Besides, I’m also curious as to how you will react.” She waggles her brows and places one more soft kiss to Lena’s lips before dragging them both back to the rest of their friends.

The blonde takes a deep breath and reclaims her seat on the couch, Lena’s warm presence next to her and the warmth of the alien liquor in her system finally giving her the courage to expose her current biggest secret.

“My first job was at a sex shop called Cherry Poppins Toys & Trinkets.” She pauses for what she knows will be gasps of disbelief, glancing around the room at the faces of some of her closest friends. True to her assumptions, most of the eyes staring back at her are wide and disbelieving. The only exceptions are Alex, Kelly, and surprisingly, Nia.

Nia tilts her head to the side and takes a sip of her drink before she leans forward, a knowing smile on her face. “Well, there are several things that make a lot more sense now.” The brunette giggles. “When I came to you about that article I wrote a couple of years ago about spicing up things in the bedroom, you knew way more than I expected you to. Now I know why!”

Kara sighs in exasperation. “I’m not nearly as innocent as everyone seems to think I am!” She scoffs, cutting her eyes at her sister in anticipation of what’s coming.

Alex lets out a really loud guffaw, her laughter jostling Kelly and making the rest of the group snap their eyes toward the redhead. “Oh Kara…my dear sweet sister. We all know you aren’t so innocent now, especially since dating Lena, I’m sure.” She smirks at the raven haired woman next to her, chuckling at the middle finger flipped in her direction. “But, please enlighten our friends on how you got that job.” She sips her scotch before leaning back into the cushion, snuggling into her wife’s side.

If looks could kill, Alex would be dead. She’s sure of it. The look she’s getting from Kara is filled with malice and daggers. She just smiles and winks at the blonde. Her mind is at peace, watching Lena absorb this story is worth every bit of ire from her sister. So, she relaxes and waits. Her part of the story will be here soon enough. 

After looking around the room at her friends one more time and get a reassuring squeeze from her girlfriend, Kara begins her tale:

“I was looking online for jobs. I had just graduated from NCU and gotten my first apartment. At that point, I was applying for almost anything because I just needed something to pay rent. I came across this ad for retail sales at Cherry Poppins Toys & Trinkets and thought, why not? How hard can it be to sell toys and trinkets?”

She pauses her story to take a drink of liquid courage, noticing the half smirk on her girlfriend’s face. Shaking her head, she continues:

“A few days later, I got a call from the manager of the store to come in for an interview. The instructions were to go to the back door of the building so I didn’t know what kind of things were being sold until later. I genuinely thought it was toys and trinkets…you know, like a Schwartz toy store.”

The uproarious laughter at that statement yanked her out of her story and she covered her face with a grumble. Lifting her face, she glares at her sister before turning to the rest of the group. “Look, if you guys want the rest of the story, you’re going to have to stop interrupting me. This is serious!” She harumphs and crosses her arms, making the group laugh even harder.  She rolls her eyes and sits silently, waiting.

“Okay, okay. Settle down, let her finish.” Sam chimes in, wiping the tears of laughter from her face before settling back in next to Andrea. The couple share a soft smile before returning their attention to Kara.

“Are you sure you’re done?” She flicks her eyes between everyone before dropping them back onto her hands actively twisting in her lap. “Anyway, I went in for the interview…”

“I opened the back door and stepped inside to what seemed to be a storeroom. It looked pretty normal. Boxes, shelves, labels, nothing to indicate anything outside of the toy store I imagined. The manager, John, came out to greet me and took me into his office for the interview. 

Now, what happens next was a little odd to me at the time and looking back it was obvious, but I was 21 and still not used to Earth’s customs so I just rolled with it. John brought out this…apparatus that was a very lifelike replica of a bare bottom.”

Kara growls as another round of belly laughs interrupts her telling of The Story™. This time she doesn’t say anything. She sits, silently waiting for the laughter to subside. Once it is quiet again, she makes eye contact with each of them trying to convey her frustration.

“Alright. Let’s get ourselves together and listen.” Lena clears her throat, quickly wiping away her own tears of laughter before she continues. “Go ahead, Darling. Finish your story, we’ll do our best not to interrupt you again.” Green eyes glare at the rest of the group before gently squeezing Kara’s leg in encouragement.

She sighs, throws her head back and stares at the ceiling before finally continuing, hopefully finishing this time.

“John had me…spank the bare bottom several times. I wasn’t sure what he was looking for at first, but later he told me that I kept my composure better than anyone else before me. I realize now it was because people probably laugh their asses off. For me it was pretty confusing because I assumed it was for some lifelike doll…which, looking back, I suppose it was.”

She laughs at her younger self. In hindsight, this story is pretty damn funny. If it were one of her friends, she’d probably be laughing hysterically as well. This line of thought seems to release something inside her and she smiles. The rest of the story should be easy.

“At this point, I still didn’t realize that it was a sex shop. I hadn’t seen the store and nothing about the storeroom indicated otherwise. Granted, I should have realized that spanking a prosthetic ass was a dead giveaway, but I’m an alien for Rao’s sake. I’d never seen anything like that in my entire life!

So, you can imagine, on my first day when I walked into the store, I was shocked. It was wall-to-wall dicks, vibrators, and all sorts of contraptions I didn’t know existed. Most of the day was spent with some shade of rosy embarrassment from head to toe. As much as I wanted to turn tail and run right out of there, I needed the job so I stuck it out. I learned a lot about sex and people in those two years I worked there.”

She grins at her friends, pausing briefly to wink at Lena. “Now, the really crazy part of my time working there happens about six months before I started working at CatCo…” Kara briefly glances at Alex before continuing her story.

“It was a Friday morning. We didn’t typically open until noon because the weekends were our busiest days with the latest hours. By this time, I was the assistant manager at the store so it wasn’t uncommon for me to open the store or close up at night. John and I had become friends at this point too so work was actually a lot of fun. Anyway, he had to drive up to our distribution center to sort out a shipment that had gotten delayed and left me in charge. 

Since we opened at noon, I would usually get there around 10:45 to get things ready. However, on this particular day, one of our alarms was triggered. I got a call from the security company that an internal motion sensor was activated. It was shocking because we had very good security and had never had an issue. After telling them to call the police, I headed to the store.

Now, in order to understand the story, I need to tell you the layout of the store. Upstairs was where most of the really risque, more fetish and BDSM stuff was kept. No one was allowed up there without a member of the staff accompanying them. The bottom floor was where most customers stayed.

The layout of the first floor consisted of five zones. Imagine it from left to right. Zone 1 was all the porn DVD’s. Zone 2 was all of our lower end sex toys, all the more tame offerings in the lower price ranges. Zone 3 was the higher end sex toys and more…advanced offerings. It was where the realistic asses were kept.”

She smiles and looks around at her friends, once again winking at her girlfriend. They are all grinning and seem to be amused by her story. Taking a sip of her rum, she sits her glass down, presses a soft kiss to Lena’s cheek and keeps going.

“Zone 4 was the checkout where we spent most of our shift. And finally, Zone 5 was all the wearables - we called it the ‘lingerie, leather, and lace’ section. Each section had a camera directly focused on it as well as various other cameras throughout the store. There were motion sensors that were active when the store was armed and alarms on all the doors. Another bonus is that we weren’t far from one of the local police precincts.

To say that John and I were shocked about the break-in is an understatement. In the 18 months I had been there, we hadn’t had any issues and John said he’d never had any in the 3 years he’d been there before me. This thief was very savvy. They broke one of the windows on the lower level close to the lower end toys in Zone 2. For some reason, the alarms were only set to go off if the upper windows were breached and not these. 

When the thief got in, they pretty much had the run of the store as long as they stayed clear of the motion sensors. Based on what I saw when I got there to meet the cops, the thief was initially after the DVD’s. Unfortunately for them, we keep the discs in a locked cabinet behind the checkout so the cases on the display are all empty.”

Kara chuckles and glances over at Alex, both of them have an amused twinkle in their eyes. She smiles at her sister and proceeds.

“The crook was clever, they were wearing a full bodysuit to cover their face and all their skin so their identity was well masked. When we watched the security footage back, it was evident that when the thief couldn’t get the DVD’s they decided to randomly grab whatever they could. However, instead of going for the high end toys and wearables, the sports car equivalent of goods for sexual pleasure, they stuffed as many of the cheapest, flimsiest dildos, foulest bottles of lube, and random edible things into their backpack. They did all that without triggering any alarms too. It wasn’t until they were climbing out of the broken window that they nicked one of the motion sensors on some of the more expensive products and kicked off the alarms. 

Once that alarm was triggered, I got the phone call and dispatched the police. By the time I got to the store, the woman my sister was dating at the time, who was a detective at the precinct up the street, was there waiting for me. Maggie and I were working through what was taken and documenting all the goods stolen. I still laugh about how many times Maggie had to write the words dildo, edible underwear, and lube in that report. 

What I didn’t know at the time was Maggie texted Alex to let her know the store had been broken into and Alex was making her way there to check on me. Maggie and I had been there for about 30 minutes before we heard a commotion outside the door.” 

She grins widely and nods her head at Alex, giving her permission to take over the telling of the story.

“I love telling this part of the story.” Alex beams, placing her empty tumbler on the table in front of her and leaning forward on the couch. The redhead claps her hands together as she dives into her part of the story. 

“I parked at a restaurant a block or so away. We went there a lot so I knew the owner and I figured we could grab some lunch once everything was squared away. As I was walking toward the scene, I saw this guy running toward me like a madman. There are things flying out of his backpack and he seems like he’s running from something. I pause for a minute and step to the side, not wanting to get taken out by the guy. 

That’s when I realized he was leaving a trail of dildos, lube, and edible underwear in his wake. It was like a tsunami of cheap sex aids covering the sidewalk around us. I had already grabbed my badge so I just called out for him to stop and flashed it up at him. Within seconds, the guy was on his knees in front of me, his palms up and sobbing out ‘It was MeEeEnnE!!! I stole the diLDoS!!!’”

The entire room erupts into laughter. There isn’t a dry eye in the entire place. It’s how this story always ends…lots of laughter and disbelief. When it all eventually dies down, Kara notices that Lena has gotten very quiet and she has a contemplative look on her face. Her plump bottom lip is trapped between her pristine white teeth and there is a faraway look in her malachite eyes.

Nia is the first to speak, pulling them all out of their brief silence. “Okay, I can’t believe you didn’t tell us that you worked at a sex shop before, Kara. This is pertinent information that you’ve been holding back!” She scoffs at her friend. “Also, that was the dumbest thief I’ve ever heard of. He took all the cheapest shit you had instead of the good shit. And…there’s a 24 hour coffee shop right next door to Cherry Poppins! He could have stayed there until the coast was clear and made off with his stash. What. An. Idiot.”

“Seriously! That’s where Drea and I usually go after our Poppins shopping trips.” Sam chimes in, shaking her head in disbelief before catching what she just revealed. She quickly clears her throat and changes the subject. “You’ve been holding out, Kara. You could have given us recommendations! You probably know more about this stuff than Lena does.” She smirks at her friend before looking at Andrea with a wink.

Andrea grins. “Yeah, Lena has been our go-to all this time and you’re the actual hidden expert sitting right in front of us.” The brunette looks over to her childhood friend and laughs. She nudges Sam and whispers, “She’s having some thoughts right now, connecting some things.”

They both giggle and watch as Lena’s hand drifts up to her still captured bottom lip, brushing lightly back and forth against the soft skin. Her green eyes are still glassy and staring past the room currently occupied. Right as they are about to say something, Lena speaks.

“So, this whole time, you’ve been holding out on me?!” Lena’s voice comes out far more breathy and deeper than she wanted. Her eyes suddenly focus intently on Kara’s. “Wait! This makes so much more sense now. This is why you know so much about the…”

“NO!!!” Alex screeches. “Do. Not. Finish. That. Sentence. Lena. Luthor.” She points a menacing finger in the direction of her friend, her sister’s girlfriend. 

The rest of the room laughs, but all of them notice the look of wanton desire on the CEO’s face, the way she is not so subtly devouring Kara with her eyes. It slowly becomes evident that they need to get out of this apartment before they see something they can’t ever forget. 

Lena slowly moves her gaze from Kara over to Alex before a devilish smirk plays across her lips. “Then I suggest you say your goodbyes, Agent Danvers.” She languidly licks her lips and lets her eyes track down Kara’s body again before looking back at the rest of their friends. “All of you should probably call it a night. I have some things to talk to my girlfriend about and we don’t need an audience.”

She pauses for a moment, quirks her brow, and looks directly into cerulean eyes with a smirk. “Unless you’re into that? Seems there’s quite a few things I don’t know about you…yet.”

“Yep, Yes! Okay.” Alex says, bolting up from the couch. “I think it’s definitely time to go.” She grabs Kelly’s hand to pull her off the couch and is quickly followed by Nia. The three of them grab their belongings and dash toward the door.

“Just leave everything, we will clean up tomorrow. Frank is waiting downstairs to see you home.” Lena smiles, her eyes drifting over to the remaining two people occupying the adjacent oversized chair. “That’s your queue to make your way down to the guest apartment. Don’t worry, the penthouse is sound proof so you won’t hear anything.” 

Andrea and Sam both laugh. Having known Lena the longest, they are familiar with her antics. They both roll their eyes as they stand and gather their things to head to the floor below and the apartment they are staying in while visiting National City. 

“I would say have fun tonight, but I don’t think that’ll be an issue.” Sam winks, pulling her girlfriend toward the door. “We’ll see you guys for brunch tomorrow.”

As the door closes behind them, Lena turns and straddles Kara’s lap. As her lips hover just above the blonde’s, she rubs her nose against her girlfriends and takes a deep breath. “I think we have some things to discuss, Miss Danvers.” Kara grins and lifts them from the couch, drifting toward the bedroom. “You’ve certainly been holding out on me and surely you have things to show me.”

And that’s how Lena found out Kara once worked at Cherry Poppins Toys & Trinkets.